Off Road Drop Bars 101: The Importance Of Frame Design And Stems

"Drop bar" bike. Purposeful design to accommodate a drop bar here.

This time I am going to cover the final pieces of the puzzle when it comes to off road drop bars- the frame and stem. Many folks do not consider the design choices which are made to manufacture a "drop bar specific" design. It's a given that "road bikes", and "gravel bikes", for the most part anyway, are going to have drop bars and therefore you do not have to jump through any weird hoops to get these drop bars to work on these drop bar designed bikes. Obvious, right? Well, maybe too obvious. 

The issues arise for drop bar users for mountain biking, and to some degree gravel riding or other "non-traditional" uses for drop bars, because the frames maybe were not envisioned for use with a drop bar. This causes no end to confusion for those who want to try a drop bar out. The main focus of our attention regarding the understanding of this issue has to be on where we want our hands to be in space.

Imagine that you are on a flat bar mountain bike that fits you well. Your hands are on the grips, and the bar runs perpendicular to your wrists, for the most part. Now imagine that your hands stay in the same plane as before, but the bar runs in a line that is more parallel to the stem. You just "twist" your hands by moving the thumb clockwise a bit, but in the same plane, same height off the ground. This is where you want your drop bar's extensions to be when you finish mounting your drop bars. Well.....ideally, this is true. In practice, that may be difficult, and this is something I want to illustrate in this post.

My Singular Gryphon. Note the relationship between the saddle height and grip area, denoted by my shaky looking lines. 

In the case of a bicycle designed with drop bar use in mind from the get-go, like a Salsa Cycles Fargo, or like this Singular Gryphon shown above, the designer has made choices which will help put the drop bar in a place that makes sense from a riding feel and performance perspective that also does not require odd stem selections. "Normal" stems can be used, which opens up a lot more choices when it comes to dialing in a good fit and feel for many riders.

Note that I have a typical Bontrager stem with a modest amount of rise in a length that is a pretty common one- 100mm. I could easily find a stem with a shorter, higher rise, a shorter, lower rise, or even the opposite. Choices with which I could make the bike feel and ride just the way I want it to. Singular's Sam Alison did this by shortening the top tube's effective length, lengthening the head tube, and using other subtle geometry tweaks which, as a whole, make using a drop bar on this bike a very natural thing. But what if you have a bicycle which doesn't have these design cues?

Using a bicycle meant for a flat bar makes fitting a drop bar much more difficult and limiting.

Well, let's use my 2003 Campstove Green Karate Monkey as an example here. The first thing you might notice is that the head tube is shorter and the top tube is longer than on the Gryphon. This is critical in looking at fitting a drop bar to a bike like this. Drop bars add length to your cockpit and need height to get the drop section up to where your normal flat bar grip would be at. (Remember the third paragraph above?) This means you are probably going to be looking at a short reach, high rise stem to get where you need to be, or close to that, with a drop bar retrofit on a bike designed for a flat bar.

Note the lines I drew on the grip area and where the saddle height is on my Karate Monkey. Comparing that to the Gryphon, you can see how my saddle to handle bar/grip area drop is greater on the KM than it is one the Singular. This is using the shortest reach, highest rise stem I could find easily. There are other choices, but they are few, rare, and you'd better hope that they get you where you want to be in the end with the drop bars you have chosen. Velo Orange is supposed to be coming out with a better stem for this application, and when they do, I'll get that and this set up should be better then. In the end view, a custom stem is almost your best bet, and you'd better love the bike you want to convert to drops for off roading, because that custom stem will not be cheap.

The same bike with the same stem and a Gator Bar resulted in a too low extension position.

Let's come full circle now. This all started out with the Gator Bar review when I showed how that bar had too deep a drop, amongst other flaws. Sure, if you wanted to get a custom stem, you could alleviate that issue, but with other, better drop bar offerings, why would you spend that kind of money to get that bar? I just cannot justify that solution to make that handle bar work.

In review, a drop bar for off road use should feature sweep in the extensions to a degree, flare to the drop section, enough to clear the wrists and forearms, and then it really needs to have a shallow drop and a short reach. This allows riders to have an easier time of it when retrofitting a drop bar to a flat bar designed bike. Weird, oddly proportioned bars don't make that job easier and sometimes they make it impossible without resorting to rare stems or going custom. Finally, the radius of the drop bar's bend must not be such that it makes it difficult to make the hoods and the drop section usable. Bars like the Gator Bar and the Woodchipper are good examples of what not to design into a drop bar's radius.

Here are the links to this series:

• Why Radius Matters
• More On Design

Off Road Drop Bars 101: The Importance Of Frame Design And Stems

"Drop bar" bike. Purposeful design to accommodate a drop bar here.

This time I am going to cover the final pieces of the puzzle when it comes to off road drop bars- the frame and stem. Many folks do not consider the design choices which are made to manufacture a "drop bar specific" design. It's a given that "road bikes", and "gravel bikes", for the most part anyway, are going to have drop bars and therefore you do not have to jump through any weird hoops to get these drop bars to work on these drop bar designed bikes. Obvious, right? Well, maybe too obvious. 

The issues arise for drop bar users for mountain biking, and to some degree gravel riding or other "non-traditional" uses for drop bars, because the frames maybe were not envisioned for use with a drop bar. This causes no end to confusion for those who want to try a drop bar out. The main focus of our attention regarding the understanding of this issue has to be on where we want our hands to be in space.

Imagine that you are on a flat bar mountain bike that fits you well. Your hands are on the grips, and the bar runs perpendicular to your wrists, for the most part. Now imagine that your hands stay in the same plane as before, but the bar runs in a line that is more parallel to the stem. You just "twist" your hands by moving the thumb clockwise a bit, but in the same plane, same height off the ground. This is where you want your drop bar's extensions to be when you finish mounting your drop bars. Well.....ideally, this is true. In practice, that may be difficult, and this is something I want to illustrate in this post.

My Singular Gryphon. Note the relationship between the saddle height and grip area, denoted by my shaky looking lines. 

In the case of a bicycle designed with drop bar use in mind from the get-go, like a Salsa Cycles Fargo, or like this Singular Gryphon shown above, the designer has made choices which will help put the drop bar in a place that makes sense from a riding feel and performance perspective that also does not require odd stem selections. "Normal" stems can be used, which opens up a lot more choices when it comes to dialing in a good fit and feel for many riders.

Note that I have a typical Bontrager stem with a modest amount of rise in a length that is a pretty common one- 100mm. I could easily find a stem with a shorter, higher rise, a shorter, lower rise, or even the opposite. Choices with which I could make the bike feel and ride just the way I want it to. Singular's Sam Alison did this by shortening the top tube's effective length, lengthening the head tube, and using other subtle geometry tweaks which, as a whole, make using a drop bar on this bike a very natural thing. But what if you have a bicycle which doesn't have these design cues?

Using a bicycle meant for a flat bar makes fitting a drop bar much more difficult and limiting.

Well, let's use my 2003 Campstove Green Karate Monkey as an example here. The first thing you might notice is that the head tube is shorter and the top tube is longer than on the Gryphon. This is critical in looking at fitting a drop bar to a bike like this. Drop bars add length to your cockpit and need height to get the drop section up to where your normal flat bar grip would be at. (Remember the third paragraph above?) This means you are probably going to be looking at a short reach, high rise stem to get where you need to be, or close to that, with a drop bar retrofit on a bike designed for a flat bar.

Note the lines I drew on the grip area and where the saddle height is on my Karate Monkey. Comparing that to the Gryphon, you can see how my saddle to handle bar/grip area drop is greater on the KM than it is one the Singular. This is using the shortest reach, highest rise stem I could find easily. There are other choices, but they are few, rare, and you'd better hope that they get you where you want to be in the end with the drop bars you have chosen. Velo Orange is supposed to be coming out with a better stem for this application, and when they do, I'll get that and this set up should be better then. In the end view, a custom stem is almost your best bet, and you'd better love the bike you want to convert to drops for off roading, because that custom stem will not be cheap.

The same bike with the same stem and a Gator Bar resulted in a too low extension position.

Let's come full circle now. This all started out with the Gator Bar review when I showed how that bar had too deep a drop, amongst other flaws. Sure, if you wanted to get a custom stem, you could alleviate that issue, but with other, better drop bar offerings, why would you spend that kind of money to get that bar? I just cannot justify that solution to make that handle bar work.

In review, a drop bar for off road use should feature sweep in the extensions to a degree, flare to the drop section, enough to clear the wrists and forearms, and then it really needs to have a shallow drop and a short reach. This allows riders to have an easier time of it when retrofitting a drop bar to a flat bar designed bike. Weird, oddly proportioned bars don't make that job easier and sometimes they make it impossible without resorting to rare stems or going custom. Finally, the radius of the drop bar's bend must not be such that it makes it difficult to make the hoods and the drop section usable. Bars like the Gator Bar and the Woodchipper are good examples of what not to design into a drop bar's radius.

Here are the links to this series:

• Why Radius Matters
• More On Design

Off Road Drop Bars 101: Why Radius Matters

Yesterday I posted a review of the Soma Gator Bar and mentioned how I felt that the drop sections radius basically made the bar very difficult to like. It is my opinion, of course, but today I wanted to tell you why it is my opinion. I didn't just come to this opinion flippantly or by accident. Hopefully after this post, you will see why I feel the way that I do about this radius issue. I am not expecting that all will agree, or even a few, but hopefully this spurs you on to consider why it might matter to you. Well.......if you ever consider off road drop bars, that is. 

I am going to use a lot of visual aids today and first I want to point out a basic design feature of flat bars.

Basic flat bars are generally set up close to parallel with the ground.

Using my mini Blackburn pump for something actually useful, (that's another story!), you can see how the pump lines up with the spaces between the boards on my front porch. This represents how a mtb handle bar is typically level with the ground. The reason this works is because the position your hands end up in promotes an "elbows out" and up stance, or as some refer to it as- the attack position- which promotes better control over the bike in rougher terrain. Sweep and rise notwithstanding, this is the basic handle bar position for off roading.

This would be considered "bad" for a normal mtb bar to have as a feature.

 Most mountain bike handle bars with a basis in the flat style do not droop downward. This wouldn't be a preferred position for your hands in rough terrain because the bumps and lumps your front tire create going over a uneven surface would want to vibrate your hands down and outward, right off the handle bars. Typically this would be seen as a bad thing. Yes? Yes.....it would. This is important for a bit further down in the post.

Now we get into a bit of history. Off road drop bars, at least in the modern sense, started with Charlie Cunningham and his bikes which featured modified Cinelli bars and his own stems to get the extensions up to a point where a flat bar's grips would be at from the ground.

Charlie Cunningham with one of his drop bar equipped bikes. Image from MOMBAT

The bars were modified to flare out and sweep outward at the extensions a bit to allow for the wrists and forearms to have room to move side to side in difficult terrain without smacking the tops of the bars. It is important to note that these bars were designed to be ridden almost always in the drops. The brake hoods, (if there were anything other than the metal perch), weren't a place that was expected to be used much, if at all. The point was that the drop extensions oriented the wrists, arms, and shoulders in a much more natural, relaxed position. The theory being that this more ergonomic position was better for absorbing trail chatter, left the rider fresher longer, and required less energy to hold on to the handle bars. You will note that almost every drop barred 'Ham has the extensions level, or nearly so, with the ground.

After Charlie helped found Wilderness Trail Bikes, the company made its own version of the original Cunningham modified bars for years. I remember mounting several pairs of them to cyclo cross bikes in the 90's. Then, WTB went through several changes, and the drop bar was cut from the product line, and that would be that for years. After a time when used WTB Dirt Drops were fetching triple digit prices on the used market, a couple of dirt drop aficionados helped design the On One Midge Bar using the WTB Dirt Drop as the design foundation. The off road dirt drop market was born again with the rising popularity of 29"ers and "monster cross" bikes in the early 00's. Several off road drop bars have followed in the wake of the Midge bar, but many have veered wildly from the basis of thought behind drop bars for off roading.

A modern take on the off road drop bar- This is an Origin 8 Gary Sweep OS Bar

Off road drop bars these days are typically not designed with the original intentions of the bars that Charlie Cunningham would have made or that WTB used to sell. These days it would appear that "uniqueness" is valued above function. Above we have an example of a bar that hits a middle ground of sorts when it comes to bars meant for off road use in the drop bar flavor. I'm not going to get into stems, or much about lever placement here. I am going to talk about hand positions and how the critical feature of a drop bar's radius used to bend the hooks affects those hand positions.

The same bar as above, rotated so that the ramps/tops are parallel to the ground. (Note spaces in porch boards as a reference)

If we take a bar like the Origin 8 Gary Sweep OS as an example, (shown above), we can see that by placing a priority on hand comfort at the ramps/hoods by placing that section level points the extensions downward at an angle which does a couple of things. Number one- It causes that "sloping downward" bar position like I described would be bad with a flat bar above. Bumps and lumps caused by the front wheel running over rougher ground is going to cause the hand to want to slip downward. The rider will have to counter this with a tighter grip. Not what we want in an off road drop bar, which should require less grip if the extensions are closer to level to the ground. Secondly, it cants the wrists backward into your forearms. This raises tension in the muscles, which again- is the antithesis to the reasons behind having a drop bar for off road use.

An effective lever placement could be anywhere between the two red lines, depending upon the rider's preference.

Now let's talk about lever placement in a general sense. Remembering that the primary hand position for an off road drop bar should be set up in the drops, that will dictate that you be able to reach and operate the brake lever, or "brifter", if using a multi-speed set up, from the extensions. That's why bars with more "open radius" drops are difficult to get right. If the bar is rotated too high, and the levers mounted so the hoods come off the ramps at a level to the ground way, usually you can't reach the lever effectively from the drops, and that is a big problem. You might say, "Well then! If I cannot get a good hoods position, then why bother?"  Yes. Exactly, but also keep in mind that the primary place you need to have working above all others is in the drops.

Now perhaps you can see that a really "open radius" design really limits the effectiveness of an off road drop design. You may have flare and sweep in the drops, but if you almost cannot use that position, what is the point? In the case of the Gary Sweep OS, a slight compromise in the ramps- having them slope downward slightly, away from the rider as seated, yields an extension position that points slightly downward, but is still usable. I find that if the extensions point in the general direction of the rear axle of the bike, it is okay. Anything forward of that, if the extensions point at the cranks, or even closer to the front wheel, that is a bar that is set up, or designed completely with disregard to the entire reason for having an off road drop bar. Again- why bother if that is the case? 

Examples of the Jones Bar. (Image courtesy of Jones Bikes)

Finally, an off road, flared, swept drop bar is not for everyone. I get that, but if you think that a design with an extension pointing downward radically is a good thing, consider the Jones Bar. Do you ever see anyone pointing the extensions of a Jones Bar so radically downward? I have not. You may say, "It's a completely different handlebar. " Well, it is, but it isn't. I think of a Jones Bar as a "flat plane off road drop bar". There is sweep, multiple hand positions, and a definite component of reach, which drop bars have as well. Jones Bars are designed with multiple hand positions in mind, just like a good off road drop bar should have as well, but it is obvious that the "primary" position is where the grips and levers are. Just like a good off road drop bar should have. Again, if the radius of an off road drop bar precludes any of the aforementioned traits, and doesn't promote the ergonomic features that Cunningham and Jones promote, it is the antithesis of an off road drop bar design. 

That's my opinion, and with the above explanation, I think it is apparent why I feel that way. You have to decide for yourself what is right for you. 

Off Road Drop Bars 101: Why Radius Matters

Yesterday I posted a review of the Soma Gator Bar and mentioned how I felt that the drop sections radius basically made the bar very difficult to like. It is my opinion, of course, but today I wanted to tell you why it is my opinion. I didn't just come to this opinion flippantly or by accident. Hopefully after this post, you will see why I feel the way that I do about this radius issue. I am not expecting that all will agree, or even a few, but hopefully this spurs you on to consider why it might matter to you. Well.......if you ever consider off road drop bars, that is. 

I am going to use a lot of visual aids today and first I want to point out a basic design feature of flat bars.

Basic flat bars are generally set up close to parallel with the ground.

Using my mini Blackburn pump for something actually useful, (that's another story!), you can see how the pump lines up with the spaces between the boards on my front porch. This represents how a mtb handle bar is typically level with the ground. The reason this works is because the position your hands end up in promotes an "elbows out" and up stance, or as some refer to it as- the attack position- which promotes better control over the bike in rougher terrain. Sweep and rise notwithstanding, this is the basic handle bar position for off roading.

This would be considered "bad" for a normal mtb bar to have as a feature.

 Most mountain bike handle bars with a basis in the flat style do not droop downward. This wouldn't be a preferred position for your hands in rough terrain because the bumps and lumps your front tire create going over a uneven surface would want to vibrate your hands down and outward, right off the handle bars. Typically this would be seen as a bad thing. Yes? Yes.....it would. This is important for a bit further down in the post.

Now we get into a bit of history. Off road drop bars, at least in the modern sense, started with Charlie Cunningham and his bikes which featured modified Cinelli bars and his own stems to get the extensions up to a point where a flat bar's grips would be at from the ground.

Charlie Cunningham with one of his drop bar equipped bikes. Image from MOMBAT

The bars were modified to flare out and sweep outward at the extensions a bit to allow for the wrists and forearms to have room to move side to side in difficult terrain without smacking the tops of the bars. It is important to note that these bars were designed to be ridden almost always in the drops. The brake hoods, (if there were anything other than the metal perch), weren't a place that was expected to be used much, if at all. The point was that the drop extensions oriented the wrists, arms, and shoulders in a much more natural, relaxed position. The theory being that this more ergonomic position was better for absorbing trail chatter, left the rider fresher longer, and required less energy to hold on to the handle bars. You will note that almost every drop barred 'Ham has the extensions level, or nearly so, with the ground.

After Charlie helped found Wilderness Trail Bikes, the company made its own version of the original Cunningham modified bars for years. I remember mounting several pairs of them to cyclo cross bikes in the 90's. Then, WTB went through several changes, and the drop bar was cut from the product line, and that would be that for years. After a time when used WTB Dirt Drops were fetching triple digit prices on the used market, a couple of dirt drop aficionados helped design the On One Midge Bar using the WTB Dirt Drop as the design foundation. The off road dirt drop market was born again with the rising popularity of 29"ers and "monster cross" bikes in the early 00's. Several off road drop bars have followed in the wake of the Midge bar, but many have veered wildly from the basis of thought behind drop bars for off roading.

A modern take on the off road drop bar- This is an Origin 8 Gary Sweep OS Bar

Off road drop bars these days are typically not designed with the original intentions of the bars that Charlie Cunningham would have made or that WTB used to sell. These days it would appear that "uniqueness" is valued above function. Above we have an example of a bar that hits a middle ground of sorts when it comes to bars meant for off road use in the drop bar flavor. I'm not going to get into stems, or much about lever placement here. I am going to talk about hand positions and how the critical feature of a drop bar's radius used to bend the hooks affects those hand positions.

The same bar as above, rotated so that the ramps/tops are parallel to the ground. (Note spaces in porch boards as a reference)

If we take a bar like the Origin 8 Gary Sweep OS as an example, (shown above), we can see that by placing a priority on hand comfort at the ramps/hoods by placing that section level points the extensions downward at an angle which does a couple of things. Number one- It causes that "sloping downward" bar position like I described would be bad with a flat bar above. Bumps and lumps caused by the front wheel running over rougher ground is going to cause the hand to want to slip downward. The rider will have to counter this with a tighter grip. Not what we want in an off road drop bar, which should require less grip if the extensions are closer to level to the ground. Secondly, it cants the wrists backward into your forearms. This raises tension in the muscles, which again- is the antithesis to the reasons behind having a drop bar for off road use.

An effective lever placement could be anywhere between the two red lines, depending upon the rider's preference.

Now let's talk about lever placement in a general sense. Remembering that the primary hand position for an off road drop bar should be set up in the drops, that will dictate that you be able to reach and operate the brake lever, or "brifter", if using a multi-speed set up, from the extensions. That's why bars with more "open radius" drops are difficult to get right. If the bar is rotated too high, and the levers mounted so the hoods come off the ramps at a level to the ground way, usually you can't reach the lever effectively from the drops, and that is a big problem. You might say, "Well then! If I cannot get a good hoods position, then why bother?"  Yes. Exactly, but also keep in mind that the primary place you need to have working above all others is in the drops.

Now perhaps you can see that a really "open radius" design really limits the effectiveness of an off road drop design. You may have flare and sweep in the drops, but if you almost cannot use that position, what is the point? In the case of the Gary Sweep OS, a slight compromise in the ramps- having them slope downward slightly, away from the rider as seated, yields an extension position that points slightly downward, but is still usable. I find that if the extensions point in the general direction of the rear axle of the bike, it is okay. Anything forward of that, if the extensions point at the cranks, or even closer to the front wheel, that is a bar that is set up, or designed completely with disregard to the entire reason for having an off road drop bar. Again- why bother if that is the case? 

Examples of the Jones Bar. (Image courtesy of Jones Bikes)

Finally, an off road, flared, swept drop bar is not for everyone. I get that, but if you think that a design with an extension pointing downward radically is a good thing, consider the Jones Bar. Do you ever see anyone pointing the extensions of a Jones Bar so radically downward? I have not. You may say, "It's a completely different handlebar. " Well, it is, but it isn't. I think of a Jones Bar as a "flat plane off road drop bar". There is sweep, multiple hand positions, and a definite component of reach, which drop bars have as well. Jones Bars are designed with multiple hand positions in mind, just like a good off road drop bar should have as well, but it is obvious that the "primary" position is where the grips and levers are. Just like a good off road drop bar should have. Again, if the radius of an off road drop bar precludes any of the aforementioned traits, and doesn't promote the ergonomic features that Cunningham and Jones promote, it is the antithesis of an off road drop bar design. 

That's my opinion, and with the above explanation, I think it is apparent why I feel that way. You have to decide for yourself what is right for you. 

Soma Gator Bar Review

The Soma Gator Bar as seen on my Karate Monkey

The "world" of off-road drop bars is a weird, strange one with freak show bars and bizarre stems joining together to make for an often "hit or miss" component selection for gravel and off road riders. The bars are often times so out of the ordinary that, even though the design may be brilliant, the bars do not sell due to their massive departure from the norm of road racing bred drop bars. Sometimes that is frustrating to me, and in other cases, it makes a lot of sense. Case in point- The Soma Gator Bar.

The Soma Gator Bar is definitely one of the oddest drop bars I am aware of. At first glance, it looks vaguely similar to a Salsa Cycles Woodchipper Bar, but the resemblance is only cursory. The reality is that the Gator Bar stands alone with no known drop bars even coming close to its unique features. And just what are those, you may ask? Well, for starters, the extensions are mountain bike control compatible. What that means is that you could mount brakes and shifters right off your mountain bike to the longish extensions, as Soma made the diameter of this part of the bar 22.2mm. Here's a short bullet list from Soma's site on the features of this bar:

• - 6061 butted aluminum
  - Size/Width: 655mm at ends, center-to-center
  - Width: 505mm at front of drops, center-to-center
  - Width of flats on top: 340mm
  - Center: 31.8mm
  - Drops flare out at 20° angle
  - Drops are 190mm long and have an OD of 22.2
  (i.e. they can take flat bar grips)
  - Reach: 65mm / Drop: 112-160mm
  (Reach and drop is relative to the angle you install these bars at. On these types of bars, you want to angle the drops down, not have them parallel to the ground as with road bars)
  - Weight: 400g
  - No cable grooves
  - Shotpeen finish
  - Black or silver

The Gator Bar has narrow tops, a lot of flare, and a deep drop.

My initial reaction to the bar was that it had too deep of a drop. In fact, I have had this bar for over a year now sitting in the Lab, waiting for a suitable bike/set up to try it on. Every time I thought I could use it, I found that the extensions would end up so low that they would be unusable. Finally, I tried them on the resurrected Karate Monkey I have and the fit was......hmm.....okay? It was far better than anything else I had been able to try it on, so I thought I'd give it a go, despite its deep drop.

Those extensions are really long!

From the top the Gator Bar looks somewhat inviting. The long extensions could certainly be trimmed back, but the tops, despite being narrow, are nice. I'm not a big fan of the Cinnelli-like "rounded" section from the tops to the ramps, but a lot of people dig that sort of classically inspired bar shape. It isn't a deal killer, but in conjunction with how that corner also slopes downward to the brake hoods, it makes for a difficult to love position for cruising on the tops/hoods. Besides this, I felt the reach was a hair too long, but I suppose one might be able to adjust for that with stem length. Well, that is if the drops didn't have such the depth that these bars' drops have. I was stuck with one stock option for a stem from Dimension. Otherwise it would have to be mated up with a custom stem, and you'd have to be pretty sold on the rest of the bars' attributes to go to that expense, in my opinion.

The radius of the drop section suffers from what I call "Woodchipper Syndrome". Hey- if you like Woodchippers, that's great, but that radius makes lever placement tough.

The drop radius is what really tanks this bar, in my opinion. It is a similar beef I have with the Woodchipper. If you want your hoods to come off the ramps at an angle parallel to the ground, you have no choice but to have the extensions pointing downward at such an angle I find many people won't use them. (Based on experiences setting up Woodchippers for others.) This isn't at all what off road drop bars are about. In fact, it is the antithesis to the whole reason for a flared, swept drop bar. In the case of the Gator Bar, I had to compromise my ramps/hood position to get a usable extensions grip that, in the end, meant that neither position was suitable for my tastes. Well, not when you have Midge Bars, Cowchippers, and Gary Sweep OS bars that do the job so much better and afford one all the grip options with little to no compromises. So, yes......I ended up taking these off my Karate Monkey.


My final verdict on this bar is that it is so odd that it may only work for a very few folks. Soma makes the June Bug, a Midge Bar knock-off, which, in my opinion, is three times as usable as this bar is for most people. If a highly swept, angled extension bar is your cup of tea, I would point you toward the Woodchipper before taking a chance on this one. That said, this could be the bar you've been waiting for. In that case, I'd jump on this quick. In the fickle world of off road drop bars, you never know how long you'll be able to get such an odd handle bar.


Note: Soma Fab sent me this bar ages ago for test/review and I was not paid, nor bribed for this review. I strive to give my honest thoughts and opinions throughout.

Soma Gator Bar Review

The Soma Gator Bar as seen on my Karate Monkey

The "world" of off-road drop bars is a weird, strange one with freak show bars and bizarre stems joining together to make for an often "hit or miss" component selection for gravel and off road riders. The bars are often times so out of the ordinary that, even though the design may be brilliant, the bars do not sell due to their massive departure from the norm of road racing bred drop bars. Sometimes that is frustrating to me, and in other cases, it makes a lot of sense. Case in point- The Soma Gator Bar.

The Soma Gator Bar is definitely one of the oddest drop bars I am aware of. At first glance, it looks vaguely similar to a Salsa Cycles Woodchipper Bar, but the resemblance is only cursory. The reality is that the Gator Bar stands alone with no known drop bars even coming close to its unique features. And just what are those, you may ask? Well, for starters, the extensions are mountain bike control compatible. What that means is that you could mount brakes and shifters right off your mountain bike to the longish extensions, as Soma made the diameter of this part of the bar 22.2mm. Here's a short bullet list from Soma's site on the features of this bar:

• - 6061 butted aluminum
  - Size/Width: 655mm at ends, center-to-center
  - Width: 505mm at front of drops, center-to-center
  - Width of flats on top: 340mm
  - Center: 31.8mm
  - Drops flare out at 20° angle
  - Drops are 190mm long and have an OD of 22.2
  (i.e. they can take flat bar grips)
  - Reach: 65mm / Drop: 112-160mm
  (Reach and drop is relative to the angle you install these bars at. On these types of bars, you want to angle the drops down, not have them parallel to the ground as with road bars)
  - Weight: 400g
  - No cable grooves
  - Shotpeen finish
  - Black or silver

The Gator Bar has narrow tops, a lot of flare, and a deep drop.

My initial reaction to the bar was that it had too deep of a drop. In fact, I have had this bar for over a year now sitting in the Lab, waiting for a suitable bike/set up to try it on. Every time I thought I could use it, I found that the extensions would end up so low that they would be unusable. Finally, I tried them on the resurrected Karate Monkey I have and the fit was......hmm.....okay? It was far better than anything else I had been able to try it on, so I thought I'd give it a go, despite its deep drop.

Those extensions are really long!

From the top the Gator Bar looks somewhat inviting. The long extensions could certainly be trimmed back, but the tops, despite being narrow, are nice. I'm not a big fan of the Cinnelli-like "rounded" section from the tops to the ramps, but a lot of people dig that sort of classically inspired bar shape. It isn't a deal killer, but in conjunction with how that corner also slopes downward to the brake hoods, it makes for a difficult to love position for cruising on the tops/hoods. Besides this, I felt the reach was a hair too long, but I suppose one might be able to adjust for that with stem length. Well, that is if the drops didn't have such the depth that these bars' drops have. I was stuck with one stock option for a stem from Dimension. Otherwise it would have to be mated up with a custom stem, and you'd have to be pretty sold on the rest of the bars' attributes to go to that expense, in my opinion.

The radius of the drop section suffers from what I call "Woodchipper Syndrome". Hey- if you like Woodchippers, that's great, but that radius makes lever placement tough.

The drop radius is what really tanks this bar, in my opinion. It is a similar beef I have with the Woodchipper. If you want your hoods to come off the ramps at an angle parallel to the ground, you have no choice but to have the extensions pointing downward at such an angle I find many people won't use them. (Based on experiences setting up Woodchippers for others.) This isn't at all what off road drop bars are about. In fact, it is the antithesis to the whole reason for a flared, swept drop bar. In the case of the Gator Bar, I had to compromise my ramps/hood position to get a usable extensions grip that, in the end, meant that neither position was suitable for my tastes. Well, not when you have Midge Bars, Cowchippers, and Gary Sweep OS bars that do the job so much better and afford one all the grip options with little to no compromises. So, yes......I ended up taking these off my Karate Monkey.


My final verdict on this bar is that it is so odd that it may only work for a very few folks. Soma makes the June Bug, a Midge Bar knock-off, which, in my opinion, is three times as usable as this bar is for most people. If a highly swept, angled extension bar is your cup of tea, I would point you toward the Woodchipper before taking a chance on this one. That said, this could be the bar you've been waiting for. In that case, I'd jump on this quick. In the fickle world of off road drop bars, you never know how long you'll be able to get such an odd handle bar.


Note: Soma Fab sent me this bar ages ago for test/review and I was not paid, nor bribed for this review. I strive to give my honest thoughts and opinions throughout.