Salsa Poco vs. Short-n-Shallow

I have Salsa S-n-S 40 cm on one bike. Salsa Bell Lap 42 cm on the other bike. (the BL came with the bike)

I'm thinking I want to switch out those Bell Laps.

Question is: I want a shallow drop. The drop difference between the Pocos and the S-n-S is only 4 mm. (the reach diff is like 10 mm or so) Anybody know of a good sturdy alu or steel short reach (no more than 80mm) and drop less than 140mm bar? In a size 40 or 38? (depending on the flare) Like, a bar with LESS drop than even a Poco?

Dex, what do you have? Those were very cool bars on your LeMond.

Knot, when i was at Erik Moen's the other day; i complained that I never used the drops, that i was concerned that i couldn't reach the brakes as welll since i was never in the drops. he said "don't worry about it. Drops are over rated. You don't NEED to reach the drops."

I love the drops on my S-n-S. I'd just like something a bit less "dropped." S'pose I should just get a pair of 40cm Pocos.

you actually use them then!

Oh, yeah! I've always loved drops; the leverage, the security, the change in position. Fabulous!

I'm not fond of the flats. I like the curves or the hoods or the drops.

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Originally Posted by mimitabby

Knot, when i was at Erik Moen's the other day; i complained that I never used the drops, that i was concerned that i couldn't reach the brakes as welll since i was never in the drops. he said "don't worry about it. Drops are over rated. You don't NEED to reach the drops."

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Eeek! I wouldn't say never - yeah I'll agree that for the most part unless your are racing you don't need to use the drops for flat roads, but everyone, regardless of their style or level of riding, benefits from the added stability and control you get from using your drops while descending, especially when descending and cornering.

As far as really shallow bars goes - have you looked at the Ritchey Pro Biomax bars? They've got an "ergobump" and they are really shallow - 130mm drop (75mm reach) http://ritcheylogic.com/web/Ritchey~...6863&live=true
You can probably take a look at a pair in person at Ticycles - they usually have some in stock.
I had a pair of these, but I personally found that they were too shallow! In a sprint I was banging and bruising my forearms...

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Originally Posted by KnottedYet

I have Salsa S-n-S 40 cm on one bike. Salsa Bell Lap 42 cm on the other bike. (the BL came with the bike)

I'm thinking I want to switch out those Bell Laps.

Question is: I want a shallow drop. The drop difference between the Pocos and the S-n-S is only 4 mm. (the reach diff is like 10 mm or so) Anybody know of a good sturdy alu or steel short reach (no more than 80mm) and drop less than 140mm bar? In a size 40 or 38? (depending on the flare) Like, a bar with LESS drop than even a Poco?

Dex, what do you have? Those were very cool bars on your LeMond.

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I'm not Dex, but I've seen a few Lemond WSDs with this Bontrager "FIT VR" bar:

http://www.bontrager.com/Road/Compon...bars/24336.php

Web site says the drop is only 120 mm! Only comes in the oversized 31.8 mm clamp diameter though.

I'm using the Bontrager Fit VR's and I really like them. Nice small drop with a shorter reach. Visually, you might think they look a little funny; however, they sure are comfortable. One thing to keep in mind with these, they are only coming in oversized.

Ummm, how do I know if my bike needs oversized or regular?

<knot scurries off to figure out the clamp size of her Bell Laps>

Edit: according to my handy-dandy sewing tape measure it looks like the diameter of my Bell Laps is about 26mm. My stem was a special order and took many weeks to get, so I won't be switching out the stem. Guess I'm outta luck for the Bontragers. :(

Eden - thanks for the Ritchey info. I might take a tour down to TiCycles, cuz I think I've seen Salsa Pocos there, too. I can fondle both... :D

Mine are the Bontrager FIT, as well (purchased from bike4ever, actually...thanks, again!). And I did have to switch to an oversize stem for it, but I wanted a slightly shorter stem anyway, so it was no big deal for me to do that.

The Kalloy Shortreach is similar, but doesn't need an oversized stem. And everywhere I've seen them online puts them in the low $20s range in price. (Here's one example: http://www.jensonusa.com/store/produ...h+Roadbar.aspx) That's what I was going to try out when I decided I wanted to try a shorter reach bar, because the price was low enough that I figured it woldn't be a huge loss if I didn't like it...and then I found a great price on the Bontrager bar here on the forum.

If you don't want to order them online, maybe check and see if the guys at Recycled have a distributor that can get some in for you to check out? Given that they're so inexpensive, they probably wouldn't have a hard time selling it if you decided you didn't like it/want it.

Oh, wow! and only $22! Thanks, Dex!

I'm heading down to the U.W. today for some errands anyway, so I'll be stopping off at Recycled Cycles... just to look. Really. That's all I'll do.

If I get my new bar thru RC, they will give me store credit for my old bar.

Oooh, yeah.

A bit of thread drift here, but related...let me know if this question had been done to death on TE...

I have very tiny hands, and the reach to the brakes is always a challenge. I'm currently double-shimmed, and it compromises excellent braking.

Do short/shallow bars help with actual finger reach to the levers, or does the short/shallow aspect only help with arm reach to the drops/bars?

I LOVE riding in the drops and use them often. My issue is really with the small size of my hands for the brakes (and I'm trying to avoid getting short reach levers on a bike I might not keep too long).

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My issue is really with the small size of my hands for the brakes (and I'm trying to avoid getting short reach levers on a bike I might not keep too long).

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I have little hands and really short stubby fingers. I switched my bars and my levers at the same time, so I don't have real evidence, but my instincts say that the bar on its own wouldn't have done much to improve my finger-reach to my levers. Even though the total reach is shorter, your hands and fingers are still the same distance from where they rest on the bar to where the levers are. (At least, that seems logical in my head.)

I found my Shimano shortreach levers on eBay. When I had them switched out, I kept the ones that my bike came with so that when I decide to get a new bike, I could just put the old ones back on this bike and take the short ones over to the new bike.

The change was great, though. Shifting is a breze, and I feel way more secure now...and going downhill no longer scares me, because I can confidently reach and handle my brakes. :)

Hey, Dex, thanks! That does help.

Changing to a short reach bar does not shorten your hand reach to the brake levers. You'd need to get short reach brake levers or shims for that.

I really like my new Salsa Poco bars.