Sadly many of the older recommended handlebars on this forum for the V20 (and therefore V20c also) are no longer available. While I'm considering getting a V20c, I'm still researching which components I would need to buy to replicate or improve my current fit on the V20.
On the V20 I have the Ritchey Evo Max 42cm. This has a 12 degree outward flare, and with that, the drop width is 48cm. With handlebar tape, the inner width at the hand position is 42.5cm. With that, I can just about go straight without my legs touching my thumb. I wouldn't mind an extra cm of clearance, and I absolutely would not want to have less clearance.
Also, I would prefer to have a bit more drop, so that I can get more leg clearance without reducing the arm extension. With this, I mean that my legs easily hit the handlebar when the pedal is the most backward position, closest to the handlebar. So I have to move the bar closer to my body, and to compensate for this, I would like the drop to be long so that the arms can be as straight as possible.
This makes it pretty hard to find a perfect fit without ordering tons of bars and measuring them at home. I would take the Evo Max again, but it is out of production. Also, since I will rotate the bar so that it doesn't have the intended orientation, getting a round bar would be preferable over an aero shape.
Also, the models with a large drop usually have very little outward flare, which means the drop width is too narrow for enough leg clearance. And the gravel bars with a lot of flare are wider than necessary and therefore less aero. This means for me the 12 degree outward flare seems perfect, but this limits the choice of models quite a bit, especially since I want the drop to be as large as possible.
The models from MOST Jaguar seem quite promising for me, but are very expensive, and hard to get in Europe.
The Whisky 6F and 12F models also seem worth a look. Does anyone here know what their drop width is?
The Bontrager GR Elite Road would probably fit quite well, but are only 6066 alu and heavy (better models are 7050 alu or carbon).
For materials, the general choices seem to be 6061 aluminum with a weight of around 320-350 g for a handlebar, 7050 alu with a weight of around 270 g, and carbon fiber with a weight of around 200 g (and three to four times the price).
Here are some contenders with the specs I could find (not guaranteed to be correct):
Handlebar | Drop (mm) | Reach (mm) | Flare (°) | Weight (g) | Material |
Thomson Road Round | 147 | 72 | ? | | |
Ritchey WCS Logic II | 144 | 82 | 1 | | |
Ritchey Superlogic Evocurve | 130 | 80 | 2 | | |
MOST Jaguar Ultra Gravel | 130 | 78 | 12 | 199 g | carbon fiber |
Thomson Off-road Handlebars | 130 | 105 | 25 | | |
Ritchey WCS Ergomax | 128 | 73 | 12 | 270 g | 7050 alu |
ZIPP Service Course SL 70 | 128 | 70 | 4 | 260 g | 7050 alu |
Bontrager GR Elite Road | 128 | 75 | 13 | 322 g | 6066 alu |
Easton EC90 AX | 125 | 80 | 16 | | |
MOST Jaguar Ultra Gr Ticr | 125 | 80 | 12 | 299 g | |
FSA Advendure Compact | 125 | 78 | 12 | | |
ZIPP SL-80 | 125 | 80 | 4 | | |
Whisky 6F No. 7 / No. 9 | 125 | 67 | 6 | | |
Ritchey WCS Evo Max | 120 | 73 | 12 | | |
Pro Discover 12 | 115 | 65 | 12 | | |
Whisky 12F No. 7 / No. 9 | 115 | 68 | 12 | | |
ZIPP Gravel Service Course SL-70 XPLR | 115 | 70 | 16 | 280 g | |
Salsa Woodchipper | 114 | 56 | 25 | 357 g | 6061 alu |
Salsa Woodchipper Deluxe | 114 | 56 | 25 | 329 g | 7050 al |
Salsa Woodchipper Carbon 2.0 | 114 | 56 | 25 | | carbon fiber |
Specialized Roval Terra | 103 | 70 | 12 | | |
Ritchey Superlogic Venturemax | 102 | 76 | 24 | | |