Expansion bar for mounting stuff?

[contango]

I've got almost no space for mounting stuff on the handlebars of my tricross. Partly because there just isn't much space and partly because the suicide levers take up a chunk of what little space there is.

I've found a product that provides a bar attached to a headset spacer (http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/thorn-accessory-bar-t-shaped-55-mm-extension-0-deg-prod11041/) but the clamp looks like it's equivalent to a 27mm spacer. I don't have that much space between headset and handlebars and don't really want to raise the bars enough for it to fit. Does it really need a 27mm collar to secure it?

I've been contemplating having the suicide levers taken off completely as I never use them but then keep thinking they are potentially useful to have. My trouble is that if I mount my nice new Hope light in what little space remains, the bracket is wide enough that the suicide lever doesn't work anyway as the Hope bracket is in the way.

Struggling to come up with useful ways forward from here that don't involve attempting to machine a part from scratch, given I have no experience of welding and very little experience of soldering.

[Polar Bear]

Is it possibe to mount the accessory bar above the stem?    I also recently discovered a replacement steerer cap with an accessory bar mount attached.  It was on ebay but I don't have the link to hand.   Sorry.

[Aidan]

What abou these?

Top cap mounted

http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/mounty-space-bar-ii-stem-cap-fitting-prod27157/

Bar mounted
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/topeak-bar-xtender-handlebar-extension/

http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/minoura-space-mount-sg-400-short-extension-prod32043/

this ones stem mounted

http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/minoura-swg-400-swing-grip-handlebar-extension-from-stem-prod32019/

[IanDG]

Is there any room on the bars at all? I use one of these attached to the bars next to the stem. I'm not using it at the moment so could arrange a loan before you buy.

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/minoura/sg1-space-grip-bar-extension-120mm-ec009105

edit - just noticed the 'product no longer available to purchase' comment. An updated version?

http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/products/minoura-space-grip-extension-bracket

[jogler]

http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/products/minoura-space-grip-extension-bracket

I use one of those on the Trek to carry my maptrap.It's very good.

[LEE]

I use an SJSC accessory bar (the sort that needs 27mm steerer tube available).  You could fit one but it depends how much space you have.

If you only have 25mm then it's probably OK but at some point your stem will become dangerously "overhanging".

I have 2 Minoura Space Mounts.  Reports say they are made of cheese but mine have lasted years and carried lights, GPS, Map-holders.  They aren't as rock-solid as the SJSC item but they are more adaptable in my opinion.

I am about to receive a Minoura Space Mount SG 400 http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/minoura-space-mount-sg-400-short-extension-prod32043/

If you wait a couple of days I'll review it. (I need something to hold my B&M IQ light and a GPS).

[Dtcman]

I use an Acor one on my audax bike like this;

http://www.dotbike.com/p/8040


Very thin mount onto the bars so takes up little additional space and is very stable. I've got 2 lights and my garmin GPS on it. seems expensive in that link. IIRC I paid about a tenner for it on Fleabay but there don't seem to be any on there from Uk sellers at the moment.

[contango]

Thanks everybody. There's almost no space on the handlebars available. I just about managed to fit the mount for a Hope Vision One light between the stem and the suicide lever on one side but it filled the space to the point the suicide lever doesn't work because it's got no space to move into.

That top cap device looks the most promising, it's just a question of just how it would look on the bike and whether the lights would shine past the GPS (I've got a large GPS mounted using a mount designed for a motorcycle, on the basis several reviews of the bicycle handlebar mount said it was flimsy and prone to break.

I may yet talk to the LBS about what they'd charge to take the suicide levers off completely, since I almost never ride on the flats. Not sure how much that would help as I'd still have the brake cable emerging from under the bar tape to consider, but at least it would give me a little more space on the bars.

[LEE]

My vote is always to remove "suicide" brake levers.

Beware the extenders that screw into the steerer "top cap" as they can mess you up if you want to turn the bike over to fix a flat.

Get rid of the brake levers and get a Minoura extender.  Lots of space for lights and computer, lots of space for hands. Job's a good'n.

[Chris N]

Bin the suicide levers and strap less crap to your bars.  Easy job to remove them - replace the levers with inline cable adjusters (http://www.evanscycles.com/products/m-part/micro-inline-gear-cable-tension-adjusters-pair-ec008188) and you won't even need to swap the cables.

[tiermat]

I think there may be a bit of mis-communication.

What the OP is talking about is NOT what we would know as suicide levers, but rather crosstops (they are fitted as standard on the tricross, IIRC)

Suicide levers:



Crosstops:

[LEE]

Never seen the need for either of them to be honest.

If my hands are on the tops then I'm either hauling up a steep hill at walking pace or pootling about slowly.  I'd much rather have the space and less complexity.

OK, update.
 I just took delivery of the Minoura Space Mount SG 400 http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/minoura-space-mount-sg-400-short-extension-prod32043/

First impressions are very good.  A big improvement on my old Minoura Space Bars.  The clamp is a much more elegant solution and takes up 16mm or bar space. 

Will post a photo later today when I've fitted it and when it has some gadgets attached

[contango]

I think there may be a bit of mis-communication.

What the OP is talking about is NOT what we would know as suicide levers, but rather crosstops (they are fitted as standard on the tricross, IIRC)

Suicide levers:



Crosstops:

Ah, you're right. I thought what I had were suicide levers.

The problem I have is that in your picture of crosstops it looks like you've got a good inch or more between the cable emerging from the lever and the stem attachment. What I've got is about 1/4", literally just enough to squeeze the mount for my Hope Vision One into the gap (and I can only get it in by removing the brake lever first and refitting it later).

[jogler]

My vote is always to remove "suicide" brake levers.

Bin the suicide levers

+1. We can't all be wrong.

Having dispensed with the xrosstops,remove bar tape back to drop levers:re-route brake cable to run behind the bars(the side nearest to you as you ride);rewind bar tape.You can the terminate the tape as near to or far from the stem as you wish/is practicable.Now there would be ample room on the bars for lights,computer.
Having said & done all that I still use a bar extender on the Trek

[LEE]

Same here.  I don't need extension bars but I like using them anyway.  Bars are for hands not gadgets.

[contango]

Losing the secondary brake levers would be a bike shop job as it would involve replacing cables in ways I'm just not confident to attempt at the moment. I'd probably ask if they'd let me watch the mechanic do the work so I could do it myself next time - they're usually pretty good like that.

Hadn't even thought to shorten the bar tape, one of those "D'oh" moments where the solution is so obvious I missed it. It's just a question of whether having the LBS remove the levers would be a better solution than trying to build something for myself. I do rather like the idea of the headset cap holding an extension bar, simply because it means I can transfer the GPS and lights from the tricross to the MTB quickly and easily, and removing items for transport on the car means just swapping out the cap-with-bar for a regular cap and then swapping back at the other end.

[LEE]

Minoura Option, fitted today and used tonight.

It's a very solid bit of kit which takes up a very small piece of handlebar "real estate".  It certainly doesn't encroach on any part of the bars I use for my hands.

[contango]

Minoura Option, fitted today and used tonight.

It's a very solid bit of kit.

Looks interesting, although I've come to realise that if I don't lose the secondary levers I don't have space even to mount something like this, and if I do lose the levers I don't think I'll need one. I don't have much stuff mounted, I've just got a grand total of about no space unless I'm going to use very narrow plastic straps to secure mounts for stuff. For a tiny little light it works, for my heavy GPS and bigger light I want something a little more meaty.

I'm thinking it's time to ask the LBS how much they'd charge to remove the secondary levers.

[fuzzy]

Contago,

Any chance you can post a picture of your bar setup (with something to scale the size)? We might be able to offer solutions once we can see the extent of your problem.

[andrew_s]

Crosstop levers exist in 3 clamp sizes - 22mm for the main grip section of the handlebar, and 26mm and 31.8mm for old and new stem clamp sizes.
Looking at the post-change photos, it would seem that you had the 26mm clamp size with the brake levers close to the stem, and that there's hardly any space at that diameter remaining once you allow for the stem clamp and lever clamp.
If you want the supplementary barke levers back, you could obtain and fit a pair with the 22mm clamp size. These would fit more or less where the bar tape ends in the photos, leaving plenty of room for an accessory bar.

[contango]

Not the best pictures I've taken... the ruler scale is in millimetres. There really isn't a lot of space, especially since I've taken the light off completely.

The large mount is for a GPS, in theory I could use a less robust mount but it wouldn't save me any useful amount of space.





In the lower picture the mount for my Hope light will fit between the stem and the secondary lever but it's sufficiently tight that the secondary lever won't operate with the space it leaves, rendering it useless.

[contango]

Crosstop levers exist in 3 clamp sizes - 22mm for the main grip section of the handlebar, and 26mm and 31.8mm for old and new stem clamp sizes.
Looking at the post-change photos, it would seem that you had the 26mm clamp size with the brake levers close to the stem, and that there's hardly any space at that diameter remaining once you allow for the stem clamp and lever clamp.
If you want the supplementary barke levers back, you could obtain and fit a pair with the 22mm clamp size. These would fit more or less where the bar tape ends in the photos, leaving plenty of room for an accessory bar.

I think you're talking about Paul Metcalfe's photos, mine are much closer to the stem. It may be that a pair for a narrower bar (or with shims fitted) would be the solution although in fairness I couldn't tell you the last time I used them, other than to stop a wheel turning while I was carrying the bike.

[fuzzy]

That gap does look a little tight. I can't find specs anywhere that give handlebar clamp width.

I did however find this which is a space grip that clamps to the stem behind the handlebars.

It might help.

[LEE]

That gap does look a little tight. I can't find specs anywhere that give handlebar clamp width.

I did however find this which is a space grip that clamps to the stem behind the handlebars.

It might help.

That's going to solve a lot of the "I'd like to mount lights near the fork-crown but...." issues I reckon.

[Dtcman]

I use an Acor one on my audax bike like this;

http://www.dotbike.com/p/8040


Very thin mount onto the bars so takes up little additional space and is very stable. I've got 2 lights and my garmin GPS on it. seems expensive in that link. IIRC I paid about a tenner for it on Fleabay but there don't seem to be any on there from Uk sellers at the moment.

This one will definately fit that space. I will try and post a pic of my setup.