Small hands and STI Levers

[NbyNW]

I had Shimano Ultegra on my previous bike, and while I loved the feel of the mechanics, they were a bit of a reach for me, and I never felt comfortable going downhill on that bike.

My folding bike that I commute on has Shimano Tiagra mounted on bullhorn handlebars. I don't know if it's the design of the Tiagra, or how they're mounted on the handlebars, or the shape of the handlebars, but these are working really well for me.

My touring bike, which I've had for less than two days, has Campy. The reach is not going to be a problem for me. I didn't really notice the "slimness" of the hoods until reading this thread. Again, for the couple of hours I've had on this bike, they've been pretty comfortable, in the sense that I haven't noticed them. Don't know if I will feel differently as I start to go on longer rides, but I'm looking forward to finding out.

[kermit]

I recently changed my bars to Specialized Ruby carbon bars. The drop is smaller and I can now reach around the brake in the drops which I could not do before. Just a suggestion if you have a Specialized dealer in your area.

[Kathi]

I recently changed my bars to Specialized Ruby carbon bars. The drop is smaller and I can now reach around the brake in the drops which I could not do before. Just a suggestion if you have a Specialized dealer in your area.

I checked out the Specialized bars when I built my bike, the smallest size is 38cm which was the case for many of the women's bars I considered.

I wonder why companies who market handlebars to women fail to recognize that some women have narrower shoulders than 38cm.

[bounceswoosh]

I'm not sure how much this helps vs. 38cm, but the Bontrager FIT VR is available in 36cm:

http://bontrager.com/model/06244/en

That's the model that came on my Madone, although I'm not sure which width is on there.

[Kathi]

Thanks, for me the solution was the Modolo Venus in a 34 cm.

[madscot13]

i wish these bars that everyone is mentioning came in 26.0 clamp.

[VeloVT]

Madscot -- not sure what size you need, but if 38 is sufficiently narrow, Ritchey Biomax bars come in a 38 cm width/26.0 diameter. That's what I had on my old bike. I liked them.

Also Deda makes two 26.0 models that come in narrower widths -- Piega and 4Girls. I have no experience at all with the 4Girls bar (though I think there are a few people on TE that have them), but I have the Piega on my cross bike (they were stock) and they're just kinda ok. Pretty deep drops, and the anatomic bend is not the most comfortable bend in the world. If you are looking at Deda note that they measure outside-outside, so a 40-cm Deda bar is roughly equivalent to a 38-cm c-c bar.

I wish Deda made the Newton Bar with the shallow round bend (called "Italian Classic) in smaller sizes . Sigh...

I'll bet Ritchey makes a few other models too, they make so many bars...

Good luck!

Edit: Biomax are also available in 36 cm. Ritchey's Pro Logic bar is also available in 38cm/standard diameter.