Cant seem to get on with my handlebars / grips

HenryTheHoover

Evening all

I am just not quite feeling it on the front end. It's a bit hard to explain but I dont feel like I have a good solid grip especially going downhill and my bars feel rock hard on my hands. Pics of Set-up:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7454/9235 ... 7b4b_c.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7382/9232 ... dd6c_c.jpg

Now as you can probably tell from the lack of any springs on my bike I am originally from the Black and White era of MTB evolution. Bars were either nearly straight or slightly bent. My bars seem to bend all over the place. Google keeps telling me this is how bars should be now but something is nagging in my mind that my bars either sweep back too far or up too far or both.

I cant seem to find any spec's for Boardman bars to tell me what angles they have and both my local LBS's have virtually no bars in and the ones they do have seem to look just like the ones I have already got. I am guessing I need to buy a couple of bars online to try but have no idea whether I am ordering the same as I have already got.

I am also struggling with my lock on's. I tried fatter ones because my thin ones are rock hard and the new ones then seemed too big and squishy. I am almost tempted to try old fashioned grips but everyone I have spoken to thinks I am mad to even consider it.

Anyone got any advice or experienced similar problems?

supersonic

Try rotating the bars and see how that feels.

As for grips, sod what people say! Go for what works. Lock ons are a solution to a problem that never really existed.

nicklouse

personally i would wind them back some degrees. looking from the drive side. i would also put some spacers back under the stem. and try some gloves.

but that is just me.

spacedog

supersonic wrote:

As for grips, sod what people say! Go for what works. Lock ons are a solution to a problem that never really existed.

You can just about see the grip on the floor that caused the crash when it came of the bar.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=220544160373&set=t.691029158&type=3&theater

I use lock on grips....

Kowalski675

HenryTheHoover wrote:

I cant seem to find any spec's for Boardman bars to tell me what angles they have

Dunno if yours are the same, but I've just swapped my OE bars (Boardman Team FS) for 740mm Spank Spoons. The Spoons are 20mm rise, 8.5 degree back sweep, 5 degree upsweep, and side by side the Boardman bars are near as damnit the same (albeit narrower at 680mm).

I am also struggling with my lock on's. I tried fatter ones because my thin ones are rock hard and the new ones then seemed too big and squishy.

I've just fitted Superstar Size Zero lock ons. They're designed for small hands like mine, so they're thin, but not hard - nice grippy soft (but not squishy) compund, and the internal plastic sleeves have cutaways to allow a bit more give in the grip sleeve. Cheap too, so you can try a pair without breaking the bank. No way they're gonna fall off either - they're a very snug fit - I had to slide the grip on without the lockring attached then tap the lock ring onto the grip.

The Rookie

Looks like too much upsweep (tips higher than inboard end) and not enough backsweep (tips rearward of inboard end), so I'm with SS and would suggest rotating them back (about 30 degrees to start with to be honest).

For me gloves/mitts and are a must with more or less 'padding' (I prefer gel) to preferance.

On balance I also prefer the feel of softer grips, foam can be had for a fiver upward, or Renthal are very nice.

HenryTheHoover

Thanks for the responses gents.

@ supersonic and the beginner. Will try rotating the bars back a bit and post an updated photo

@ Nicklouse. I'm 5' 9" but with a Gorilla'esque 6' 1" armspan which might explain a bit more drop than you would expect. Having all that sweep on my bars would make more sense if the bars were higher though.

r.e. gloves I did buy some but always end up taking them off mid ride for some reason. Dont know if it's to do with the above or poor fit with the gloves.

@Kowalski. Very helpful thanks. The bars should be the same as my bike is effectively the Team but with a Carbon fork. Great tip r.e. the grips too. I dont know if my hands are small as such. I have got Dish Pan palms but really short fingers but those Superstars sound promising.

I'll order new grips first but my gut instinct is still that I need straighter bars. something I can brace myself off better going downhill. Was thinking of possibly stretching to carbon ones because I assume there will be extra vibration damping?? My logic being Carbon fork / carbon bars and possibly a 2.3" tyre ( over my 2.2 ) when my current ones wear out for a bit more comfort. Does that make sense or in overlooking Alu am I making a mistake?

The Rookie

HenryTheHoover wrote:

I'll order new grips first but my gut instinct is still that I need straighter bars. something I can brace myself off better going downhill. Was thinking of possibly stretching to carbon ones because I assume there will be extra vibration damping?? My logic being Carbon fork / carbon bars and possibly a 2.3" tyre ( over my 2.2 ) when my current ones wear out for a bit more comfort. Does that make sense or in overlooking Alu am I making a mistake?

Straighter bars won't help you brace yourself off them, in fact going downhill they will be worse as the grip part will be lower pitching your weight further forward. the rise section ONLY changes grip height relative to the front tyres contact point.
Carbon don't necesarily provide any better damping, it all depends on the quality of bar you have and then buy, carbon will probably be lighter though.

nicklouse

The Beginner wrote:

carbon will probably be lighter though.

but often is not.

play with what you have angles and height DONT get flat staight bars.

Kowalski675

I've not ridden a mountain bike with straight bars, but I rode a 1200 Bandit with straight flat Renthals and they felt awful - twisted your wrists out at a really odd, uncomfortable angle.

HenryTheHoover

I think I have confused the issue by talking about old school mtb bars. I still want some rise, sweep and / or upsweep but think my bars might be too bent for me. Either backwards or upwards or both.

Basically my ( possibly wrong ) thinking is I've had the bike a year now and have so far tried two sets of grips and a pair of gloves. I have swapped the 90 mm stem for a 65mm and back again and have tried both stems flipped and with various spacers. I have also rotated the bars about quite a bit. I have noticed that despite trying to hold the bars right on the outsides I naturally tend to bring my hands in a bit which might be relevant. It might be I just havent got the angle / position right and the right combination of grips and gloves but the above has got me thinking maybe the bars are the issue?

The choice of bars seems a bit overwhelming but I thought a bar with a little bit of give might help soften the front end a tad more hence the thought about carbon but I'll start considering other options which is good as it makes it a lot cheaper to experiment.

I think I was expecting several people to post saying they had a similar problem and bar 'X' sorted it. However quite swept bars seem to be really popular from reading on here and talking to people which makes me think I might be barking up the wrong tree?

The Rookie

Grip position is very personal, You need to see how your hands naturally want to grip the bar and get some bars with angles that match.

The bars on my commuter have less backsweep than those on my MTB and FOR ME arn't as comfortable, but as the commute is 25mins it's not a biggy!

nicklouse

If you are moving your hands together then move the whole lot inwards and see how that is, if fine trim the bars to suit.

JBA

Try altering the angle of your brake levers as well. They look too low to me. This will mean you could be twisting your wrists forward too much and not getting a sufficient grip on the bars.

coulddobetter

Check out ergon grips, I had problems with trapped nerve in hand, also ride boardman ht pro carbon , think bar is same. ( ergon stopped it ) reviews on this site .

Kowalski675

HenryTheHoover wrote:

I have noticed that despite trying to hold the bars right on the outsides I naturally tend to bring my hands in a bit which might be relevant.

Just shows how subjective these things are. I found my Boardman bars felt way too narrow - with my hands placed where they naturally wanted to sit comfortably they were only half on the grips and half in fresh air. For me the new 740mm Spank Spoons with the 150mm Superstar grips feel spot on, not putting too much pressure on the outside of the heels of my hand like the slightly wider bars on my Carrera do (they sit my hands about 25mm closer together than the 750mm bars and 130mm grips on my Kraken, so I reckon I'm gonna trim those bars down 10mm and get the same 150mm grips).

belugabob

If the suggestions made by others don't work, you could try swapping your shifters&brakes around - so the shifters are nearer the grips than the brakes.
The ability to do this will depend on the type of brakes/shifters you have (removing the shifter indicators may help, if you have any) and the length of the straight section on the bars.

Doing this made a massive difference to the comfort/confidence of my grip on the bars

Kowalski675

belugabob wrote:

If the suggestions made by others don't work, you could try swapping your shifters&brakes around - so the shifters are nearer the grips than the brakes.
The ability to do this will depend on the type of brakes/shifters you have (removing the shifter indicators may help, if you have any) and the length of the straight section on the bars.

Doing this made a massive difference to the comfort/confidence of my grip on the bars

If he's got the same Elixir 3 & SRAM X7 combo as my Boardman came with then it's definitely doable - I've just switched them round on mine. Massive improvement - they're perfectly spaced now, they were completely wrong originally, makes no sense at all how they come set up from the factory. Here's mine now:

felix.london

Just replaced the grips on the DH bike with a set of ODI Rouge's...excellent grips - not cheap but best grips I've used by far

Actually nicked em off my new build as the grips on the DH bike were killing my hands. Will be buying another pair of Rouge's for the new build for sure.

nicklouse

felix.london wrote:

Just replaced the grips on the DH bike with a set of ODI Rouge's...excellent grips - not cheap but best grips I've used by far

Actually nicked em off my new build as the grips on the DH bike were killing my hands. Will be buying another pair of Rouge's for the new build for sure.

Rouges and Ruffian and Ruffian MXs on my bikes.

started with the Rouges but think I prefer the ruffians with gloves. still use the rouges with gloves as well.

HenryTheHoover

Thanks for all the replies again. I am not being ignorant just trying to weigh up all the advice and my options.

R.e. ODI rogues. They were the other grips I tried but they are too big and squishy for me.

I rotated my bars back and managed to squeeze a mid week ride in. Initially felt much better and supprisingly I found myself trying to get my hands wider for the first half of my ride. Half on and off the bars at the ends seemed to be the right place so maybe I do need wider bars after all?

Decided to do the craziest descent I know of for a ridgid bike close to my house ( apart from the descent from Stanage pole which nearly rattles my fillings out ). loads of Roots, rocks, twisty and fairly long. Supersonic, you'll probably know it as it is the left hand trail down from the top of Blackamoor starting off by the main road. I nearly lost my grip by my hands sliding over the top of my bars a couple of times and again did find it easier when I held the bars right on the very end. So am starting to think wider and higher could very well be the solution for that sort of trail.

My other option I think I now understand is to buy cross country bars with a 6 degree bend that are the same width as my current ones at 680 mm which should rotate my hands into a better position for a narrower bar.

In my mind the choice seems to now be x country speed machine vs. more playfull cruiser type handling.

I am really pleased I posted my query as the responses I have got have encouraged me to consider different options than I was previously thinking.

Thanks again

Kowalski675

HenryTheHoover wrote:

Half on and off the bars at the ends seemed to be the right place so maybe I do need wider bars after all?

That's how mine felt with the OE 680mm bars on. With the 740mm Spanks and 150mm grips my hands sit just where they naturally feel right (for me).

coulddobetter

Bars can easily be cut down to size, I would go for that 6 degree rise but a bit wider then cut to fit.

Kowalski675

If you want to try something cheap but decent quality (with printed cut marks at 5mm intervals) to see what difference it makes:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=91521

belugabob

If you feel your hands are hanging off the ends of the bars, why change to bars of the same width?

BTW, did you try swapping the brakes/shifters around? (zero cost change)

HenryTheHoover

Thanks for the replies again.

@ Belugabob. I will try changing the shifters over this weekend for an experiment. I have always used my second and third fingers to brake so at the moment my shifters are actually a good 10-15 mm inside my brakes. I think this is a habit I have got from using cantilevers back in the day when you needed a bit of umph.

R.e. bar width basically the penny has dropped in terms of why mine dont feel right. For the same backsweep I have got on my current bars I need a wider bar to get my hands to sit right. However I could choose to stay at 680 mm but I would have to get a bar that has 6 degree sweep rather than the 9 I have currently got. I just need to decide on which option.

The only thing that is slightly putting me off going wider is how it affects my stem length. I had a 65mm stem on until last weekend but swapped it back to the original 90mm because I felt My weight was a little bit behind the front wheel for a ridgid fork and I was struggling to keep the front wheel down going uphill.

I am guessing I should go slightly shorter again if I want to use a wider bar?