Knees put this project on hold somewhat, but recent rides (yay!) have reconfirmed the feeling that I just can't reach the damn brakes properly (uh-oh!).
The current set-up is short reach Tektro levers on compact bars. I also have a 50mm stem.
There's still a slight issue with reach - my hands tend to come back off the hoods a little and sit more on the shoulder of the curve going into the hoods - but the biggest issue is that, with my hands on the hoods, I really struggle to get my fingers around the brake levers in a way that I can apply any serious leverage. I rarely use the hooks: I try and make myself move down on fast descents, but I struggle to get to the levers from here, too.
So I'm thinking about butterfly bars again, this time seriously enough to spec up some components.
I've found these narrow ones that would seem to be comparable in width to the flat bars on my commuter and the current dropped handlebars:
https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/handlebars/520-humpert-contest-narrow-multi-position-handlebars-254mm-clamp-black/This would need a new stem, as current short stem (and the longer one it replaced) was for 31.8mm clamp diameter.
What I'm trying to think through now is what brake levers and gear shifters I would need. I'm after mountain bike style pods, but I don't know how to go about matching those to the brakes (cantilever). Is there a particular sort I'd be after? Is that combination possible?
Gearswise, I currently have bar end shifters. 9 speed on the back, indexed, with a triple on the front, friction.
Could I replace those with something like
https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/gear-shifters/shimano-acera-slm3000-9-speed-rapidfire-shifter-pods/ or
https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/gear-shifters/shimano-alivio-slm4000-9-speed-rapidfire-shifter-pods/ ?