To groove or not? Suitable drop bars for Campagnolo Ergos?

[Oxford_Guy]

 I trying to work out which drop bars to get for my Mercian Strada Speciale road bike build, think they will need to be 26 mm diameter to work with the Nitto Pearl quill stem I would like to use, and must be silver alloy, not black. Width needs to be 42cm. I will be using Campagnolo Ergo levers (10 speed, 2006-era) on the bars, which route both the brake and gear cable housing under the bar tape.

I'm not sure what sort of bars to get though, in particular, should I get bars with cable cutout grooves for the Ergos? Or does this not matter?

Grant from Mercian recommend the Nitto Mod.177 bars (aka Nitto "Noodle"), which have a fairly flat ramp up to where the Ergos would go and which look quite nice, though am not sure I like the look of the way the horizontal part of the bar is not completely straight, part of it is angled. Also, I don't think these have any grooves for the brake/gear cable housing. I believe the Nitto Mod.185 has cable cutout grooves, but the overal shape looks a little different.

Someone else recommend to me the (discontinued, but available new on eBay) 3T Forma drop bars for use with Campagnolo Ergos. These are silver alloy, and have grooves for the brake/gear cable housing, unlike the Nitto Mod.177 bars, but they're also "ergonomic" shape with straight sections in the drops, which I don't think I'm so keen on for this bike.

Any other recommendations for suitable drop bars for my bike build?

[Oxford_Guy]

These Nitto bars seem to be designed with Campagnolo Ergos in mind:

https://alexscycle.com/products/nitto-m190-euro-81

"Compatible with Europian (sic) brake levers [I think they're implying Campag]. It has double grooves for shift and brake cables."

[Brucey]

I would prioritise the shape and fit of the bars first, and then worry about the cables after. The reason I say that is that campag ergos allow both cables to run side-by-side for the few inches they need to, at the front of the bars, if required. This means that you don't have to have a completely weird handlebar shape to grip  even if the bars are round and there are no grooves.

BTW grooves are OK but in some cases they weaken the bars too much for my liking. Several times I have seen cracks at the end of the grooves.

cheers

[LittleWheelsandBig]

I prefer the ovalised cross-section of wrapping tape over cables on bars without grooves. Shimano used to make a plastic 'caterpillar' that went over cable casing under handlebar tape. That allows a lovely custom handlebar cross-section.

[Oxford_Guy]

Okay, grooves or otherwise, any recommendations for nicely-shaped 26mm bars for my neo-retro Mercian bike build? The only experience of drops I have in recent decades is on my Hewitt Cheviot tourer - they're of the "ergonomic" sort, with quite a long straight section behind the levers. I find them quite comfortable, but don't think they would look right on the Mercian - think something with more of a traditional curve to them would suit better, but with not too steep a ramp down to the Campag Ergos.

[LittleWheelsandBig]

Handlebar shapes are an individual preference and vary with other factors e.g. handlebar bags, brake lever shape, rider flexibility. Just pick something that looks worthwhile to you and be prepared to change it in a few months, if necessary.

[Brucey]

+1 re the shape. BTW the shimano 'caterpillar' thingy was quite a good idea but IIRC it was a pre-STI thing, and would only accept a single cable, not both gear and brake cables as required for STIs or ergos.

cheers

[LittleWheelsandBig]

I run my Ergo cables front and back of ungrooved bars, so each caterpiller covers one cable.

[Paul H]

I like the Nitto Noodle, also like the VO Course which has straight tops, shallower drop and less flare, while still having long flat ramps like the Noodle

https://velo-orange.com/collections/handlebars/products/grand-cru-course-handlebar-classic-round-bend

Grooves - I've had bars with and without, I'd prefer with, though it's so far down the list it's unlikely to influence my choice.

[Oxford_Guy]

I like the Nitto Noodle, also like the VO Course which has straight tops, shallower drop and less flare, while still having long flat ramps like the Noodle

https://velo-orange.com/collections/handlebars/products/grand-cru-course-handlebar-classic-round-bend

Groves - I've had bars with and without, I'd prefer with, though it's so far down the list it's unlikely to influence my choice.

The VO Course looks nice, I prefer the straight top, compared to the more "radoneur" curved too look of the Noodle, though the long reach (115mm) may be too much unless I run a very short (e.g. 60mm) stem, though I may be wrong.

Strangely, when I had my bike fit at Mercian, they gave me a measurement for the stem length (90mm), but not for the bar reach so I don't know what that should be with a 90mm stem. I'll ask to see what they say.

[Oxford_Guy]

Sheldon Brown has this to say about grooves on handlebars:

https://sheldonbrown.com/harris/handlebars/index.html#handlebarsdrop

Grooves

•     Traditional handlebars have no grooves, providing a nice round grip area. They work with all types of drop bar brake levers and shifters.
•     Single-groove handlebars have a groove in the front of the bar to receive the brake cable with modern "æro" brake levers. These grooves are not at all necessary, since you don't rest any weight on the front side of the handlebar.
•     Double-groove handlebars have a second groove in the upper-rear of the top section. This is intended to receive the shift cable if you use Campagnolo Ergo brifters. The second groove is a nice feature if you use Ergos, but if you don't, it just makes the bars less comfortable. Unfortunately, a shockingly large number of new bikes come with double-groove handlebars but not with Ergo shifters. This is a really bogus arrangement, in my opinion.

[Brucey]

I run my Ergo cables front and back of ungrooved bars, so each caterpiller covers one cable.

of course....  also early STIs only needed the brake cable under the bar tape too, so only a single caterpillar required for those too.
I stumbled across the part number accidentally so I thought I'd post it

86B-9001

and a google found them allegedly in stock (for cheap) here

https://www.ultimebike.com/route/freinage/cables-gaines-de-frein/guide-pour-cable-de-frein-shimano-86b-9001.html

I wonder if some enterprising folk might make a 'double' version of this?

cheers