Salsa Poco vs. Short-n-Shallow

[Starfish]

So, I'm hearing that no, SnS bars don't really help with brake reach, and that, yes, SnS bars can help with brake reach.

I know that the thing is always to go out and test & try, but I'm finding it VERY hard to find an assortment of setups to try that are actually made up in shops. I'm a little daunted at how much money I could spend trying to find the right combo of levers and bars.

[KnottedYet]

I guess it really depends on why you can't reach the levers.

Are your hands lined up with the brake lever when you are in the drops? But you still can't get your fingers around the levers, like your fingers just aren't long enough? That might be a case for closer/shimmed brakes, or a bar with a different shaped ergo bump or stepped bend to put your hand closer.



Are your hands too far away from the brake lever when you are in the drops? Like you have to move your entire hand to get to a spot on the bar where you can wrap your fingers around the brake lever? That might be a case for a short drop bar or a bar with a different ergo bump for hand placement. Especially if moving the levers so they are accessible from the drops will mess with how you ride on the tops.



(The first picture is me faking short fingers on my nice, close shimano brake-only levers. The second picture is me exaggerating slightly how my Bell Lap drops are too low for me to just reach out and grab my nice close Shimano brake-only levers. I have very long fingers, but small hands. This is the problem I'm having, and I think a shallower-drop would be nice and would lift my hands back up into line with my levers. I should've posted a pic of my hand and my S-n-S bars... sorry.)

[dex]

And I have both small hands *and* short fingers, so the combination of shallow drops and shorter reach levers was necessary for me to get things to a place where I could confidently (or even safely) ride in the drops.

[divingbiker]

Ok, here are some pics so maybe you can help diagnose my problem. I am not pretending to have short fingers--I really do!

Here are my Poco bars and brake levers. (Ignore my messy basement.)



And here is my hand when I am in the most comfortable position holding the ergo bend part of the bar. My fingers barely touch the lever.



Is the handlebar my problem, or the reach to the lever?

Thank you for any insight!

[KnottedYet]

My guess would be the bar and the ergo bump are the issue, just because your hand looks like mine on my Bell Lap. Like if your hand was just comfy further up the bend everything would line up right. What happens if you move your hand off the comfy spot to just behind the lever? Can you wrap your fingers around the lever then? Or do you need short reach levers, too?

On my S-n-S my hand sits much closer in line with the levers, the ergo bump is in the "right" spot, though I still have to move my hand a little to get a really good grip on the levers.

(hey, if you go for a shallower drop bar and your Pocos need a new home, let me know. )

[divingbiker]

My guess would be the bar and the ergo bump are the issue, just because your hand looks like mine on my Bell Lap. Like if your hand was just comfy further up the bend everything would line up right. What happens if you move your hand off the comfy spot to just behind the lever? Can you wrap your fingers around the lever then? Or do you need short reach levers, too?

On my S-n-S my hand sits much closer in line with the levers, the ergo bump is in the "right" spot, though I still have to move my hand a little to get a really good grip on the levers.

(hey, if you go for a shallower drop bar and your Pocos need a new home, let me know. )

When my hand is further up, above the ergo bend and below the hood, I can reach just fine. It's just not comfortable. It's weird, though, because when I was using the Poco bars during my bike fitting, I could reach the levers just fine.

Those brand new Pocos just might be looking for a home soon...

[KnottedYet]

DB - If they were good at the fitting, maybe something just needs a little tweaking to make them good again.

Starfish - I've never really looked at short-reach levers, but it sounds like you could sure use them! I wonder if you can shim short-reaches and make them super short? (what levers do Kona and Trek use on their kids road and cyclocross bikes? Would they be cheaper than "adult" short reach levers? They've gotta be small for kids hands, right?)

[Starfish]

All straightened out as long as possible, my very longest finger is just shy of 3" (that's the middle finger...the index is a full 1/2 inch shorter than that), and at its longest, my palm is 3.25". I already have my Shimano 105 breaks double shimmed. That enables me to hit the lever just closer to my hand than my last knuckle out toward the fingertip.

From the drops with the double shims, I can reach OK, but the double shims do compromise full braking strength, and I want more braking power.

I have comfy ergo bars...love the shape and feel of them except for the braking issue, and I also have fairly good padding (all Specialized comfort stuff), and that could maybe make the bar a little fatter.

I think my hand is about as close to the levers as it is going to get...I don't think position is the issue. I just have hands that are typically a full inch or so shorter than most everyone I know.