Flared drop bars for Gravel; - edumacate me !!

[Mr Purple]

Makes sense, will definitely still consider stepping mine down a bit.

When I built my road bike I looked at all the numbers - greatest potential for aero gains (apart from the rider position obviously) is in the bars, then the wheels, then the frame. That's why my road bikes always have boring old round tubes but I run aerodynamic bars and deep wheels.

Apparently in the 5W aero improvement of the Tarmac SL7 to SL8 80% of the gain was in the integrated bars. So upgrading your SL7 frameset to an SL8 frameset gives you all of 1W.

[warthog1]

Not sure it is that simple. I have a 2012 S5 and a 2012 TCR. ~30k km on each of them. Same bars, same position, very similar depth wheels. The S5 is consistently a touch faster.

I'm going aero for the next bike, free speed, just needs to fit a decent width tyre.

Yes the rider is the biggest drag. Helmet also makes a difference as do shaved legs.

The Specialized aerodynamicists in charge of the wind tunnel, Mark Cote and Chris Yu, were so surprised that they tested five more cyclists before they would let Thomas publicly reveal the findings. The results were consistent: All of them saved between 50 and 82 seconds over 40 kilometres.

https://velo.outsideonline.com/news/new ... gs-faster/

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/he ... e20370814/


Steel is real! slow

[MichaelB]

I think the uber wide bars were a bit of a fashion statement to make sure the moustachioed and flannel wearing gravel adventurers could be distinguished from normal cyclists.

Seems that trend has evaporated ....

[warthog1]

[queequeg]

I think the uber wide bars were a bit of a fashion statement to make sure the moustachioed and flannel wearing gravel adventurers could be distinguished from normal cyclists.

Seems that trend has evaporated ....

I have some Curve Walmer bars on my gravel bike. The 46BP version, which means they are not that much wider than my road bars (which are 42 Centre to Centre). Most of the extra width on the 46BP comes from the extended area in the middle to clamp extra stuff to when bikepacking.

I have broad shoulders so the 46 bars are actually not that wide for me. It's a nice sweet spot - goldilocks bars. The flared drops are quite shallow, and when doing some rocky descents I do enjoy the stability of the wider grip (they are 61cm wide at the bar ends). I am doing Thunderbolt's Adventure in the Barrington Tops next month, and the descents are a bit sketchy.

[warthog1]

I think the uber wide bars were a bit of a fashion statement to make sure the moustachioed and flannel wearing gravel adventurers could be distinguished from normal cyclists.

Seems that trend has evaporated ....

I have some Curve Walmer bars on my gravel bike. The 46BP version, which means they are not that much wider than my road bars (which are 42 Centre to Centre). Most of the extra width on the 46BP comes from the extended area in the middle to clamp extra stuff to when bikepacking.

I have broad shoulders so the 46 bars are actually not that wide for me. It's a nice sweet spot - goldilocks bars. The flared drops are quite shallow, and when doing some rocky descents I do enjoy the stability of the wider grip (they are 61cm wide at the bar ends). I am doing Thunderbolt's Adventure in the Barrington Tops next month, and the descents are a bit sketchy.

Have you tried riding narrower bars though?
Mine came with 46cm bars and I got rid of them immediately.
Plenty of kms on gravel and no control issues with narrower bars. 60cm wide bars will be a big aero penalty if you actually put your hands in the drops. I ride in mine a bit as it is a lower more aero position. Control is fine on the narrower bars and a far more efficient position.

[queequeg]

Have you tried riding narrower bars though?
Mine came with 46cm bars and I got rid of them immediately.
Plenty of kms on gravel and no control issues with narrower bars. 60cm wide bars will be a big aero penalty if you actually put your hands in the drops. I ride in mine a bit as it is a lower more aero position. Control is fine on the narrower bars and a far more efficient position.

I have not used narrower bars on my gravel bike. However, I am not concerned in the least about being aero on the gravel bike because this is not a race bike. I am out riding with friends doing bikepacking, so the most important features are comfort and practicality for riding all day and carrying everything with me.

[Mr Purple]

Just had a good look at my Checkpoint after a fast ride on the BVRT today - turns out because I'm running the 'smaller gentleman' 52cm size I've only got 400mm bars anyway.

Given the Deda Elementi Superzero gravel I was looking at are $400 I think I'll put that towards the next gravel bike - they're 400mm as well, even if they've got the more aero flat tops.

I know carbon will also be lighter and dampen down some vibrations but too be honest I've never really noticed any comfort issues anyway. I suspect 42mm tyres at 30-35PSI make more of a difference than any handlebars ever will.

[warthog1]

I am running these now.

https://a.aliexpress.com/_mMeqkmw

380 at the hoods and 410 in the drops.
I have dental cover but bought them after seeing positive feedback on the ww forum.
Plenty of control for me. Much more comfortable than wider bars and not turning me into a wind sock either.
Don't really notice any vibration damping over the aluminium goers I was running previously.

[open roader]

I loved my Zipp Service Course 70 XPLR bars so much that I put them on one of my road bikes. Minimal flare, comes in a narrow 40cm size and they have nice short with shallow drops. If they came in Carbon I'd buy another pair - love 'em - makes the most sense with drop bar riding on any surface.

[warthog1]

5° drop Flare and 11° drop outsweep creates a drops position 6cm wider than hoods

I haven't ridden anything with an "outsweep" like that. Interesting.

[robbo mcs]

I loved my Zipp Service Course 70 XPLR bars so much that I put them on one of my road bikes. Minimal flare, comes in a narrow 40cm size and they have nice short with shallow drops. If they came in Carbon I'd buy another pair - love 'em - makes the most sense with drop bar riding on any surface.

Just goes to show, not everyone is the same

I had a gravel bike that came with the those exact 40cm XPLR bars, and really didn't like them much at all. I gave them away to someone, and replaced the with them with Zipp service course SL70 ergo bars. Made a big difference in comfort for me, both the flatter profile of the ergo bars, and also less flare.

I guess that is why there are so many bars around, so people can find something they like

[Mr Purple]

So while my bike is in the shop awaiting a warranty frameset from the US I finally bit the bullet on some new bars for the new assembly.

Picked up a set of 3T Superghiaia (don't ask me to spell it, let alone pronounce it) in the 400mm width. RRP is something like $650 but a 'last set in stock' popped up on Amazon for $292 delivered which seemed ok.

They're a weird looking thing - because the shifter mount area is dead straight and the flare starts below it.



But 400mm at the top, 480mm on the drops, a little bit more reach, flat tops to be more aero and very importantly at 180g they're 140g lighter than the bars on there. Should hopefully get the 'not particularly light' ALR5 under 9kg.

[MichaelB]

So while my bike is in the shop awaiting a warranty frameset from the US I finally bit the bullet on some new bars for the new assembly.

Picked up a set of 3T Superghiaia (don't ask me to spell it, let alone pronounce it) in the 400mm width. RRP is something like $650 but a 'last set in stock' popped up on Amazon for $292 delivered which seemed ok.

They're a weird looking thing - because the shifter mount area is dead straight and the flare starts below it.



But 400mm at the top, 480mm on the drops, a little bit more reach, flat tops to be more aero and very importantly at 180g they're 140g lighter than the bars on there. Should hopefully get the 'not particularly light' ALR5 under 9kg.

Nice score !!

[warthog1]

A photo of Lachlan Morton winning the Unbound gravel race;



I noted the width of the bars.
I still fail to see what purpose wide gravel bars serve.

[queequeg]

So while my bike is in the shop awaiting a warranty frameset from the US I finally bit the bullet on some new bars for the new assembly.

Picked up a set of 3T Superghiaia (don't ask me to spell it, let alone pronounce it) in the 400mm width. RRP is something like $650 but a 'last set in stock' popped up on Amazon for $292 delivered which seemed ok.

They're a weird looking thing - because the shifter mount area is dead straight and the flare starts below it.



But 400mm at the top, 480mm on the drops, a little bit more reach, flat tops to be more aero and very importantly at 180g they're 140g lighter than the bars on there. Should hopefully get the 'not particularly light' ALR5 under 9kg.

I had a pair of these (the ones pictured at the top). I loved them as the flat profile at the top is like my Ergonova bars, the reach is the same and drop is shallow.

Unfortunately for me, the area where the levers clamp on is fragile and the whole area cracked. I only found this when I had the bike shop swapping my levers over from Shimano Road to GRX leading up to Thunderbolt's Adventure in 2022, and I was left madly cramping around for something similar (my bars were 4 years old at this point in time).

I ended up swapping for the Curve Walmer bars, which are alloy (they just released a Carbon version in widths from 43cm to 50cm).

I went with a 46BP bar. The primary benefit of the 46BP is the extra space for mounting Bikepacking accessories, and the flared bar ends give more room to fit a bar bag or roll under the bars without fouling the brake levers.

[warthog1]

I went with a 46BP bar. The primary benefit of the 46BP is the extra space for mounting Bikepacking accessories, and the flared bar ends give more room to fit a bar bag or roll under the bars without fouling the brake levers.

Fair enough, that makes sense as a use for them.

[Arbuckle23]

Put narrower bars on my Norco. Picked up a good second hand Zipp Service Corse SL-70 XPLR.
Feels OK around the yard, need to take the bike on a ride to make sure it feels good.

I think the wide bars thing comes from those who want to take their gravel bike on "gnarly" tracks.
For me, I just want to ride gravel roads, MTB is for rougher stuff!

[Mr Purple]

Unfortunately for me, the area where the levers clamp on is fragile and the whole area cracked. I only found this when I had the bike shop swapping my levers over from Shimano Road to GRX leading up to Thunderbolt's Adventure in 2022, and I was left madly cramping around for something similar (my bars were 4 years old at this point in time).

I ended up swapping for the Curve Walmer bars, which are alloy (they just released a Carbon version in widths from 43cm to 50cm).

I went with a 46BP bar. The primary benefit of the 46BP is the extra space for mounting Bikepacking accessories, and the flared bar ends give more room to fit a bar bag or roll under the bars without fouling the brake levers.

Thanks for the feedback! Disappointing they cracked around the levers, hopefully I manage to escape that fate! Though my tendency to break things may well come through in the end.

Hopefully I actually get my gravel bike back soon, I'm missing it.