Salsa Poco vs. Short-n-Shallow

[Kathi]

I went to Campy years ago because the hoods felt so much better to me than Shimano. However, I couldn't reach the brake leves from the drops. My handlebars were Deda 4girls, 38 cm. I had used the Terry bars with the cutout but still had problems.

Last year I built a new bike. My LBS wanted me to used Shimano sort reach levers and Poco bars. I just didn't feel comfortable with the Shimano hoods and wanted to stay with Campy. To make matters worse my shoulders measure 34cm. 36cm is usually the smallest they come.

Someone on another forum told me about the Modolo bars so I tried them out on my old bike first. They come in a 34cm and I loved them. From the curve in the bar I can wrap the first joint of my middle and index fingers around them. I have a lot more power braking and can stay in my drops on long downhills with little discomfort.

There is also the Eva bar, made by 3T, which has a similiar design in the curve of the bar. I couldn't use it because it doesn't come small enough for me.

The bar alone, size and design, did the trick for me. The shifters sit flat on the top of the bar.

Here's the thread from last year where I posted my review of the Venus bars and tried to compare them with the Deda 4girls.

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showt...t=modolo+venus

[Starfish]

Kathi, thanks!!

It might be that I just have to settle for "first-knuckle" braking, and do a bunch of hand exercises to get stronger with that.