"cow horn" handlebars stem question

"Jim Flom" wrote:
Would I want to go with a shorter stem length if I switched off to say,
Nitto time trial handlebars from regular road bars?

sergio wrote:
Take notice.
A TT handlebar never allows a variaty of grip positions as a regular
racing bar. That may be a serious disadvantage.

A Muzi wrote:
What about Style Points?
They are considered so daring and cool when parked outside the coffee
shop on an (often brakeless) urban fixie!
http://www.yellowjersey.org/FIXJOHA.JPG

Paul Myron Hobson wrote:
May I inquire about the cottered BB spindle device-a-ma-bobber in the
lower right hand corner of the photo?

Replaces the broken plastic handle on our Ultimate USA work stand.
hey, we had one handy at the moment so we used it!
--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

no, this is on my commuter-fixed gear bike. also it occurs to me that
when researching the nitto's i discovered that there are 2 types, that
kind of look similar, except one will take a TT brake and one won't.
perhaps you are already aware of that, but fyi if not.

On Aug 20, 12:28 am, "Jim Flom" wrote:
wrote...

I'd say it depends on whether you use the tops or the hoods most
often, and how the bars you choose match up to your existing road bar
reach.

I have a set of nashbar cow-horns on my fixed gear bike. I opted to
have a stem that makes the tops be in the same place as on my road
bike. This means the cow-horn part is a little further out than the
hoods are on my road bike, but not much. I find that while the cow-
horns don't have as many positions as the regular road bars, the
comfort of the forward position makes up fo this. My hands feel
cramped on the hoods of my road bike in a way they don't with cow-
horns. If you are just swapping bars, the existing stem length is
probably fine. I also don't miss the drops position because I ride my
fixed gear in a more relaxed manner than my road bike, so even if the
bike had drops, I would probably never use them.

Gratuitous link to pic of my bike pre-frame swap:

http://arbitrary.org/black.JPG

Cool bike. It looks like mine's gonna look. I'm after the same basic idea
you were after. I mostly ride on the hoods, but want what looks like the
more comfortable stance that the cow horns offer. I also looked at the $20
nashbar handlebars,

http://tinyurl.com/26umga

but while I like the black, the $40 Nittos

http://harriscyclery.net/itemdetails.cfm?ID=1833

look more comfortable to me and better able to take a set of brakes. For my
purposes I'm not worried about any loss of hand positions. I'm not going so
far on any given trip with this bike that I'm worried about it. I'm
expecting the comfort you describe. They just look like the position I'm
after.

I have big hands, so I think I prefer the Nashbar ones because they
have a longer straight section so I don't have the cramped hand
problem that I get on road hoods. As far as brake levers, some TT ones
work fine on the nashbars.

I actually think they are so comfortable I have toyed with the idea of
using them with TT brake levers on the ends and twistshifters in the
middle for a long distance road bike. I've ridden that fixed gear on
160km rides with no discomfort at all.

Joseph

wrote...

I have a set of nashbar cow-horns on my fixed gear bike.

Gratuitous link to pic of my bike pre-frame swap:

http://arbitrary.org/black.JPG

Are your Nashbar bars are the same as the Nashbar bars pictured here?

http://tinyurl.com/26umga

Yours looks like they drop down more, like the Nittos, but not quite as far,
and as you say, more room for your hands. .

http://harriscyclery.net/itemdetails.cfm?ID=1833

I have big hands, so I think I prefer the Nashbar ones because they
have a longer straight section so I don't have the cramped hand
problem that I get on road hoods. As far as brake levers, some TT ones
work fine on the nashbars.

I wonder if my road brake calipers would work with the TT bars. I'd like to
keep it fairly crappy looking.

On Aug 20, 12:43 pm, "Jim Flom" wrote:
wrote...

I have a set of nashbar cow-horns on my fixed gear bike.

Gratuitous link to pic of my bike pre-frame swap:

http://arbitrary.org/black.JPG

Are your Nashbar bars are the same as the Nashbar bars pictured here?

http://tinyurl.com/26umga

I think so. I got mine on eBay for $12 and I didn't realize they were
Nashbar until I saw the logo.


Yours looks like they drop down more, like the Nittos, but not quite as far,
and as you say, more room for your hands. .

The drop is pretty minimal. Maybe 25-30mm difference between palm
height between the two hand positions.

http://harriscyclery.net/itemdetails.cfm?ID=1833

I have big hands, so I think I prefer the Nashbar ones because they
have a longer straight section so I don't have the cramped hand
problem that I get on road hoods. As far as brake levers, some TT ones
work fine on the nashbars.

I wonder if my road brake calipers would work with the TT bars. I'd like to
keep it fairly crappy looking.

You mean levers I assume. There is room for them (and it would look
crappy!) but I like using the way-forward hand position sometimes, and
levers there would get in the way.

Joseph

wrote in message
ps.com...
On Aug 20, 12:43 pm, "Jim Flom" wrote:
wrote...

I have a set of nashbar cow-horns on my fixed gear bike.

Gratuitous link to pic of my bike pre-frame swap:

http://arbitrary.org/black.JPG

Are your Nashbar bars are the same as the Nashbar bars pictured here?

http://tinyurl.com/26umga

I think so. I got mine on eBay for $12 and I didn't realize they were
Nashbar until I saw the logo.


Yours looks like they drop down more, like the Nittos, but not quite as
far,
and as you say, more room for your hands. .

The drop is pretty minimal. Maybe 25-30mm difference between palm
height between the two hand positions.

http://harriscyclery.net/itemdetails.cfm?ID=1833

I have big hands, so I think I prefer the Nashbar ones because they
have a longer straight section so I don't have the cramped hand
problem that I get on road hoods. As far as brake levers, some TT ones
work fine on the nashbars.

I wonder if my road brake calipers would work with the TT bars. I'd like
to
keep it fairly crappy looking.

You mean levers I assume. There is room for them (and it would look
crappy!) but I like using the way-forward hand position sometimes, and
levers there would get in the way.

Yes, levers.

J "oops" F

On Aug 20, 9:43 am, "Jim Flom" wrote:
wrote in message

ps.com...



On Aug 20, 12:43 pm, "Jim Flom" wrote:
wrote...

I have a set of nashbar cow-horns on my fixed gear bike.

Gratuitous link to pic of my bike pre-frame swap:

http://arbitrary.org/black.JPG

Are your Nashbar bars are the same as the Nashbar bars pictured here?

http://tinyurl.com/26umga

I think so. I got mine on eBay for $12 and I didn't realize they were
Nashbar until I saw the logo.

Yours looks like they drop down more, like the Nittos, but not quite as
far,
and as you say, more room for your hands. .

The drop is pretty minimal. Maybe 25-30mm difference between palm
height between the two hand positions.

http://harriscyclery.net/itemdetails.cfm?ID=1833

I have big hands, so I think I prefer the Nashbar ones because they
have a longer straight section so I don't have the cramped hand
problem that I get on road hoods. As far as brake levers, some TT ones
work fine on the nashbars.

I wonder if my road brake calipers would work with the TT bars. I'd like
to
keep it fairly crappy looking.

You mean levers I assume. There is room for them (and it would look
crappy!) but I like using the way-forward hand position sometimes, and
levers there would get in the way.

Yes, levers.

J "oops" F

You can use standard road levers. If you place them with the lever
pointing back and down, the cable has to be bent in a weird way to be
under the bar tape. It reduces braking effectiveness. If, on the other
hand, you place the levers pointing facing, then, the cable runs
straight back on the bars. They look fine and are easy to use use.
Triathletes use to place the levers this way in the olden times. At
some point they forbade the practice because the levers pointing
forward could hurt another rider in the case of an accident. Basically
you would place the lever under the bar with the hood going in first,
and the lever pointing forward and slightly up in the case of the
Nitto bar. Place levers so that they will be under your hand in the
most comfortable location for your hands. They'll be easy to use.

Andres

On Aug 20, 11:21 am, " wrote:
On Aug 20, 9:43 am, "Jim Flom" wrote:



wrote in message

ups.com...

On Aug 20, 12:43 pm, "Jim Flom" wrote:
wrote...

I have a set of nashbar cow-horns on my fixed gear bike.

Gratuitous link to pic of my bike pre-frame swap:

http://arbitrary.org/black.JPG

Are your Nashbar bars are the same as the Nashbar bars pictured here?

http://tinyurl.com/26umga

I think so. I got mine on eBay for $12 and I didn't realize they were
Nashbar until I saw the logo.

Yours looks like they drop down more, like the Nittos, but not quite as
far,
and as you say, more room for your hands. .

The drop is pretty minimal. Maybe 25-30mm difference between palm
height between the two hand positions.

http://harriscyclery.net/itemdetails.cfm?ID=1833

I have big hands, so I think I prefer the Nashbar ones because they
have a longer straight section so I don't have the cramped hand
problem that I get on road hoods. As far as brake levers, some TT ones
work fine on the nashbars.

I wonder if my road brake calipers would work with the TT bars. I'd like
to
keep it fairly crappy looking.

You mean levers I assume. There is room for them (and it would look
crappy!) but I like using the way-forward hand position sometimes, and
levers there would get in the way.

Yes, levers.

J "oops" F

You can use standard road levers. If you place them with the lever
pointing back and down, the cable has to be bent in a weird way to be
under the bar tape. It reduces braking effectiveness. If, on the other
hand, you place the levers pointing facing, then, the cable runs
straight back on the bars. They look fine and are easy to use use.
Triathletes use to place the levers this way in the olden times. At
some point they forbade the practice because the levers pointing
forward could hurt another rider in the case of an accident. Basically
you would place the lever under the bar with the hood going in first,
and the lever pointing forward and slightly up in the case of the
Nitto bar. Place levers so that they will be under your hand in the
most comfortable location for your hands. They'll be easy to use.

Andres

One more thing, road brake levers have the return spring that makes
them more snappy. Some TT levers don't have the return spring and the
brakes may feel a little squishy.

Andres

wrote...

You can use standard road levers. If you place them with the lever
pointing back and down, the cable has to be bent in a weird way to be
under the bar tape. It reduces braking effectiveness. If, on the other
hand, you place the levers pointing facing, then, the cable runs
straight back on the bars. They look fine and are easy to use use.
Triathletes use to place the levers this way in the olden times. At
some point they forbade the practice because the levers pointing
forward could hurt another rider in the case of an accident. Basically
you would place the lever under the bar with the hood going in first,
and the lever pointing forward and slightly up in the case of the
Nitto bar. Place levers so that they will be under your hand in the
most comfortable location for your hands. They'll be easy to use.

The olden times must've been after Dia Compe brakes or else I'm doing it
wrong. My LBS had perfect (black!) cow horn TT bars, and I tried mounting
the brakes as you describe, but when I squeezed hard on the brake levers,
the front cable pops out of its catch under the brake lever. Must be the
angle. I can always try the brakeless approach till my TT brake levers get
in. This is a 27 year old brake system anyway.

On Aug 21, 5:26 am, "Jim Flom" wrote:
when I squeezed hard on the
brake levers,
the front cable pops out of its catch under the brake lever. Must be the
angle.

Assuming you have installed properly, it is the levers' fault, or the
cables', or of both that don't match..

Sergio
Pisa