I’ve been thinking a lot about handlebar reach recently. Probably
a bit too much; but this is the kind of topic I really like to geek-out on. The
reason this has been on my mind was due to my new race-bike build, just
completed by the talented guys at Kissing
Crows Cyclery. This bike was built with a very specific purpose: to
replicate my track bike for local road and criterium races. I primarily train
as a track cyclist, having made the switch from endurance racer to track
sprinter in January. Due to my focus on track sprinting, my road racing has
been pretty limited this year; basically I’ve only competed in road races
without a lot of climbing and in our weekly crits. My road training has been
dialed back as well, with long rides limited to 2-3 hours max. Since I spend
most of my time on my track bike and I’m quite comfortable with the fit of that
bike. Furthermore, since I knew I wouldn’t need the comfort for long distance rides
and races, I decided to replicate my track bike for the road. I started this
build with a Cinelli Experience frame. I’m quite happy with how it turned out,
as I feel it really captures the feel of a track bike. I’ll post a full review
of this bike soon, but today I just want to focus on the handlebars and their
reach. We can talk a bit about drop too.
The bars I decided to go with for this build were 37cm Nitto
B105AA. Nitto is a fantastic company; they make high quality components for
both modern bikes and also for more traditional builds. They also make a number of components for the Keirin racers in Japan. On my track bike, I use the
traditional CroMo Nitto B123 track bars. These bars are also 37cm. I know this
is quite narrow from a road perspective, but it fits with a shift in recent
years among track sprinters to using narrow bars. There are several arguments
for this, including narrowing the racer’s profile to increase aerodynamics,
allowing the racer to take smaller gaps, and allowing the racer to release more
explosive energy in a forward motion due to the highly concentrated focal point
created by narrow bars. I find all of these arguments compelling to varying
degrees, especially the final point. Since I personally have a relatively
narrow body frame, I find a narrower bar allows me to propel my energy in a
forward, in particular during standing starts. A standing start, where a racer
explodes out of a gate from a dead stop to top (or near top) speed as quickly
as possible, is a necessary skill for a track sprinter to develop. My start has
improved since I’ve switched from a 40cm bar to my current 37cm bar. I now feel
like my arms envelop the bar; that I have more control and dominant power in my
starts. Since I often practice standing starts on the road, from a slow roll or
track stand instead of from a gate, I decided that my first priority when it
came to bars would be to find bars of the same width; the B105AA fit the bill.
I was so concerned with width, I didn’t actually think too
much about the other dimensions of the bars. I did give some consideration to
drop, again, in an attempt to replicate my track bars. I wanted a deep drop and
at 135mm, I figured these bars would work. What I didn’t think about, until
Josh and Adam from Kissing Crows pointed it out to me, was that these bars had
a very “old-school” long reach at 95mm. We discussed the fact that in recent
years, manufactures have shifted to making bars with shorter reach, as head
tubes have shortened and hoods have lengthened. The bars I was putting on my
bike were of similar dimensions to what you would have last seen in the 1990s. Having
overlooked this critical element of my carefully considered new build, I was
very concerned! With a bit of further research, I uncovered a 2011 article
from Bicycling Australia by renowned bike fitter Steve Hogg, titled “Get a
Grip.” In this article, Hogg addresses to role of reach in handlebar fit. Hogg
is an advocate for shorter reach bars, as he says this helps riders avoid
hitting their forearms on the tops when sprinting from the drops. He also advocates for short reach combined
with short drop benefiting the overall fit of both flexible and inflexible
riders. Needless to say, this wasn’t reassuring me.
I decided to still go ahead with these bars, as they were
still the only bars I could find in the width I was looking for. On my first
ride, I was ready to see if I had made a big mistake in my bar choice! I
initially spent some time riding on the hoods. As anticipated, I was a bit more
stretched out in this position due to the long reach. My extension, however, was
not as extreme as expected. Furthermore, I discovered an unexpected benefit
which Steve Hogg didn’t address in his article. The longer reach allowed me to
get my forearms a little lower on the bars, into the hoods. I believe this
could provide an aerodynamic benefit in races, especially in small-group and
solo breaks where a steady-state aerodynamic position is essential. That said,
I could see my position on the hoods being somewhat uncomfortable on very long
rides and races, but, as I’ve said, this is not what this bike was built for.
After some extensive riding on the hoods, I decided to experiment in the drops,
as this is the position that was most important to me. It would be critical to
have a good position in the drops both for my sprint workouts and for racing in
crits. I’m happy to report that bars ride amazingly well in the drops. Since
the bars are narrow, my forearms are actually somewhat angled outwards during
an out of the saddle sprint which helps avoid forearm contact. Furthermore, the
bars have a relatively deep drop which also helps to keep my forearms away from
the tops. I have not had any forearm contact with the tops during hard sprinting.
These bars feel very similar to the bars on my track bike; for my purposes, I’m
very happy with this setup.
Forearm contact is something, unfortunately, I have
experienced before. My “secondary” bike, a steel Torelli, is currently setup
with 42cm FSA SLK carbon bars. These bars have an 80mm reach and a compact
125mm drop. What I now realize is this is essentially the worst of both worlds
for a sprint-focused setup. The longer reach and compact drop virtually ensure
sore forearms after a sprint; these bars would benefit from adopting the
shorter reach advocated by Steve Hogg.
I am by no means an experienced bike fitter, but I think for
my admittedly particular bike build, I’ve found an unusual cockpit setup that
works well. Overall, at this point I’m pleased to have the longer reach for
better aerodynamics when riding on the hoods, and the deep drop for sprinting
out of the saddle. These dimensions are great for a sprint-focused, full-out race
bike.
 |
| My Nitto bars, ready to sprint |
Interestingly, I think one of my biggest discoveries is how ill-suited my
FSA SLK bars are for my riding style on my “secondary” bike. In fact, that I’m
considering replacing those bars. I think I may take some of Steve Hogg’s
advice this time, however, and use a shorter reach bar. I ride that bike longer
distances, spending more time on the hoods, so I think this will result in a
more comfortable setup and better overall fit for this bike. I will still look
for a bar with a deeper drop though, as a deep drop is both my preferred
sprinting setup and that bike, being older, also has a longer head tube. I’ll
report back on how that setup works out in a future post.
I’d be interested to hear your thoughts about handlebar
reach, please leave your comments below. 1,300 words are simply not enough on
such an important topic!
On a side note, you may have noticed that this is only the second post on this blog and the first post in almost a year. It’s been a slow start, but I hope to post to this blog on a regular basis going forward. Hopefully, you will also start to hear from some of our other Reds as well. This blog will contain a mix of information, from race reports to gear reviews to the type of tangents and niche analysis you see above. Anything that could be important to a grass-roots bike racer will be addressed!
References:
Get a Grip - https://www.stevehoggbikefitting.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/GET-A-GRIP.pdf
From Wide to Narrow: Professional Track Racer's Bars - http://theradavist.com/2010/12/from-wide-to-narrow-professional-track-racers-bars/
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