Alternate to Straight Handlebars?

[goride]

I have a couple of good road bikes which I rode last year. I still plan to primarily ride those bikes this year, but I also have a hybrid and we have miles of crushed limestone trails in my area. I would like to enjoy some of those trails this year in addition to road riding. My problem is that the straight handlebars on the hybrid really aggravate my wrists and I pay the price for several weeks after a ride. What would you suggest? Bullhorns? Moustache bars? Would it be hard/costly to move the brake levers and shifters to another type of bar (actually I probably would have my bike shop do that, I'm not that mechanically inclined).

[OakLeaf]

There are lots of different bends and widths available. Flattish bars I think are among the easier ones to compare off the bike.

What I would do (what I'll be doing with my motard bike) is pay close attention to where your hands are on your existing bars and what you don't like about that position. Are your wrists angled inward, outward, up, down? Do you feel like your hands are too far apart or too close together? Then have a friend take some measurements on your existing bars - distance between your wrists, angle of your wrists, distance between the center of the bars and the where you sit on your saddle, height of the center of the bars in relation to where you sit on your saddle.

Armed with that information you should be able to go into a bike shop that stocks a lot of different bars, hold them out in front of you in approximately the position they'd be when you're on the bike (depending on your existing configuration you may even be able to balance them on top of your existing stem), and see how you like the angles of your wrists, elbows and shoulders there.


You may still wind up putting a different type of bars on your bike, but the solution may be simpler than you think.

[goride]

Oakleaf, thanks. It just seems to me that a road position for my hands (palms facing one another) is more comfortable than palms down, but I never thought about the various measurements. It could well be that the bar is too wide or too narrow, too close to me or too far away. That is something that I should consider. I might be making more of this than I need to.

[Melalvai]

I use a trekking bar. I was having real problems in my wrist and worse, tingling in my arms. The nice thing about trekking bar is the part that curves around in front is a lot closer to me than the straight handlebar is, and it is more toward my center, so my arms aren't pointed out at angles but are directly in line with my shoulders. That is much more comfortable.

My bar is angled up a fair bit in front so it is even closer to me.

I spend much of the time with my hands positioned on the brake levers & shifters, but on flat stretches (not so many of those around here) where I'm not constantly shifting, I like to stretch my hands out flat on the curves of the bar.

It's an odd looking thing but I really like it.

[divingbiker]

I have the same problem with my wrists with flat bars, and albatross bars on my commuting bike have solved the problem.

[tealtreak]

I have a couple of good road bikes which I rode last year. I still plan to primarily ride those bikes this year, but I also have a hybrid and we have miles of crushed limestone trails in my area. I would like to enjoy some of those trails this year in addition to road riding. My problem is that the straight handlebars on the hybrid really aggravate my wrists and I pay the price for several weeks after a ride. What would you suggest? Bullhorns? Moustache bars? Would it be hard/costly to move the brake levers and shifters to another type of bar (actually I probably would have my bike shop do that, I'm not that mechanically inclined).

Bar ends! have them on my mt bike for climbing- give my aching wrist a break too (: super cheap- don't have to re-position anything (:

[tzvia]

Are the bars really flat? I mean, most flat bars really have a curve or angle to them, and some are riser style, and angle up then out. Most have a slight swept back angle. That angle may be wrong. Close your eyes and hold your hands forward like you are grabbing flat bars, then open your eyes. I know, not scientific, but it should give you a good idea of the neutral angle of your wrists. Compare that to the angle your wrists are in when grabbing the bars.

Most 'hybrid' type bikes are designed for more upright riding, so provided the bike fits you, the bars are probably not out too far. If the bike is too big, you may be stretched out too much and putting too much weight on your hands.

I would take the bike to the LBS and have them look at you on it. No point in playing guessing games with bar styles until you first make sure the overall fit, especially the reach to the bars, is ok.

You could then look at other bars. If the bike really has flat bars, I would look at riser bars. Some have over an inch of rise and the more upright position will take some weight off your hands. And you can take a look at the different angles of the bars on the bikes in the shop.

Sometimes finding bars that feel good can be as hard as finding a good saddle, but in your case you said that your wrists hurt for weeks. Barring a medical condition, that tells me something in the fit of that bike is really off.

[Becky]

My favorite flat handlebars are Salsa Pro Moto bars with 11 degrees of backsweep. The backsweep makes the bars feel more natural to me. I like them enough that I want to try their 17 degree bars as well.

[goride]

Thank you everyone. Lots of good options for me to explore. I just did the "closed eye" test suggested by tzvia and then compared my hand position to the hand position I would need to grip the bar on the bike. Not even close! On the bike, I need to angle my hands outward from the wrist. No wonder it didn't feel good. I also took a look at the albatross bars and the Salsa Pro Moto, and they are along the lines of what I was thinking. We've had some snow in the last few days , so I have time to get to the bike shop before I ride again.

[Susan]

Most MTB riser bars provide a better angle than flat bars (and hand position can be fine tuned by rotating them).
You could also try Ergon grips. They correct the hand position and really did the trick for me when I had problems with my wrists.
Another thing to consider if you have wrist problems is the position of the brake levers. You shouldn't have to bend your wrist too much to reach them. If you are sitting on the bike, and rest your fingers on the brakes, your forearm, hand and fingers should be comfortably straight, without much angle in the wrist. A lot of people put a lot of pressure on their wrists by positioning their hands palms facing forward (knuckles pointing up) and bending their wrists. Try to set up the bars and brakes so that the palms face down (knuckles pointing forward).

[Sky King]

Goride,

another one to look at is the Ahearne-Map The bike hermit just put these on his round town bike because he was having wrist pain with his straight bar. So far he really likes them although he did say he may have to change the gearing now (single speed)

[Antaresia]

I love having a bike with drop bars, and my other bike equipped with the swept back retro style. They don't look exactly like the moustache bars I've seen, but close.

Flat bars [i]kill[i] my wrists. I understand they might be better for downhill stuff, but I've never been able to figure out why they end up on city bikes.