Are These The "Real" Mountain Bikes?

These are billed as "adventure bikes", but isn't that what an MTB is supposed to be?

 Today Wilde Bikes of Minnesota is announcing a new bike called the "Supertramp", a bike which they bill as being ".....our bike packing, trekking, and all terrain bicycle platform."

Wait.......did they mention "all terrain"? Yes! And as we who have been around a while know, that's just code for "mountain bike".  A brief history, if I may....

The term "mountain bike" was once actually a brand name for a bicycle company that made "all-terrain" bicycles. Bicycles meant for mountains, fire roads, and yes......gravel roads too. Anything that was not paved was game for an all-terrain bicycle. Of course, what we know as mountain bikes now are completely different than this idea, and the term, "all-terrain" is pretty much meaningless these days. 

In today's parlance, a mountain bike is a pretty niche device for tackling extreme, mountainous terrain only. Yes- you can ride one on lame-o, flattish single track, or in the Mid-West, or on gravel roads, but they are really focused on a lot rougher and gravity oriented terrain than that. That wasn't the case early on into the all-terrain phase of off-roading in the early 1980's. 

 Troy on a Schwinn Voyager (L), me on a 1984 Mongoose All-Terrain Pro

In 1994, things had already changed for mountain bikes. Anything you bought in those days had a heavy influence from XC racing and it showed. Gone were all the accoutrements of touring, or as we call them today, "adventure warts". Gone was the stable geometry, the all-day riding comfort, the wide, capable rims, and the fat, poofy tires. 

In 1994 I went on a tour. A self-supported tour with panniers and bags. Today it would have been fashionable to call what I did "bikepacking", but that wasn't a term to choose from to describe what it was I did back then. I also did not use a modern MTB for the tour. Instead, I purchased a ten year old Mongoose All-Mountain Pro, a bike from the "all-terrain" era of 26" wheeled off road bicycling. 

A similar sutuation exists today. If you were to go on a bikepacking tour now, would you choose a bicycle with a long, slack, and low geometry fitted with a 130-160mm travel suspension fork? Well......you could, or you could use a Ghost Grappler, as shown up top, or this new Wilde Bikes Supertramp bike. 

Wilde Bikes Supertramp. An "all-terrain", off-road touring bike.

Not that there are not a lot of other bikes that could be categorized in this "all-terrain", adventure bike niche, but the idea here is that, as Wilde Bikes states about their Supertramp: "It's designed to take
you anywhere in the world you care to go in comfort and style. From month-long backcountry tours
to trips to the corner store and everything in between, it is an incredibly versatile platform for living
your life via bicycle."

Sounds a lot like what the intentions were for "all terrain" bikes from the likes of MounatinBike, Ritchey, and others back when the modern day all-terrain movement got started. Where did we get off the rails?

Marketing based upon an unhealthy focus on racing got that started. Then it was niche-creating, to sell more product. Before we knew what happened, the "incredibly versatile platform for living your life by bicycle" became a down hill bike, a free-ride bike, a dual-suspension bike, a back-country bike, a down-country bike, an enduro bike......... You get the picture. 

But there was a void. A place for a "real mountain bike" to emerge and capture that wanderlust, that sense of adventure that was lacking in the bikes which catered to a certain look and lifestyle. Bikes that could be personalized and molded into that bike you'd ride anywhere for anything. For some of us that became the "gravel bike", (an unfortunate name if there ever was one). But in terms of fat-tired fun times, these bikepacking/adventure rigs? In my opinion, these are the "real mountain bikes". 

Are These The "Real" Mountain Bikes?

These are billed as "adventure bikes", but isn't that what an MTB is supposed to be?

 Today Wilde Bikes of Minnesota is announcing a new bike called the "Supertramp", a bike which they bill as being ".....our bike packing, trekking, and all terrain bicycle platform."

Wait.......did they mention "all terrain"? Yes! And as we who have been around a while know, that's just code for "mountain bike".  A brief history, if I may....

The term "mountain bike" was once actually a brand name for a bicycle company that made "all-terrain" bicycles. Bicycles meant for mountains, fire roads, and yes......gravel roads too. Anything that was not paved was game for an all-terrain bicycle. Of course, what we know as mountain bikes now are completely different than this idea, and the term, "all-terrain" is pretty much meaningless these days. 

In today's parlance, a mountain bike is a pretty niche device for tackling extreme, mountainous terrain only. Yes- you can ride one on lame-o, flattish single track, or in the Mid-West, or on gravel roads, but they are really focused on a lot rougher and gravity oriented terrain than that. That wasn't the case early on into the all-terrain phase of off-roading in the early 1980's. 

 Troy on a Schwinn Voyager (L), me on a 1984 Mongoose All-Terrain Pro

In 1994, things had already changed for mountain bikes. Anything you bought in those days had a heavy influence from XC racing and it showed. Gone were all the accoutrements of touring, or as we call them today, "adventure warts". Gone was the stable geometry, the all-day riding comfort, the wide, capable rims, and the fat, poofy tires. 

In 1994 I went on a tour. A self-supported tour with panniers and bags. Today it would have been fashionable to call what I did "bikepacking", but that wasn't a term to choose from to describe what it was I did back then. I also did not use a modern MTB for the tour. Instead, I purchased a ten year old Mongoose All-Mountain Pro, a bike from the "all-terrain" era of 26" wheeled off road bicycling. 

A similar sutuation exists today. If you were to go on a bikepacking tour now, would you choose a bicycle with a long, slack, and low geometry fitted with a 130-160mm travel suspension fork? Well......you could, or you could use a Ghost Grappler, as shown up top, or this new Wilde Bikes Supertramp bike. 

Wilde Bikes Supertramp. An "all-terrain", off-road touring bike.

Not that there are not a lot of other bikes that could be categorized in this "all-terrain", adventure bike niche, but the idea here is that, as Wilde Bikes states about their Supertramp: "It's designed to take
you anywhere in the world you care to go in comfort and style. From month-long backcountry tours
to trips to the corner store and everything in between, it is an incredibly versatile platform for living
your life via bicycle."

Sounds a lot like what the intentions were for "all terrain" bikes from the likes of MounatinBike, Ritchey, and others back when the modern day all-terrain movement got started. Where did we get off the rails?

Marketing based upon an unhealthy focus on racing got that started. Then it was niche-creating, to sell more product. Before we knew what happened, the "incredibly versatile platform for living your life by bicycle" became a down hill bike, a free-ride bike, a dual-suspension bike, a back-country bike, a down-country bike, an enduro bike......... You get the picture. 

But there was a void. A place for a "real mountain bike" to emerge and capture that wanderlust, that sense of adventure that was lacking in the bikes which catered to a certain look and lifestyle. Bikes that could be personalized and molded into that bike you'd ride anywhere for anything. For some of us that became the "gravel bike", (an unfortunate name if there ever was one). But in terms of fat-tired fun times, these bikepacking/adventure rigs? In my opinion, these are the "real mountain bikes". 

Randomonium

NOTE: Okay folks, if you haven't been around long enough here to know what a "Randomonium" post is, then here is the deal. I ramble, rant, and randomly moan about all things cycling in one, incohesive, bizarre post. "Randomonium", okay?

The Fargo has new - old - shoes. 

 Fargo Back Up & Running:

This past weekend I got the Fargo sorted with some different tires that actually worked. The solution I found worked super easily. I forgot I had a pair of used Donnelly MSO 700 X 50mm tires. They went on the i23 Team Frequency rims with a burp from an air compressor and have been rock solid since mounted.

I tried the Schwalbe G-Ones on that wheel set that is based upon a Stan's rim dimension and, while I got them on with a plastic tire lever, they are what I would deem as being too tight. Not good if anything were to happen that required a tube to be inserted to continue going. But, that mere fact that the tire went on a Stan's dimension rim tells me it would definitely be too loose for most modern tubeless ready rims. Again- in my opinion- this is inexcusable in 2019.

My Schwalbe may have been an outlier, maybe from a bad batch? Hard to say, but for what I spent on them, I am not willing to take another shot at trying anything from Schwalbe. That brand has been struck from my "willing to buy" list. In 2019, and beyond, there will be, and are now, many, many choices in tires that will work as advertised set up tubeless easily. I know this because I get to try a LOT of tires out in my reviewing gig. If a tire takes multiple tries to get set up the first time, and then will not set up at all after one dismounting, well...... Hard pass. Nuff said.

Rendering of a Scott's Oriole

A Bird Lost? 

(NOTE: This isn't about cycling. So, it is even more random!) Sunday I walked out on the porch and I saw a flash of yellow and black. It was a bird I spooked out of the flower bed. It was so stunning and outstanding in appearance that I thought I had seen a vision. But it was real. It quickly hid in the thick cover of a tree across the street. Hmm...weird, but maybe just something I dreamed up? I still wasn't sure that I saw what I had seen. It was just so yellow and intensely colored that it didn't look real at all.

Then Monday, my wife and I walked out onto the porch and the same thing- An intensely yellow colored and black patched bird jumped out of the flower bed and quickly took cover in the same tree across the street.  Okay- this time I had a witness. I wasn't crazy. There was a weird bird and neither one of us had seen anything like it.

I did some checking online, and the closest thing I could find to what we had seen was a rendering of a Scott's Oriole. It seems to have the same pattern and intensely yellow coloring of the bird we saw. However; the range for this species is no where near Iowa. In fact, it is over a 1000 miles away from its Northernmost range to Iowa. Is this a Scott's Oriole that we had seen, or maybe something else? Is it a lost bird? Maybe.

I wish I would have gotten a picture, but as skittish as this bird was, I am lucky to have seen it twice!

Another drop bar hits the market.

The Off-Road Drop Bar Becomes Commonplace:

With over ten years of blogging here I can go back and see how things have changed over time. One of the things that's changed a ton is the amount of off-road, flared drop bars that are available.

When Trans Iowa started, and when I started riding a lot of gravel, you had about two choices for this type of bar. I used an On One Midge bar. You could get an Origin 8 Gary Bar, (the original one), and there was the odd WTB bar which had survived and were going for $150.00 a pop.

Now that gravel has become such a "thing" we have soooo many more flared drops that it is bewildering. A new one is out now from Shimano's PRO Brand which is called the Discover Big Flare Bar. It's an interesting handle bar that has some cool features- the 30° flare, the nice sweep- and some straight up roadie drop bar parts, like the weird radius to the drop and the shorter extensions. It's an unique bar in that it has such odd bits paired together.

I've yet to use it on gravel, but I'm sure it has its good and bad features there as well. The funny thing is, every bar has to be different, or it is a copy, and that won't do now, will it? No. So we get these weird things put out there at times that, well........they just do not work. And that's the thing with these flared drops. Not all of them really work, and so you get just a few that become the "standards" of the industry. Bars like Salsa Cycles' Cowchipper and Cowbell, which have spawned more than a few near-ripoffs. Or the previously mentioned On One Midge Bar, which spawned an almost perfect knock-off bar by another company, and inspired a few other bar designs. 

Once in a great while you get the super-weird bar and it works, for some reason. The Woodchipper and Luxy Bar come to mind here. But those are certainly acquired tastes, and it is easy to see why those bars are so polarizing.

Anyway, what a long way we have come! I never would have guessed that in 2019 there would be so many choices for off-road and flared drop bars as there is now. I'm still amazed by it all.

Randomonium

NOTE: Okay folks, if you haven't been around long enough here to know what a "Randomonium" post is, then here is the deal. I ramble, rant, and randomly moan about all things cycling in one, incohesive, bizarre post. "Randomonium", okay?

The Fargo has new - old - shoes. 

 Fargo Back Up & Running:

This past weekend I got the Fargo sorted with some different tires that actually worked. The solution I found worked super easily. I forgot I had a pair of used Donnelly MSO 700 X 50mm tires. They went on the i23 Team Frequency rims with a burp from an air compressor and have been rock solid since mounted.

I tried the Schwalbe G-Ones on that wheel set that is based upon a Stan's rim dimension and, while I got them on with a plastic tire lever, they are what I would deem as being too tight. Not good if anything were to happen that required a tube to be inserted to continue going. But, that mere fact that the tire went on a Stan's dimension rim tells me it would definitely be too loose for most modern tubeless ready rims. Again- in my opinion- this is inexcusable in 2019.

My Schwalbe may have been an outlier, maybe from a bad batch? Hard to say, but for what I spent on them, I am not willing to take another shot at trying anything from Schwalbe. That brand has been struck from my "willing to buy" list. In 2019, and beyond, there will be, and are now, many, many choices in tires that will work as advertised set up tubeless easily. I know this because I get to try a LOT of tires out in my reviewing gig. If a tire takes multiple tries to get set up the first time, and then will not set up at all after one dismounting, well...... Hard pass. Nuff said.

Rendering of a Scott's Oriole

A Bird Lost? 

(NOTE: This isn't about cycling. So, it is even more random!) Sunday I walked out on the porch and I saw a flash of yellow and black. It was a bird I spooked out of the flower bed. It was so stunning and outstanding in appearance that I thought I had seen a vision. But it was real. It quickly hid in the thick cover of a tree across the street. Hmm...weird, but maybe just something I dreamed up? I still wasn't sure that I saw what I had seen. It was just so yellow and intensely colored that it didn't look real at all.

Then Monday, my wife and I walked out onto the porch and the same thing- An intensely yellow colored and black patched bird jumped out of the flower bed and quickly took cover in the same tree across the street.  Okay- this time I had a witness. I wasn't crazy. There was a weird bird and neither one of us had seen anything like it.

I did some checking online, and the closest thing I could find to what we had seen was a rendering of a Scott's Oriole. It seems to have the same pattern and intensely yellow coloring of the bird we saw. However; the range for this species is no where near Iowa. In fact, it is over a 1000 miles away from its Northernmost range to Iowa. Is this a Scott's Oriole that we had seen, or maybe something else? Is it a lost bird? Maybe.

I wish I would have gotten a picture, but as skittish as this bird was, I am lucky to have seen it twice!

Another drop bar hits the market.

The Off-Road Drop Bar Becomes Commonplace:

With over ten years of blogging here I can go back and see how things have changed over time. One of the things that's changed a ton is the amount of off-road, flared drop bars that are available.

When Trans Iowa started, and when I started riding a lot of gravel, you had about two choices for this type of bar. I used an On One Midge bar. You could get an Origin 8 Gary Bar, (the original one), and there was the odd WTB bar which had survived and were going for $150.00 a pop.

Now that gravel has become such a "thing" we have soooo many more flared drops that it is bewildering. A new one is out now from Shimano's PRO Brand which is called the Discover Big Flare Bar. It's an interesting handle bar that has some cool features- the 30° flare, the nice sweep- and some straight up roadie drop bar parts, like the weird radius to the drop and the shorter extensions. It's an unique bar in that it has such odd bits paired together.

I've yet to use it on gravel, but I'm sure it has its good and bad features there as well. The funny thing is, every bar has to be different, or it is a copy, and that won't do now, will it? No. So we get these weird things put out there at times that, well........they just do not work. And that's the thing with these flared drops. Not all of them really work, and so you get just a few that become the "standards" of the industry. Bars like Salsa Cycles' Cowchipper and Cowbell, which have spawned more than a few near-ripoffs. Or the previously mentioned On One Midge Bar, which spawned an almost perfect knock-off bar by another company, and inspired a few other bar designs. 

Once in a great while you get the super-weird bar and it works, for some reason. The Woodchipper and Luxy Bar come to mind here. But those are certainly acquired tastes, and it is easy to see why those bars are so polarizing.

Anyway, what a long way we have come! I never would have guessed that in 2019 there would be so many choices for off-road and flared drop bars as there is now. I'm still amazed by it all.

Drop Bar Terms Defined

In today's post I want to help to clear up some misconceptions and to help readers understand the bits of flared drop bars that help determine their shape and usefulness. I've touched on all of these things in past posts, but I realized after reviewing the Easton EA70 AX flared drop bar for RidingGravel.com that I hadn't ever put all the definitions into one, easy to digest post. So, hopefully this will be clear and concise enough to help those interested in off road drop bars for MTB and gravel get what they need to clear up any misunderstandings and to learn the lingo of the flared drop bar.

I'll have some images to help with the descriptions, and afterward I will share some bars that, in my opinion, get it right in certain areas and others that got it all wrong. Some of the bars I will not be in favor of are going to be some of your personal favorite bars ever. That's okay. We have choices and that is a good thing, because what I like isn't going to play well in Peoria all the time, if you know what I mean. So, please don't get offended if I don't praise your personal favorite bars. One- because you aren't going to change my mind, and: Two- I won't change your mind about your favorite. Again, it is about choices. You can agree or not, but hopefully, in the end, you will gain some understanding. That's the main goal.

NOTE: Drop Bar Terms I will define will be in ALL CAPS. This is done because they all relate to each other and one is not independent of the others. 

Okay, with that, let's get on with this.

 The term, "FLARE" refers to the outward bend of the DROP section. See the difference in the vertical plane between the arrows.

FLARE: This is the term that lends its name to this type of bar, and as such, is the main element that differentiates a FLARED Drop Bar from a traditional road drop. The term defines the amount by which the bottom of the DROP section is flared outward from the "TOP SECTION". This is usually given in degrees of FLARE. So, a 25° FLARE (as seen above) has more "outward bend" to the DROP than a bar with 12° FLARE, as in a Salsa Cycles Cowbell. A traditional road drop bar would have 0° of FLARE and the EXTENSIONS would be directly under the end of the "TOP SECTION" of that sort of drop bar.

FLARE is important because it allows for clearance of the rider's wrists and forearms when in the DROP sections while negotiating rough terrain.

The arrows on the lower drop bar nearly line up, so very little SWEEP here in comparison to a Woodchipper, above.

SWEEP: This is a different feature of a flared drop bar that is not always present. Some flared drops have it, some do not. What is it? The SWEEP defines how the EXTENSIONS point back at the rider when the rider is in the saddle. A bar with no SWEEP will have extensions that point directly back, parallel to the stem. Bars with SWEEP will look bent outward at the ends, like a Salsa Cycles Woodchipper Bar. Notice in the image above how the Woodchipper, (Top) has EXTENSIONS which point off at a severe angle while the SPANK Flare 25 Drop Bar has almost no SWEEP. Most flared drop bars have some amount of SWEEP, but few are as radically swept as a Woodchipper Bar.

Orange = DROP, Red = RAMPS, Green = REACH, and Purple = EXTENSIONS

Note- for the next several terms, please refer to the image of the Origin 8 Gary Sweep Bar above.

REACH: The REACH of a flared drop bar (GREEN arrows above) is the part of the bar that "reaches" forward of the TOP SECTION of the handle bar. It is usually described in millimeters of REACH measured from the center of the TOP SECTION to the outside of the forward bend of the DROP.

DROP: This is the part of the bar described by the distance the DROP comes down from the TOP SECTION to the EXTENSIONS (Orange Arrows). This is usually measured in millimeters from center of the TOP SECTION to the center of the EXTENSIONS.

RAMPS: This is the part of the DROP that reaches from the TOP SECTION to where the levers mount. (RED arrows) Usually the RAMPS are sloped somewhat, being a part of the radius and REACH of the DROP section. This is a critical part of a flared drop bar as it will determine brake/shift lever placement, hoods position, and ultimately is one of the most important features of any drop bar. Curiously, a RAMPS slope is almost never given in spec charts. When it is, it is usually described in degrees from a level point from the TOP SECTION.

EXTENSIONS: This is the part of the bar extends back toward the rider. (Purple arrows) Extensions are important since they describe how many hand positions there are on the EXTENSIONS and "in the DROPS". The ends of the EXTENSIONS on flared drop bars generally are where one would mount bar end shifters also, if so desired. EXTENTIONS are almost never given a measurement in spec charts.

The SPANK Flare 25 Vibrocore™ Drop Bar has an unusual 31.8mm diameter for the entire TOP SECTION.

TOP SECTION: This is the part of the bar that the stem attaches to and extends outward on each side to where the DROP/RAMPS start. This is usually where the bar gets its width measurement. So, a 42cm bar would describe the TOP SECTION between the centerline of the DROPS. This generally does not include the extra width created by FLARE or SWEEP.

UPDATED: 6/4/24: Thanks to Don "shiggy" Person for the suggestions to add "BACKSWEEP" and "HOOKS" to the glossary. 

The BACKSWEEP is how far the TOPS bend backward from the stem.

BACKSWEEP: Many carbon drop bars now feature BACKSWEEP which is a bend back toward the rider from the stem on each side sloping towards the RAMPS and results in an angled TOPS section as you look down on the handlebar. This is done for better ergonomics. 

The HOOKS position is just above the EXTENSIONS and is part of the DROPS. 

HOOKS: When the rider describes their hand position as being "in the hooks" what they mean is that the hands are in the forward position, just on top of or ahead of the EXTENSIONS and in behind the DROP sections. This critical position is used most often during sprints and braking.

Okay, that's it for terms that describe the parts of a flared drop bar. Now I'm going to give you a run down of bars that I feel are seminal, great flared drop bars and some that I feel are so poorly designed they are abysmal. I will also point out a couple that are near misses, or ones that have a particular feature which is awesome.

They Got It Right: My personal opinion, of course, but the bars which are spot on are few. Probably the two best out there, and two of the most popular of all time, are Salsa Cycles' Cowchipper and Cowbell bars. The Cowbell was the first to really nail a very subtle FLARE to a constantly varying radius to the DROP and give the flared drop bar crowd a bar that could be a road racing bike bar, but better. The Cowchipper is basically a Cowbell, but with "more". More FLARE and more SWEEP than a Cowbell with a really comfy DROP section. Both bars feature really good REACH, DROP, and RAMP sections. Super easy to set up, super comfy, and really, nothing to dislike here.

The only other bars that I think rival the Salsa ones are the Whiskey No. 7 & No. 9, 12 and 24 bars, and the seminal On One Midge Bar. The Midge is an oldy but a goody. The only nit I have is that bar comes in one width and the EXTENSIONS are short. I think it may be one of the only bars offered with a full 31.8mm TOP SECTION as well.

Nearly There: The Ritchey VentureMax is another cool bar with good FLARE, SWEEP, and an ergo bend in the EXTENSIONS which may or may not agree with you. Other bars, too many to list, have decent FLARE, DROP sections, and constantly varying radius to the DROP which make them very similar, one to another. The EASTON EA70 AX bars I reviewed represent the current crop of bars which are like this. Some of the Origin 8 Gary variants are also pretty cool.

They Missed The Boat: The best SWEEP, if you like a LOT of SWEEP, is on the Woodchipper bar from Salsa Cycles, but due to the weird bend in the DROP section, the severe RAMP section, and the odd radius to the DROP, it misses so badly, in my opinion, that it becomes a bar that is very difficult to set up without making some part of the bar nearly, or completely, unusable. I know......there are rabid fans of this bar, but I think it is a clunker. Another bar which really was a head scratcher for me was the SOMA Gator Bar, a bar with such a massive DROP it made the EXTENSIONS nearly unreachable without setting it up so that the TOP SECTION was sky high. Added to that, the radius of the DROP was so shallow that it, as with the Woodchipper, made set up a nightmare. Finally, there was a bar sold under various brand names, but is probably best known as the Velo Orange Daija Cycleworks Far Bar. It's intriguing, but with its severe FLARE and angular DROP section, I found it to be a near miss.

The "Unicorn" of flared drop bars- The out of production Ragely Luxy Bar.

So Brilliantly Weird, It Was Great: And of course, you know I have to say something about that unicorn of flared drop bars, the "Luxy Bar". Out of production for years, this is the bar Salsa Cycles should have made when they made the Woodchipper. (See my comparison between the two bars HERE) The radius to the DROP section is perfect, the sweep is there in spades, the RAMP section was spot on, the REACH was minimal, but not so severely short that it compromised lever set up. Only the extreme flare on the Luxy Bar was a flaw, if there was one. But, again, in my opinion, the Luxy Bar solved all the issues I had with the Woodchipper and did it with the brilliant feature of a full 31.8mm TOP SECTION. Now the SPANK Flare 25 has this feature as well, which is pretty cool.

So, there you have it, Guitar Ted's take on what makes a flared drop bar and some examples of good, bad, and ugly ones. Again- remember- these are MY OPINIONS. Yours are likely quite different. I get it. But like I said, it is a good thing there are so many choices now, so we can even have this difference of opinion. It wasn't so long ago that we had the Midge Bar and that was it. Perspective people......perspective. 

I hope you enjoyed that. Let me know if there are any questions, or things you'd like me to discuss further. As always- thank you for reading! 

Drop Bar Terms Defined

In today's post I want to help to clear up some misconceptions and to help readers understand the bits of flared drop bars that help determine their shape and usefulness. I've touched on all of these things in past posts, but I realized after reviewing the Easton EA70 AX flared drop bar for RidingGravel.com that I hadn't ever put all the definitions into one, easy to digest post. So, hopefully this will be clear and concise enough to help those interested in off road drop bars for MTB and gravel get what they need to clear up any misunderstandings and to learn the lingo of the flared drop bar.

I'll have some images to help with the descriptions, and afterward I will share some bars that, in my opinion, get it right in certain areas and others that got it all wrong. Some of the bars I will not be in favor of are going to be some of your personal favorite bars ever. That's okay. We have choices and that is a good thing, because what I like isn't going to play well in Peoria all the time, if you know what I mean. So, please don't get offended if I don't praise your personal favorite bars. One- because you aren't going to change my mind, and: Two- I won't change your mind about your favorite. Again, it is about choices. You can agree or not, but hopefully, in the end, you will gain some understanding. That's the main goal.

NOTE: Drop Bar Terms I will define will be in ALL CAPS. This is done because they all relate to each other and one is not independent of the others. 

Okay, with that, let's get on with this.

 The term, "FLARE" refers to the outward bend of the DROP section. See the difference in the vertical plane between the arrows.

FLARE: This is the term that lends its name to this type of bar, and as such, is the main element that differentiates a FLARED Drop Bar from a traditional road drop. The term defines the amount by which the bottom of the DROP section is flared outward from the "TOP SECTION". This is usually given in degrees of FLARE. So, a 25° FLARE (as seen above) has more "outward bend" to the DROP than a bar with 12° FLARE, as in a Salsa Cycles Cowbell. A traditional road drop bar would have 0° of FLARE and the EXTENSIONS would be directly under the end of the "TOP SECTION" of that sort of drop bar.

FLARE is important because it allows for clearance of the rider's wrists and forearms when in the DROP sections while negotiating rough terrain.

The arrows on the lower drop bar nearly line up, so very little SWEEP here in comparison to a Woodchipper, above.

SWEEP: This is a different feature of a flared drop bar that is not always present. Some flared drops have it, some do not. What is it? The SWEEP defines how the EXTENSIONS point back at the rider when the rider is in the saddle. A bar with no SWEEP will have extensions that point directly back, parallel to the stem. Bars with SWEEP will look bent outward at the ends, like a Salsa Cycles Woodchipper Bar. Notice in the image above how the Woodchipper, (Top) has EXTENSIONS which point off at a severe angle while the SPANK Flare 25 Drop Bar has almost no SWEEP. Most flared drop bars have some amount of SWEEP, but few are as radically swept as a Woodchipper Bar.

Orange = DROP, Red = RAMPS, Green = REACH, and Purple = EXTENSIONS

Note- for the next several terms, please refer to the image of the Origin 8 Gary Sweep Bar above.

REACH: The REACH of a flared drop bar (GREEN arrows above) is the part of the bar that "reaches" forward of the TOP SECTION of the handle bar. It is usually described in millimeters of REACH measured from the center of the TOP SECTION to the outside of the forward bend of the DROP.

DROP: This is the part of the bar described by the distance the DROP comes down from the TOP SECTION to the EXTENSIONS (Orange Arrows). This is usually measured in millimeters from center of the TOP SECTION to the center of the EXTENSIONS.

RAMPS: This is the part of the DROP that reaches from the TOP SECTION to where the levers mount. (RED arrows) Usually the RAMPS are sloped somewhat, being a part of the radius and REACH of the DROP section. This is a critical part of a flared drop bar as it will determine brake/shift lever placement, hoods position, and ultimately is one of the most important features of any drop bar. Curiously, a RAMPS slope is almost never given in spec charts. When it is, it is usually described in degrees from a level point from the TOP SECTION.

EXTENSIONS: This is the part of the bar extends back toward the rider. (Purple arrows) Extensions are important since they describe how many hand positions there are on the EXTENSIONS and "in the DROPS". The ends of the EXTENSIONS on flared drop bars generally are where one would mount bar end shifters also, if so desired. EXTENTIONS are almost never given a measurement in spec charts.

The SPANK Flare 25 Vibrocore™ Drop Bar has an unusual 31.8mm diameter for the entire TOP SECTION.

TOP SECTION: This is the part of the bar that the stem attaches to and extends outward on each side to where the DROP/RAMPS start. This is usually where the bar gets its width measurement. So, a 42cm bar would describe the TOP SECTION between the centerline of the DROPS. This generally does not include the extra width created by FLARE or SWEEP.

Okay, that's it for terms that describe the parts of a flared drop bar. Now I'm going to give you a run down of bars that I feel are seminal, great flared drop bars and some that I feel are so poorly designed they are abysmal. I will also point out a couple that are near misses, or ones that have a particular feature which is awesome.

They Got It Right: My personal opinion, of course, but the bars which are spot on are few. Probably the two best out there, and two of the most popular of all time, are Salsa Cycles' Cowchipper and Cowbell bars. The Cowbell was the first to really nail a very subtle FLARE to a constantly varying radius to the DROP and give the flared drop bar crowd a bar that could be a road racing bike bar, but better. The Cowchipper is basically a Cowbell, but with "more". More FLARE and more SWEEP than a Cowbell with a really comfy DROP section. Both bars feature really good REACH, DROP, and RAMP sections. Super easy to set up, super comfy, and really, nothing to dislike here.

The only other bars that I think rival the Salsa ones are the Whiskey No. 7 & No. 9, 12 and 24 bars, and the seminal On One Midge Bar. The Midge is an oldy but a goody. The only nit I have is that bar comes in one width and the EXTENSIONS are short. I think it may be one of the only bars offered with a full 31.8mm TOP SECTION as well.

Nearly There: The Ritchey VentureMax is another cool bar with good FLARE, SWEEP, and an ergo bend in the EXTENSIONS which may or may not agree with you. Other bars, too many to list, have decent FLARE, DROP sections, and constantly varying radius to the DROP which make them very similar, one to another. The EASTON EA70 AX bars I reviewed represent the current crop of bars which are like this. Some of the Origin 8 Gary variants are also pretty cool.

They Missed The Boat: The best SWEEP, if you like a LOT of SWEEP, is on the Woodchipper bar from Salsa Cycles, but due to the weird bend in the DROP section, the severe RAMP section, and the odd radius to the DROP, it misses so badly, in my opinion, that it becomes a bar that is very difficult to set up without making some part of the bar nearly, or completely, unusable. I know......there are rabid fans of this bar, but I think it is a clunker. Another bar which really was a head scratcher for me was the SOMA Gator Bar, a bar with such a massive DROP it made the EXTENSIONS nearly unreachable without setting it up so that the TOP SECTION was sky high. Added to that, the radius of the DROP was so shallow that it, as with the Woodchipper, made set up a nightmare. Finally, there was a bar sold under various brand names, but is probably best known as the Velo Orange Daija Cycleworks Far Bar. It's intriguing, but with its severe FLARE and angular DROP section, I found it to be a near miss.

The "Unicorn" of flared drop bars- The out of production Ragely Luxy Bar.

So Brilliantly Weird, It Was Great: And of course, you know I have to say something about that unicorn of flared drop bars, the "Luxy Bar". Out of production for years, this is the bar Salsa Cycles should have made when they made the Woodchipper. (See my comparison between the two bars HERE) The radius to the DROP section is perfect, the sweep is there in spades, the RAMP section was spot on, the REACH was minimal, but not so severely short that it compromised lever set up. Only the extreme flare on the Luxy Bar was a flaw, if there was one. But, again, in my opinion, the Luxy Bar solved all the issues I had with the Woodchipper and did it with the brilliant feature of a full 31.8mm TOP SECTION. Now the SPANK Flare 25 has this feature as well, which is pretty cool.

So, there you have it, Guitar Ted's take on what makes a flared drop bar and some examples of good, bad, and ugly ones. Again- remember- these are MY OPINIONS. Yours are likely quite different. I get it. But like I said, it is a good thing there are so many choices now, so we can even have this difference of opinion. It wasn't so long ago that we had the Midge Bar and that was it. Perspective people......perspective. 

I hope you enjoyed that. Let me know if there are any questions, or things you'd like me to discuss further. As always- thank you for reading! 

Single Track Leftovers

The Breezer RADAR Expert with 29"er tires

Last week I got a couple of decent.......well, kind of decent, single track rides in locally. It was as good as it was going to get for the remainder of 2018. I was willing to put up with less than ideal conditions since, well, it was either take that or nothing for the entirety of Fall. Pretty much anyway.

I had slapped on some Michelin Wildgripper 29"er tires on the RADAR Expert and that needed to get tested, so that was another reason to get out there. Well, that and the forecast last week was for another possibility of snow. We dodged it this time, but that wasn't always going to be the case. I was staring December straight in the face. It was only going to be a matter of time before a fat bike was going to be the only bike that would make sense out there.

So I made a foray into a bit of single track I knew wasn't blocked by downed limbs and wasn't flooded. It went well, actually, except for one bit I probably should have known better about, but went through anyway. That gooped up the tires real good and then, of course, that gathered to itself leaves and sand and more debris. I was tossing up chunks of stuff like an old fashioned manure spreader the rest of the way home.

It was fun, but it wasn't. There were a lot of places where the flood debris had gathered and was just cleared off enough to make it rideable. There were a lot of greasy spots, so speeds had to be kept in check. Basically, it wasn't anything ideal. But it was single track. I got a ride in during Fall, well........kind of. I know the calendar says it is still Fall, but the weather says "Winter" and that's really what is happening now.

Hmm......looks like it's gonna be cold and dry-ish for a while yet into December. Maybe I can sneak another ride or two in. Time will tell.

Single Track Leftovers

The Breezer RADAR Expert with 29"er tires

Last week I got a couple of decent.......well, kind of decent, single track rides in locally. It was as good as it was going to get for the remainder of 2018. I was willing to put up with less than ideal conditions since, well, it was either take that or nothing for the entirety of Fall. Pretty much anyway.

I had slapped on some Michelin Wildgripper 29"er tires on the RADAR Expert and that needed to get tested, so that was another reason to get out there. Well, that and the forecast last week was for another possibility of snow. We dodged it this time, but that wasn't always going to be the case. I was staring December straight in the face. It was only going to be a matter of time before a fat bike was going to be the only bike that would make sense out there.

So I made a foray into a bit of single track I knew wasn't blocked by downed limbs and wasn't flooded. It went well, actually, except for one bit I probably should have known better about, but went through anyway. That gooped up the tires real good and then, of course, that gathered to itself leaves and sand and more debris. I was tossing up chunks of stuff like an old fashioned manure spreader the rest of the way home.

It was fun, but it wasn't. There were a lot of places where the flood debris had gathered and was just cleared off enough to make it rideable. There were a lot of greasy spots, so speeds had to be kept in check. Basically, it wasn't anything ideal. But it was single track. I got a ride in during Fall, well........kind of. I know the calendar says it is still Fall, but the weather says "Winter" and that's really what is happening now.

Hmm......looks like it's gonna be cold and dry-ish for a while yet into December. Maybe I can sneak another ride or two in. Time will tell.

Minus Ten Review- 44

The genesis idea for the T.I.v13 shirt was this post card sent in for v4 by Gary Cale

Ten years ago on the ol' blog here I was talking about drop bars for mountain bikes, having just set up my Karate Monkey again with some Midge Bars. The 2008 season was about the last time I rode the old Karate Monkey on anything resembling a "regular basis" due to the fact that I had a bunch of stuff coming through to test for the old 29"er site I was involved in.

Then there was Trans Iowa v5 which we were preparing for out of Williamsburg, Iowa. I have good and bad memories of that particular T.I. Saving some of this for my upcoming Trans Iowa stories series, all I'll say now is that we were actually thinking we'd have to do a pre-race meeting right before the event and that we'd hand out pre-race packets in the lobby of a motel the night before the event. It was just unconscionable to my mind that a town that had little to nothing going on in it would turn away hosting an event, and one with a track record to boot. But Williamsburg did about everything in their power to turn us away from their little town, and eventually, they did just that.

Of course, the rest is history. You can say, "Well, you pulled out the rug from under Grinnell now too." I can see where some folks might think that. However; it was because of Trans Iowa that another event, The Prairie Burn 100, is being kick started in Grinnell this coming year. And don't forget, I'm helping to put on the C.O.G 100 in Grinnell too. So, you could actually say that it may have been Williamsburg that could have had all this influx of outside money via tourism/gravel events. But that little town passed on us back in '08, and the cards fell differently because of it. 

Finally, there was a big shindig happening in the Minneapolis area the following week which will get detailed in next week's edition of the "Minus Ten Review". For now, I will hint that this was ten years since a historic presidential election and it also marked a big day for me, historically speaking, in terms of cycling, this blog, and adventures. Trust me......this was a milestone week ten years ago. For a lot of reasons.

Stay tuned......

Minus Ten Review- 44

The genesis idea for the T.I.v13 shirt was this post card sent in for v4 by Gary Cale

Ten years ago on the ol' blog here I was talking about drop bars for mountain bikes, having just set up my Karate Monkey again with some Midge Bars. The 2008 season was about the last time I rode the old Karate Monkey on anything resembling a "regular basis" due to the fact that I had a bunch of stuff coming through to test for the old 29"er site I was involved in.

Then there was Trans Iowa v5 which we were preparing for out of Williamsburg, Iowa. I have good and bad memories of that particular T.I. Saving some of this for my upcoming Trans Iowa stories series, all I'll say now is that we were actually thinking we'd have to do a pre-race meeting right before the event and that we'd hand out pre-race packets in the lobby of a motel the night before the event. It was just unconscionable to my mind that a town that had little to nothing going on in it would turn away hosting an event, and one with a track record to boot. But Williamsburg did about everything in their power to turn us away from their little town, and eventually, they did just that.

Of course, the rest is history. You can say, "Well, you pulled out the rug from under Grinnell now too." I can see where some folks might think that. However; it was because of Trans Iowa that another event, The Prairie Burn 100, is being kick started in Grinnell this coming year. And don't forget, I'm helping to put on the C.O.G 100 in Grinnell too. So, you could actually say that it may have been Williamsburg that could have had all this influx of outside money via tourism/gravel events. But that little town passed on us back in '08, and the cards fell differently because of it. 

Finally, there was a big shindig happening in the Minneapolis area the following week which will get detailed in next week's edition of the "Minus Ten Review". For now, I will hint that this was ten years since a historic presidential election and it also marked a big day for me, historically speaking, in terms of cycling, this blog, and adventures. Trust me......this was a milestone week ten years ago. For a lot of reasons.

Stay tuned......

The Canyon Grail Gravel Bike: My Take

Canyon range topping Grail 8.0 Image courtesy of Canyon

NOTE: Large doses of "my opinion" will be handed out in gloppy dollops today. You've been forewarned.....

Canyon Bikes is a German outfit that is a "disrupter" in the bicycling marketplace. They are a very well engineered and produced bicycles sold 'consumer direct", meaning- this won't be sold through a local bike shop. I don't mind their business model, so I've no axe to grind there, but that is a huge part of Canyon's DNA and something that needs to be thought of whenever you see their bicycles. In some ways, the "checks and balances" that a traditional retail model brings to design choices is not present with Canyon. That can be a good thing or a bad thing.

That said, here is my take on Canyon's gravel bike, the "Grail". Besides the obvious religious reference the name brings up, it also conjures up the thought of earnest pursuit and desire. An interesting moniker for such a bike. Unless Canyon thinks this is the "holy grail of gravel bikes", in which case I'm going to strongly disagree. I'll get to that later......

Of course, the bike is carbon fiber, a fact barely mentioned by most media coverage of the bike so far. I looked at a few reports, but this one from Cyclingtips is the best, most detailed I've found yet. Then again, with the oddball "Hover" handle bar/stem system, one might be forgiven for focusing on other fare here. Yes, that's an innovative take on vibration management. Yes......it is also proprietary. That can be good or bad. A few media folks have already stated their misgivings on the design, which may reflect deeper negativity towards the design, since when your host flies you out to a swank media camp for the unveiling, it isn't easy to be harsh on the product. At any rate, early commentary by others is interesting in that it doesn't go all in for the Hover system.

A look at how the Hover bar geometry works in relationship to traditional set ups. Image courtesy of Canyon

I won't get into details about the design. Go read the Cyclingtips article, but the bottom line here is either it fits you, you like it, and you won't ever want to change, or it is a big ask from Canyon to have folks compromise on fitting and ergonomics. I'm betting on the latter, but I still tip my hat to Canyon for trying something different. Beyond the striking, shocking design, here is my take on the Hover Bar system, and that will lead into why I feel Canyon missed the boat on the geometry here.

First off, they tell us that the Hover Bar is most comfortable when you ride on the hoods or even more so with your hands nearer to the stem. This is very traditional roadie positioning for rougher sections of riding in road races. Okay, fine, but.......those sections typically don't last a long time. Obviously, if road races were chock full of sections so rough that riders needed to use this position to survive them, and sit upright, not being very aero, then we would see a sea change in design to allow for more aero positioning in the drops. In fact, that's how road racing was pre-World War II. Front end design was extremely different then as compared to today.

In gravel racing, the "rough sections" are often times the entire course. Then we throw winds into the equation. If you are thinking about racing and sitting upright to make the bars work their best on this Canyon you won't be cheating the wind like the other riders around you. Even having to sit on the hoods all day isn't optimal, so Canyon's claims of great compliance may be true, but not entirely practical.

Secondly, this also leads to Canyon's choice of traditional road geometry in the front end. Weight off the bars and on your butt allows for the use of a steeper head angle with a shorter offset fork, which according to the numbers posted in the Cylingtips article, I think they are using here. That's fine until you weight the bars and the front wheel gets planted. The steep head angle (stated at 72.5°) with the short offset will make impacts want to "tuck the fork under" the rider. This was what was wrong with 29"er geometry in the beginning. Designers wanted a quicker feeling front end for 29"ers so they steepened the head angles and used the shorter offsets to achieve that. They were successful, but when used in practice it was a horribly unstable, harsh, crash prone way to get better handling due to the way forks would want to bend backward under impact, effectively making the trail figure less and therefore more unstable.

This problem was solved by using longer offsets with slacker head angles, putting the fork more in line with impacts and ridding the bikes of the mechanical trail issues while riding. This is exactly what is going on with the Canyon bike. They are effectively doing the "29"er v1" geometry mistake for a bike that is meant to be ridden in rougher terrain. The trail figure they reached is fine, but just like early 29"ers, when the rider is in the drops and fighting rough, gravelly roads in a headwind, this bike won't handle as well as a bike with a slacker head angle and longer offset with similar trail figures. Having that front wheel "out there", floating above the gravel instead of digging in is also a factor to consider here.

Otherwise I like the deep bottom bracket drop and chain stay length looks fine. The tire clearances aren't optimal, but if this is a racing bike then......fine. If it is a do everything-go anywhere at anytime bike, well then they screwed up here. You decide what they mean by limiting tire/mud clearances.

Bottom line- A striking bike that will have its fans but misses on a few key points in my opinion.

The Canyon Grail Gravel Bike: My Take

Canyon range topping Grail 8.0 Image courtesy of Canyon

NOTE: Large doses of "my opinion" will be handed out in gloppy dollops today. You've been forewarned.....

Canyon Bikes is a German outfit that is a "disrupter" in the bicycling marketplace. They are a very well engineered and produced bicycles sold 'consumer direct", meaning- this won't be sold through a local bike shop. I don't mind their business model, so I've no axe to grind there, but that is a huge part of Canyon's DNA and something that needs to be thought of whenever you see their bicycles. In some ways, the "checks and balances" that a traditional retail model brings to design choices is not present with Canyon. That can be a good thing or a bad thing.

That said, here is my take on Canyon's gravel bike, the "Grail". Besides the obvious religious reference the name brings up, it also conjures up the thought of earnest pursuit and desire. An interesting moniker for such a bike. Unless Canyon thinks this is the "holy grail of gravel bikes", in which case I'm going to strongly disagree. I'll get to that later......

Of course, the bike is carbon fiber, a fact barely mentioned by most media coverage of the bike so far. I looked at a few reports, but this one from Cyclingtips is the best, most detailed I've found yet. Then again, with the oddball "Hover" handle bar/stem system, one might be forgiven for focusing on other fare here. Yes, that's an innovative take on vibration management. Yes......it is also proprietary. That can be good or bad. A few media folks have already stated their misgivings on the design, which may reflect deeper negativity towards the design, since when your host flies you out to a swank media camp for the unveiling, it isn't easy to be harsh on the product. At any rate, early commentary by others is interesting in that it doesn't go all in for the Hover system.

A look at how the Hover bar geometry works in relationship to traditional set ups. Image courtesy of Canyon

I won't get into details about the design. Go read the Cyclingtips article, but the bottom line here is either it fits you, you like it, and you won't ever want to change, or it is a big ask from Canyon to have folks compromise on fitting and ergonomics. I'm betting on the latter, but I still tip my hat to Canyon for trying something different. Beyond the striking, shocking design, here is my take on the Hover Bar system, and that will lead into why I feel Canyon missed the boat on the geometry here.

First off, they tell us that the Hover Bar is most comfortable when you ride on the hoods or even more so with your hands nearer to the stem. This is very traditional roadie positioning for rougher sections of riding in road races. Okay, fine, but.......those sections typically don't last a long time. Obviously, if road races were chock full of sections so rough that riders needed to use this position to survive them, and sit upright, not being very aero, then we would see a sea change in design to allow for more aero positioning in the drops. In fact, that's how road racing was pre-World War II. Front end design was extremely different then as compared to today.

In gravel racing, the "rough sections" are often times the entire course. Then we throw winds into the equation. If you are thinking about racing and sitting upright to make the bars work their best on this Canyon you won't be cheating the wind like the other riders around you. Even having to sit on the hoods all day isn't optimal, so Canyon's claims of great compliance may be true, but not entirely practical.

Secondly, this also leads to Canyon's choice of traditional road geometry in the front end. Weight off the bars and on your butt allows for the use of a steeper head angle with a shorter offset fork, which according to the numbers posted in the Cylingtips article, I think they are using here. That's fine until you weight the bars and the front wheel gets planted. The steep head angle (stated at 72.5°) with the short offset will make impacts want to "tuck the fork under" the rider. This was what was wrong with 29"er geometry in the beginning. Designers wanted a quicker feeling front end for 29"ers so they steepened the head angles and used the shorter offsets to achieve that. They were successful, but when used in practice it was a horribly unstable, harsh, crash prone way to get better handling due to the way forks would want to bend backward under impact, effectively making the trail figure less and therefore more unstable.

This problem was solved by using longer offsets with slacker head angles, putting the fork more in line with impacts and ridding the bikes of the mechanical trail issues while riding. This is exactly what is going on with the Canyon bike. They are effectively doing the "29"er v1" geometry mistake for a bike that is meant to be ridden in rougher terrain. The trail figure they reached is fine, but just like early 29"ers, when the rider is in the drops and fighting rough, gravelly roads in a headwind, this bike won't handle as well as a bike with a slacker head angle and longer offset with similar trail figures. Having that front wheel "out there", floating above the gravel instead of digging in is also a factor to consider here.

Otherwise I like the deep bottom bracket drop and chain stay length looks fine. The tire clearances aren't optimal, but if this is a racing bike then......fine. If it is a do everything-go anywhere at anytime bike, well then they screwed up here. You decide what they mean by limiting tire/mud clearances.

Bottom line- A striking bike that will have its fans but misses on a few key points in my opinion.

Off Road Drop Bar Stuff

I reviewed this bar recently, but there are so many out now, I cannot keep up.

I got a lot of hits on my Off Road Drop Bar page, ( temporarily down for maintenance), but now it appears a lot of those old links I used to direct people to for information have been shut down. I just went in there and cleaned things up, but the page is gutted and it needs a refresh.

It used to be that there were only a few real choices in off road drop bars as late as only five or six years ago. But since that time, the "adventure" bike, "all-roads" bike, and obviously, the "gravel bike" niches have blossomed and with it, choices for handle bars with flare and sweep.

So, instead of trying to be the unabridged page of off road drop bars, I decided to instead focus on design and where certain choices work and do not work in drop bars for off roading or gravel riding. When you get down to the brass tacks, certain things work and certain other things not so much. Some design choices are just down right weird. My plan is to shed some light on that and I will also use a few examples of classic bars which will illustrate the point well.

Then I may add in some advice and techniques on how to wrap bars, reduce vibration, and how to do other sundry details on flared drop bars. We'll see where it goes. It needed some updating and cleaning up, so that will hopefully be happening here in the Fall and I want to get that back on the site here soon. Suggestions? Comments? Concerns? Hit me up in the comments section. Thank you!

Stay tuned.......

Off Road Drop Bar Stuff

I reviewed this bar recently, but there are so many out now, I cannot keep up.

I got a lot of hits on my Off Road Drop Bar page, ( temporarily down for maintenance), but now it appears a lot of those old links I used to direct people to for information have been shut down. I just went in there and cleaned things up, but the page is gutted and it needs a refresh.

It used to be that there were only a few real choices in off road drop bars as late as only five or six years ago. But since that time, the "adventure" bike, "all-roads" bike, and obviously, the "gravel bike" niches have blossomed and with it, choices for handle bars with flare and sweep.

So, instead of trying to be the unabridged page of off road drop bars, I decided to instead focus on design and where certain choices work and do not work in drop bars for off roading or gravel riding. When you get down to the brass tacks, certain things work and certain other things not so much. Some design choices are just down right weird. My plan is to shed some light on that and I will also use a few examples of classic bars which will illustrate the point well.

Then I may add in some advice and techniques on how to wrap bars, reduce vibration, and how to do other sundry details on flared drop bars. We'll see where it goes. It needed some updating and cleaning up, so that will hopefully be happening here in the Fall and I want to get that back on the site here soon. Suggestions? Comments? Concerns? Hit me up in the comments section. Thank you!

Stay tuned.......

Minus Ten Review- 13

Ten years ago on the blog I was talking about two custom bikes I was having made, news about 29"ers, and off-road drop bars.

I guess no one was really saying much about them back then but me because these posts have, and in many cases still are, garnering a lot of hits here. Hits from all around the world too.

Since those days, the off road drop bar has been adopted as the defacto bar for gravel travel. Every Tom, Dick, and wanna-be bike company is putting out a "gravel bike" now and you gotta have a flared drop bar on it, don't cha know?

Funny how that all worked out. But back ten years ago, we weren't thinking "gravel bikes", I was thinking about single track and mountain biking, so it was a bit different take then. Trying to explain how a drop bar worked off road and how to set one up was a never ending conversation. Many just couldn't wrap the mind around it.

Today, it seems that the flared drop bar is in its hey day, and even mountain bikers are taking another look at these things. More people than not seem to "get it", and that's had the effect of not having those explanatory comments and posts on my end.

All good things.