The following questions and answers have been collected from the pages of the CTC magazine. The most recently published are at the top of the list. Note the year and month and be advised that some of the older information may now be out of date.

Road-shock insulation – 2006.03

The letter from Neil Smith regarding his problems with his hands needing padding from the handlebars, and Chris Juden's "Bar Phat" suggestion, reminded me of the method that I used some 30 years ago when I had a similar problem. I purchased a length of water-pipe insulation and likewise bound it in position with bar tape. I might add that this solution was very much cheaper than the product suggested!

Robert B.B. Gibbs – Long Crendon, Bucks

Talk of water-pipe insulation reminds me that the original Grab-On, Maxi-Foam Touring Grips, so popular during the 1980s, are still available and distributed by Madison Cycles plc. The Grab-On Mountain-Bike grips nowadays sell in greater numbers however, since the trend for concealed cables on dropped handlebars makes the Touring Grips difficult, but not impossible, to fit.

At £13.95 for the Touring Grips or £7.95 for MTN-2: this stuff is also much more expensive than water-pipe insulation, but combines scientifically optimised softness with sufficient resistance to abrasion that no outer wrapping of tape is required.

Chris Juden

Human-resistant bar tape – 2005.11

After a ride, my hands tell me that I need more padding on the drops, but I am not fond of gloves. All the handlebar foams I have used disintegrate after 1000 miles. Cork tapes are slightly better, but not thick enough. Can you suggest a rugged, human-resistant foam?

Neil Smith – Stalbridge, Dorset

The time-honoured solution was two wrappings of tape, but we can now do better than that.

I've heard good reports of "Bar Phat" by Specialized. This comprises four strips of squidgy stuff that are laid along the upper surfaces of the tops and drops, then bound into place by taping in the usual way with the special cork tape provided. This is available in two thicknesses (4.5mm and 2.5mm, undoubtedly you'll want the first) and in Henry Ford's choice of colour. End bungs are also provided in the Bar Pat kit, which costs £14.99 from the CTC shop, £13.50 to members, or £13.49 post-free to anyone from Primera Sport.

I can't vouch for the durability or Bar Phat and guess the outer tape will wear in the usual way. The original handlebar tape was leather of course, and that's probably the ideal "human resistant" material. And now you can buy it again, from Brooks of course, as seen at Eurobike!

Chris Juden

Butterfly bars – 2004.07

In reference to Bob Bowman’s query concerning handle bars, I too have experienced neck and back pain. Like Bob I always had drop bars on my cycles. Having seen a pair of butterfly bars during a tour of Holland a few years ago I thought this might be the way forward. It was quite expensive to convert my Dawes Galaxy, including a new braking system, but fortunately my local dealer managed to secure a set of bars at a very reasonable price.

I must say the bars have proved most successful. The various pains have gone, I can see where I am going and hill climbing is much easier with the wider bars a great aid to breathing. They offer three good positions and I am convinced I do go a little faster. My wife has also had her bike converted and she now rides down hills with confidence.

I have noticed on a recent trip to the continent that more and more cycles are being equipped with butterfly bars. I appreciate that bars and saddles are very personal and I do not do great mileages, but these bars have transformed my cycling experience and I can’t recommend them highly enough.

Edwin Guard – Solihull

Updrops – 2004.05

Chris Juden in his reply to Bob Bowman question mentions sawing the hooks off drops and turning them upside down. Would it be possible to have some illustrations of this, as I need to visualise it.

David Miles – Cardiff

Sorry: I knew it needed a picture and that I had one somewhere – finally found it – a bit old-school and without the bar-end shifters, but you’ll get the idea.

Chris Juden

Alternatives to drops – 2004.03

I’m tempted to covert my Dawes Galaxy (2002 model, bar end shifters) from drops to this type of bar. Basically I’ve had enough of stiff necks and staring at the front mudguard and don’t think that being on the drops has that much advantage when touring. Ad hoc experiments have shown only a very slight speed increase on the drops compared with on the hoods when descending and I’m starting to think that drops are only seriously advantageous for roadies and racers.

We do quite long tours (Bilbao to Cherbourg last year, thanks to a brilliant CTC 50% off deal with P&O Portsmouth) so it’s this type of trip that the conversion would be used for.

My questions are:

1. what are the general pros and cons 2. will the existing shifters and levers fit 3. can a Karrimor Bardale be used.

Bob Bowman

1: None of the popular shapes of handlebar are optimised for touring. For long-distance relaxed control you really want your wrists aligned at quarter to three or ten to two (as your driving instructor will have said) and the nearest to that on a bike is “on the hoods” with drops, or bar-ends on flats, or the sides of butterflies. Of these, only the first gives ready access to the brakes or gears and the latter two also spread the arms rather wide.

Changing from drops to flats without changing stem length etc. will automatically produce a more upright position, since it brings the handgrips nearer the saddle – with butterfly bars a lot nearer the saddle. More important than aerodynamics, this reduces the amount of bodyweight that can readily be applied to the pedals. Climbing will be more awkward, putting more strain on arms and back. The upright posture befits a slower style of riding and lower daily distance, avoiding significant hills. But it doesn’t sound like that is your style. Alternatively: fit a longer stem with flats and you may be able to produce a posture that works well enough on hills but is not so forward-leaning as to cause the stiff neck.

2: Flats (including butterflies) will require new brake levers but the shifters can be fitted into some designs of bar-ends.

3: Any Klick-fix fitting bar bag can be attached to butterfly bars using the special extended version of the Klick-fix bracket.

Another idea is to saw the hooks off the drops and turn them upside down. A lot of old-timers do that (once arthritis gets into the spine so they have no more use for the drops). Leave enough curve to fit the existing brake levers so you can reach them with your hands on the "horns" and get enough lever travel, and pop the bar-en shifters into the truncated up-turned ends. Fit these up-drops onto a shorter (close-up) handlebar extension and you've probably got more or less what you're looking for at a minimum outlay.

Chris Juden

Reversed stem – 2004.03

Chris, I wonder if you can help solve a query I have over a possible solution to my problem. Although normally proportioned for my 5 foot 6 inch height, I always feel too stretched out on normal road frames; which is why I have a Thorn Brevet with short top tube, and a custom made Longstaff tandem. I would like to buy a new frame to build up into a bit of a workhorse and general touring machine, and have come up with an idea that one local dealer says is feasible and another ridicules. Would it be possible to fit a short stubby type of stem, and reverse it so that the handlebars were actually behind the upright of the stem? I am concerned about the steering properties of this set up, as I don't know if it would affect trail, and might handle like the normal superstore trolley! I have not seen any other references to this arrangement, so look forward to your observations.

Brian Horswill - Haverforwest

Reversing the stem can be done. It looks horrible but it works. A colleague had to do that since a back injury made it too painful for her to adopt the customary aerodynamic crouch. She had to sit more upright and could not use dropped handlebars any other way. She could have used straight bars of course, but already had the drops and still wanted the choice of hand positions they give.

The “normal” situation, with forward-swept dropped handlebars on an extension of 10cm or so, is actually the weird one, since it places the hands a considerable distance ahead of the steering axis. When a racing cyclist steers, his hands don’t simply reciprocate – like on a car steering wheel – but also swing from side to side. Triathlon handlebars involve an even stranger way of steering, with the hands so far in front it’s more like working a boat tiller – from outside the boat! It’s generally acknowledged that this reduces control, which is why it’s not allowed except in time trials – where riders are supposed to keep so far away from one another it doesn’t matter so much if one looses it!

Turning the stem around to face backward subtracts the extension length from the forward sweep of the dropped handlebar, so your hands will end up more or less in line with the steering axis. They’ll be in about the same place as they would be with a traditional, back-swept roadster handlebar. The bike will feel different from how it did, more like a roadster than a sportster, but there's nothing wrong about that. If anything it is more normal. It doesn’t affect frame geometry or trail in any way at all.

A more upright riding position puts a bit less weight on the front wheel of course, which always makes a bike feel more lively, but that is true regardless of how you achieve that position. Purists may chunter but don't let them bother you: a reversed stem will work fine.

Chris Juden

Drops & hubgears – 2003.01

I have a machine fitted with Shimano’s Nexus hub gears – the seven ratio model. I wish to fit dropped bars as I find straight bars uncomfortable. Is there a compatible shifter that I can fit to drops?

Mr T Tomlin, Basildon

All hub-gear shifters (even Rohloff) are designed to fit the 22.2mm (7/8in) diameter of modern flat-type handlebars, but drops are made from fatter tubing, typically 23.8mm (15/16in). To fit any of the standard twist-grip controls, you’d have to saw several cm off one handlebar end and somehow splice in a section of the appropriate diameter. People have done that (file bar and tube ends to corresponding tapers, glue and pop-rivet). But you’re in luck. There is an alternative trigger shift for Shimano’s Inter-7, which fixes with a steel band; and like the old Sturmey-Archer 3-speed triggers, this will tolerate a little manipulation to fit a slightly bigger diameter – sometimes with the aid of a longer screw. Ask your dealer to order part number ST-7S20.

Chris Juden

Putting drops on a MTB – 2002.09

Is it possible to fit dropped bars to a rigid mountain bike I wish to make a bit quicker for my commute to work? Are there any brake levers available which are compatible with dropped bars and V-brakes. Also what shifters would be best. The gears are a triple crank and 8 speed rear.

Bazz Smith – Wakefield

Yes you can fit drops, but you’ll need a much shorter stem extension or else your hands, placed normally just by the lever hoods, will be some 4 or 5 cm further away from the saddle than you’re used to. And you’ll need a handlebar with the standard (but not so common on drops) centre diameter of 25.4mm in order to fit that stem properly. Upmarket drops are generally 26.0 or 26.4, which can be pressed into a 25.4 stem of the front opening type, but at the risk of surface damage that might lead to premature failure.

The Dia-Compe 287-V brake levers pull (just about) enough cable for direct-pull brakes, but have a tortuous cable exit from the lever that adds friction, so expect to some slight loss of performance. Or you can adapt each brake with a “Travel Agent” so they work with any normal drop bar levers including dual controls. Either method reduces the performance of a V-brake to something like a regular cantilever, so you might alternatively fit a pair of those. Avid make a range of cantis that are optimised for dropped bar bikes.

Since Shimano rear indexing is always the same, whether road or mountain-bike, there will be no problem operating your rear mech with a road shifter, STI included. But the front is different. Road front indexing use less cable travel than the MTB stuff. So you’ll need a shifting regime that doesn’t try to index the front – e.g. bar-end shifters.

Actually there are a couple of ways of getting around the compatibility problems and combining a Shimano mountain-bike transmission with either Road STI or Ergopower controls – which I’ll have to describe another time.

Chris Juden

Handlebar width – 2001.05

I'm building up a road bike. I already have a frame and stem and am about to buy some bars. However the ads all talk about sizes. One I'm interested in says that they come in two sizes; 44 or 46 outside to outside and another 42cm centre to centre. How would I find out which is the best size for me?

Rob Batho – Bognor Regis

First of all, 44cm overall width equals 42cm between centres of the drops, which is the usual way to measure this shape of bar. The 'received wisdom' is that this should be the same width as your shoulders — when there's a choice. The standard width is 42cm. This matches up pretty well with the average UK male at 412mm, measured between the bony tips of the shoulders (acromial processes, according to PeopleSize 1998).

Road racing bikes have narrow handlebars partly because steering a hard tyre on smooth tarmac doesn't call for much leverage, but more importantly: if the arms are kept close to the body this reduces wind resistance. Holding them too close however, inhibits breathing. The bars equal shoulders rule is a workable compromise between aerodynamics and ergonomics. The average female shoulder width is 366mm. Handlebars are seldom made this narrow, yet that does not seem to be a major problem for women.

I reckon bars equals shoulders should be regarded as a minimum. Certainly mountain-bikes place the hands somewhat further apart. Air resistance is not so important at lower speeds – compared to wrestling with the steering on rough terrain. Back on the road again: tandem pilots often use 46cm bars regardless of shoulder width in order to have better control of the beast. The same logic can apply to any bike with front-mounted luggage.

Chris Juden

Lower back pain? Raise bars first – 1998.11

Several years ago I wrote to you with regards finding a decent saddle for myself, to reduce my lower back pain. Recently I had a new stem, which has raised my handlebars several inches and brought them back. This has been a miraculous transformation for me. It is not yet perfect, but the relief is immense as my back is a lot straighter. This does not reduce my speed noticeably, and any reduction would be more than compensated by the newly acquired comfort.

So, if anyone asks how to relieve severe lower back pain, I would firstly suggest that they raise their handlebars and bring them back so that they are sitting in a nearly upright position. Then fiddle around with the saddle and check the frame.

S J Baker Bournemouth

A number of bar-raising accessories and high-rise stems are marketed under the Delta brand. Ask your dealer to contact Extra (UK) Ltd on 0171 267 0440

Chris Juden

Look out! – 1998.05

Member Stuart Gibson, of Wimborne Dorset was riding an evening 10 (mile time-trial) last May when his Look Ergostem, er … went. The bars dropped onto his front wheel, the bike stopped, but he didn’t, receiving facial and other injuries requiring hospital treatment.

The unique feature of this stem is that it can be adjusted for length and rise by means of a couple of joints. But unlike other adjustable stems, its joints lack any positive locking device or serrations to limit movement in the event of a loose fastener. The security of each Look joint is critically dependent upon the friction produced by a 6mm bolt. If these are not tight enough, never mind actually loose, the stem can slip without any prior warning.

The manufacturers and importers can (and do) say that the user did not tighten each bolt to the recommended torque. That is 20 Nm: which by comparison with the standard Raleigh bike instruction booklet is about double the torque normally required for this size of bolt on a bicycle. And how many of us have a torque wrench?

It is reasonable that users of this stem may adjust it during a ride. But it seems unlikely that 20 Nm will be achieved with the size of allen key in a normal cycle tool kit. I conclude that the design of this component is likely to lead to accidents. Users beware.

Chris Juden

Where do handlebars break? – 1998.01

Mr. Calder of Edinburgh enquired in the April/May issue about alloy handlebars breaking. I can divulge all, having had it happen to me twice.

My first failure occurred when I was cycling a loaded touring bike downhill, in the rain, on cobbles in Péronne whilst being overtaken by a large lorry. The right end of my handlebar suddenly became floppy; and although I had never heard of handlebar failure, it is remarkable how quickly you realise what’s happening. My smugness was short-lived, for a split second later I was trying to stop the loose end of the handlebar from dropping into my front wheel whilst attempting to brake with the left. Each time I braked, my weight was naturally thrown forward on to the bars, and as a reflex I automatically gripped the loose end as well, thinking it was going to help me resist. I eventually skidded the bike into the kerb, remembering to warn my partially-sighted companion that I was stopping so that I did not get shunted up the saddlebag as well!

Examination showed that the bar had sheared next to the central clamp at a point where I had once fitted a lamp bracket which had cut the surface of the aluminium.

Eighteen months and 5,000 miles later, I was waiting in the ferry queue at Boulogne, musing on a strange, intermittent ticking that I had heard over the last two days. When had I heard that before? Just as they called me for the ferry I remembered that the last time I heard ticking like that, I had been unable to trace the cause but it had been near Péronne. I wrenched my alloy handlebars up and down and the right end snapped off. How I laughed!

So, Mr. Calder, the question of where do handlebars snap is easily answered: France. Seriously though, if your bars creak when you lean on them, change them now or start practising how to stop a bike with one hand!

Now, do you want me to tell what I did when my forks sheared off at the crown as I came down the hill into Wingham on the Canterbury Century?

Martin Lloyd, Folkestone

I read with interest your item about handlebar failure in the April/May issue of CT&C, as I had a handlebar fail some weeks back. Since I was accelerating (hard!) onto a roundabout at the time I was lucky not to have come to grief; it certainly gave the driver behind me a surprise.

The reason I am writing is to say that my bars had an external sleeve of the kind that you favour, and that the failure occurred exactly where the sleeve ended, and my thought was immediately that this caused a weak point. The bars had probably done 20,000 miles. I am not above average weight or strength.

I have also speculated, like your correspondent, on whether one should anticipate failure of alloy components after a certain length of time. I’ve had cranks fail three times, but after the first occasion I have always inspected them regularly and found the cracks before they turned into something worse. The handlebar extension that broke some years ago, however, gave no visible warning.

Alan Moffatt – Sheffield

Alloy fatigue – 1997.11

Regarding handlebar failure (April CTC mag.), I was once told by a dealer that all alloy components should be replaced after about 12 years, since by this age they became brittle and were likely to break. Is this true?

Mike Smith – Whetstone, London

If this were true it would be good for dealers! Fortunately it isn’t; but like so many bikeshop myths it conceals a grain of truth.

Steel is not immune to metal fatigue, but it’s only fair to say that aluminium alloy is somewhat more likely to suffer from it. Many cheap alloy parts are formed by low-quality methods such as casting: prone to gas holes and slag inclusions. And some aluminium alloys are eaten into by road salt, leading to surface cracks. But if you fit good quality, well-made components, use them sensibly and keep them clean, you should not need to worry about ‘best before’ dates! Another benefit of keeping the surface polished — one that applies to any material — is that you may see a crack before it becomes dangerously deep.

Chris Juden