Project Handlebar

[BrianI]

Great pictures Nikki, good to see the barbag fitted as well as that was one of my concerns.  Still not sure whether to convert my dawes horizon or not... Having butterfly bars would make it a nice change from my drop barred audax bike and my flat barred mtb...

My tourer is currently using vbrakes, so im not sure if that would complicate the conversion? I certainly haven't been satisfied with the braking from the hoods with the tektro drop bar vbrake levers.

Hmm

[Torslanda]

I'm a fan of butterfly bars. 

Brian, the only difference with your setup would be you need to get a pair of v-brake levers.

[nikki]

Wishing you many thousands of miles of happy, safe, confident and comfortable riding

Thanks 







BrianI, the barbag (Topeak TourGuide with a retrofitted Klickfix mount - see above) fits with just enough space for me to use the side pocket for a camera and to still take it in and out whilst on the move (also as above, although I did opt for both hands on the bars shortly afterwards!). These were my criteria for success!

I wasn't sure whether butterfly bars were the answer, but I knew I had to change from the drops and, if it turned out that they weren't for me, I would then be most of the way to a conversion to flat bars, which I know I can cope with. Torslanda swapped some of the spacers around on the brake blocks which would have improved things too, but the braking is completely different now with the mtb style levers - useful the other day, because it did get a bit mtb trail at a few points!

[Torslanda]

Think the new pads might have helped a bit . . .

[Cudzoziemiec]

Where are those photos? Looks a lovely place.

[nikki]

That's the Peak District being on jolly good form.

[BrianI]

I have the same bar bag Nikki, so it's good too see a photo of it fitted to the butterfly bars.  I've copy pasta'd your shopping list to give me an idea of what I need to buy. --edit although I think I'd need to for the standard width butterfly bars, rather than the narrow ones, since I'm quite tall and broad shouldered...

I think I may do the conversion, as I've never been happy with the braking from the hoods, and I very rarely cycle in the drops nowadays, as I prefer to be upright looking at the scenery...  A shame I spent a fair bit last year on the bar end shifters etc during my rebuild.  :-/  But I'm sure I could recoup some of the conversion costs swapping to the butterflies selling the bar ends on... (Or I may keep them in the spares box if I ever need to replace / upgrade the 8 speed claris STIs on the audax bike)... 

I do think it will be a worth while conversion though, as although my dawes horizon is over 8 years old (all that's original is the frame and seatpost.....) she is still a fine bike to ride.  Hopefully I will eventually do some cycle touring this year...

Torslanda, I had never been happy with the performance of the canti brakes on my dawes horizon (I had tried both the tektro oryx, and CR720), hence my swap to vbrakes.  At least flat bar vbrake levers are relatively inexpensive... 

Decisions decisions....   

 

[Torslanda]

At least one person approached me at Long Itch to ask if they could buy Nikki's bar end shifters... #justsayin'

[BrianI]

At least one person approached me at Long Itch to ask if they could buy Nikki's bar end shifters... #justsayin'

Still not sure about the butterfly conversion though. Looking at Nikki's photos, it seems that the butterfly bars will bring the brakes etc a lot closer.  Seeing as I find the tourer slightly too short (despite it being a 58cm frame) I think the butterfly conversion would make this even more an issue....  A lot of money to spend, for perhaps not much gain.... Hmmm..... 

[Kim]

When I'm using my butterfly bars, I tend to consider the closest position where the controls are to be the equivalent of the tops on drop bars - a slightly too upright position that lends itself to slowing down, starting off, off-road riding and seeing what's going on in traffic.  My cruising position is the upper corners, functionally equivalent to the hoods.  The sides are mostly used for honking up hills (they're really good for this), and when my hands want a change of position.

So having the controls a bit close isn't necessarily a problem - you reach back to change gear, a bit like with stem-mounted shifters, and there's nothing to be gained from an aero position while braking.

Your frame may vary, of course.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Could you not put the levers on the far away, "middle" bit of the bars? Or even invert the bars, so the ends are in front of the middle?

[nikki]

I have the same bar bag Nikki, so it's good too see a photo of it fitted to the butterfly bars.

I did a side-by-side with the old Topeak bracket, and it's only about 5mm shorter, so I reckon you'd probably be okay (assuming a similar curve on the front of the bars).

When I'm using my butterfly bars, I tend to consider the closest position where the controls are to be the equivalent of the tops on drop bars - a slightly too upright position that lends itself to slowing down, starting off, off-road riding and seeing what's going on in traffic.  My cruising position is the upper corners, functionally equivalent to the hoods.  The sides are mostly used for honking up hills (they're really good for this), and when my hands want a change of position.

Similarly, my default position seems to be the sides, coming back onto the area by the controls for fiddly or safety critical stuff, otherwise just reaching in for gear changes when needed. It turns out to be really easy to pivot on the heels of your hands to get from the sides to the control area, or to slide your palms back from from the upper area to sort of slap back to where they can brake.

Could you not put the levers on the far away, "middle" bit of the bars? 

I gather there are issues with getting the band of the levers around corners. I read somewhere of someone who had prised the circle open a little in order to be able to slide them further around, and then successfully closed it up again during normal tightening of the fixing bolt.

[Kim]

Could you not put the levers on the far away, "middle" bit of the bars?

I've certainly seen this arrangement.  With road levers for some reason, probably because they're more inclined to go round corners.

[Cudzoziemiec]

The lever fixing area of road and flat bars is different diameters. I can't remember what the difference is but I presume from this road is slightly larger.

But if Brian is finding his present drop bars slightly too close then could he not fit butterfly bars "upside down" or "back to front" so that they bend back then forward, with the levers in the same place on the bars but that bit of the bars would be at the front not the back? Or simply use a longer stem.

[Kim]

Inverting them would certainly make moving the controls to the front trivial but I don't think it would do much for overall reach.  The clamp area tends to be pretty central.

Longer stem ought to work...

[BrianI]

Inverting them would certainly make moving the controls to the front trivial but I don't think it would do much for overall reach.  The clamp area tends to be pretty central.

Longer stem ought to work...

I've already got a 110mm 40 degree high rise stem on the bike!

And I've tried a longer, flatter stem, but then the bars are too low...

[nikki]

Me 'n' the butterfly bars have now done about 700 miles together. Conclusion: that was a good move!
I still can't quite get used to the way they look, but they do Just Work.

At this stage, the worst I've got to say about them is it's not quite as easy to hang my helmet off them when I stop.

The front derailleur seems a bit more sensitive to locking up if I change to/from a non classy combination of gears, but I'll put that down to being as much my fault as the component's.

I didn't get around to adding the second layer of bar tape, but have put in some long days on the bike since and not felt the absence of padding or the relative thinness of the bars compared to other set-ups I'm used to. I think what helps is that I'm never really resting on a straight section of bar, so the curve supports the palm of my hands. That and, as previously observed, I'm moving around on the bars a lot more compared to on the drops.

Three times now I've been super chilled out and reached down to change non-existent bar end shifters. That wakes me up out of my reverie!

[ElyDave]

Looks great.  Love the Peak District photos, reminds me of the start of a fell race in Kirkby Stephen that I've run a few times.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Three times now I've been super chilled out and reached down to change non-existent bar end shifters. That wakes me up out of my reverie!

[BrianI]

Sounds like the butterfly bar conversion has been a good move for you Nikki! I'm still undecided about converting my Dawes Horizon...

[BrianI]

Sounds like the butterfly bar conversion has been a good move for you Nikki! I'm still undecided about converting my Dawes Horizon...

I never did get around to doing the conversion. Meanwhile in The Future, Shimano parts are rarer than hen's teeth! 

[nikki]

I know, right! I'm currently glad I kept the original front derailleur, as I think I'll be using it for an upcoming build...

[BrianI]

I have a cunning plan!

It seems you can get adaptors, to allow you to fit bar end shifters, to your handlebars (Jtek Special Thumb Shifter Brackets for 22.2 mm Bars - Black).

This means I'd be able to still use my current Shimano bar end shifters (Dura Ace 9 speed triple), and no need to change the front mech.  These may not look as neat as proper flat bar trigger shifters though, but stocks of 9 speed shifters (and comptible front mechs) are rarer than hen's dentures at the moment...

butterfly by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos

Jtek Special Thumb Shifter Brackets for 22.2 mm Bars - Black
Jagwire Rocket II Cable Adjusters for Fixing to Plain Frame/Headtube Boss - Per Pair
Genetic Zygote Handlebars - 31.8mm Clamp - Black - 600mm
Dia Compe DP-7 Disc / V Brake Levers - Black / Silver
Clarks Stainless Steel Universal Front & Rear Brake Cable Kit - W8012
Clarks Stainless Steel Universal Front & Rear Gear Cable Kit - W8009

£110 or thereabouts.

I do think it'll be money well spent if it means I can get out and enjoy cycling again, without complaints from my neck!

[Kim]

It seems you can get adaptors, to allow you to fit bar end shifters, to your handlebars (Jtek Special Thumb Shifter Brackets for 22.2 mm Bars - Black).

This means I'd be able to still use my current Shimano bar end shifters (Dura Ace 9 speed triple), and no need to change the front mech.  These may not look as neat as proper flat bar trigger shifters though

TBH, I think a thumb shifter is more useful for more kinds of riding.  Triggers are great when you have to maintain your mountain biking DETH-grip on the bars, but you can't beat a bar-end or thumbie for crashing all the way down the cassette in one movement before you come to a stop.  Plus you can tell what gear you're in by touch.

[BrianI]

Well, that's that lot ordered!