Small hands and STI Levers

[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.

[Andrea]

I have the biomax bars & love them!

Mine are a 40cm, though. I went down a size from 42cm since the drops flare out a bit. I've got wide shoulders

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

We're really talking about two completely different issues here....bar fit and hand/brakelever fit.
The shortest shallowest narrowest bars in the world still won't help you if your fingers are too short to wrap around your brake levers. The problem of the original poster is that the levers splay too far out, for larger men's hands. Bringing the bar back just won't give you longer fingers. I found that out myself.
You need short reach brake levers/brifters and or ones with shims in them.
I really wonder when manufacturers are going to get a clue and make these things in sizes other than for men to BEGIN WITH, instead of needing to get shims. Not all levers and brifters take shims.

[Kathi]

I agree but handlebars like the Modolo Venus are designed with a shorter reach between levers and bar to address the reach issue. http://www.modolo.com/1_road_handlebars_temp.php?id=9
The only other bar I know of that addresses the reach issue is the 3T Eva but its smallest size is 38cm.

Handlebars with the correct width make a big difference. With my 38cm handlebars my elbow pointed outward while my hands curved inward toward the bar. The odd angles contributed to the reach issue. The 34 cm bar allows my elbows to be straight and my wrist and hand to hold the hoods in a "handshake" position.

Yes, shimming the Shimano levers would have also solved my reach problem but then I have the issue of the bulkiness and width of the hoods. Shifting, because of short fingers, is an issue because of having to push the lever so far. I have to twist my hand sideways in order to get the gears to engage.

Brake adjustments make a difference too. The shop employees like to adjust the brakes to their leverage and strength instead of mine. So I test the brakes before I leave the shop to make sure I can brake comfortably.

Whenever you are on the wrong side of the bell curve bicycle gear gets more difficult.

[jehocu03]

I agree but handlebars like the Modolo Venus are designed with a shorter reach between levers and bar to address the reach issue. http://www.modolo.com/1_road_handlebars_temp.php?id=9
The only other bar I know of that addresses the reach issue is the 3T Eva but its smallest size is 38cm.

Handlebars with the correct width make a big difference. With my 38cm handlebars my elbow pointed outward while my hands curved inward toward the bar. The odd angles contributed to the reach issue. The 34 cm bar allows my elbows to be straight and my wrist and hand to hold the hoods in a "handshake" position.

Yes, shimming the Shimano levers would have also solved my reach problem but then I have the issue of the bulkiness and width of the hoods. Shifting, because of short fingers, is an issue because of having to push the lever so far. I have to twist my hand sideways in order to get the gears to engage.

Brake adjustments make a difference too. The shop employees like to adjust the brakes to their leverage and strength instead of mine. So I test the brakes before I leave the shop to make sure I can brake comfortably.

Whenever you are on the wrong side of the bell curve bicycle gear gets more difficult.

How do you know what size bar to purchase?