WTB Mountain Road Bars on Silvio!!

[Brian Lewis]

Well I was unhappy with the clearance between my hands and knees on the 44cm bar that came with my donor bike. I also didn't like the lack of leverage the 44cm gave me. I was also seeking to angle my hands a bit for more comfort. I found a way to solve all 3 problems in the WTB Mountain Road Bar 25.4mm size!!

I bought one from Elitecycling.biz for $53, they were quick to ship about 1-2 days after I ordered.

The 25.4mm bar fits perfectly in the Silvio stock mount. I didn't have to modify anything. The clamps fit like a glove and the sleeves fit super snug with plenty of clamp room to go.

I now have oodles of clearance around my knees, and when turning the bars don't dig into my thighs

My hands are now at a more comfortable 30 degree angle

Bar is a whopping 60cm wide, 30 degree angled 127mm shorty drops!!

Pictures below as always

 

[Mark B]

Brian,

Those look darned good! I wonder why a person couldn't chop off that 2-3 inches coming off the drop? Doesn't seem like you would need it and in fact, it looks kind of out of place.

Mark

 

[Brian Lewis]

Good thought, I might cut an inch off the 2" that sticks out. When I hold the bars I like the slight curve to support the lower portion of my hand, so I can hold lightly onto the bars and they will stay up as they rest on that curve. Cutoff tool and file here I come

 

[Mark B]

I didn't consider the armrest function, almost like aero bars, huh?

For cutting bars like that, I like to score it with a tubing cutter, so you get a nice line to follow.

Mark

 

[John Tolhurst]

Excellent choice Brian, particularly if you have a decent shoulder width.

I keep thinking I'll trim off my bars too, you can put your hand there while riding but its not that comfy, better to cut em off probly and move the bars an inch closer if you need a slightly more closed arm position.

 

[Mark B]

I have a 46 cm bar I was planning to use when I get my Silvio. I was playing around with it last night and think definitely that last two inches of the drop can be chopped off. I'm going to try bending some old bars, too and see if I can't come up with something like what Brian has, but not quite so wide. More of a happy medium, I guess.

I was looking at Tom Traylor's website and kind of interested in his transformer handlebar set up. http://traylorfwd.home.mindspring.com/aero_bar_article.html

Mark

 

[Brian Lewis]

Although I haven't taken it on a long ride with the new bars (weather has been below freezing) I did tool around my neighborhood after installing the new bars. The difference between a 44cm straight down drop road bar and my 60cm 30 degree angle drop bar is night and day. Its much easier to control the front end because of the added leverage, and the position of the hands is more comfortable at the 30 degree angle. The width is actually very comfortable and if you compare it to some other recumbents, the width is similiar, ie the Bacchetta line of recumbents uses a 22" wide (56cm) with 30 degree angled drops, my bar is a 23.6" wide with 30 degree angled drops and that added 1.6" width (.8 each side) gives me the additional leverage needed for a front heavy/front wheel drive Silvio.

 

[Mark B]

Brian,

I hear what you're saying. I just question which is your bigger advantage, the hand angle, or the bar width? I am going to take a 46 cm bar and attempt to bend the drops out, like what you have, but keep the narrower profile bar. I find that as I meld with the bike, I don't need that leverage as much. For hammering/climbing, yes... But for cruising, my hands just mostly sit there.

Mark

 

[cycleguy]

THese look great! I just ordered a set for myself too...

Harold

 

[Brian Lewis]

OH MY GOD!! These bars are amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just road White Rock Lake in Dallas 3 times (30 miles total) and these bars are a sweet setup!! Dead serious, perfect amount of knee room, perfect angle for my hands, fantastic leverage. I'm now able to ride one handed if I want, the bike is extremely controlable at any speed, night and day different from a 44cm bar.

 

[Mark B]

Brian Lewis wrote: OH MY GOD!! These bars are amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just road White Rock Lake in Dallas 3 times (30 miles total) and these bars are a sweet setup!! Dead serious, perfect amount of knee room, perfect angle for my hands, fantastic leverage. I'm now able to ride one handed if I want, the bike is extremely controlable at any speed, night and day different from a 44cm bar.

Mmmm, my flat bars are pretty short and I can ride one handed. I'd attribute this to another week on the bike, more than the bars. Comfort, however, cannot be argued with. Thanks for the update!

Mark

 

[Brian Lewis]

Using the Center to Center measurements my WTB is 17" (43cm) on top near brake levers and 22.25" (56.5cm) drop center to drop center

The angle of the drops is where the additional width comes into play, so its like taking your 44-46cm bars and bending the drops out so that instead of your hands holding the bar at a 90 degree angle you are in a more relaxed 60 degree angle. This then moves your fingers/thumb away from your knees that are coming up constantly near the bar.

 

[Mark B]

Brian Lewis wrote: OH MY GOD!! These bars are amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I hope so, I just ordered a pair.

Mark

 

[Brian Lewis]

Mark even though I've been removed from your Christmas Card List, I still wouldn't steer you wrong. How is Redlands treating you? I use to live in Corona from age 11 to age 21 when I moved out of the Inland Empire and back into south Orange County. 2.5 years ago I sold my home and moved my family to North Dallas (Allen TX) for a better life, best move I've ever made..

 

[Mark B]

Brian Lewis wrote: Mark even though I've been removed from your Christmas Card List, I still wouldn't steer you wrong. How is Redlands treating you? I use to live in Corona from age 11 to age 21 when I moved out of the Inland Empire and back into south Orange County. 2.5 years ago I sold my home and moved my family to North Dallas (Allen TX) for a better life, best move I've ever made..

Brian,

You're inching closer and closer to getting back on my Christmas card list. If these bars work out, who knows? You could end up getting year end family update letter, as well.

Corona is a rat race and gateway to hell (Orange County). Unfortunately, urban sprawl has kind of engulfed Redlands, too. But, we're still rural enough there are good roads to ride. Many of the orange groves have given way to housing tracts. The scenic and aromatic beauty (remember how good the orange blossoms used to smell?) are going, but the growth has brought about wider streets and smooth, new pavement. We still have the Redlands Classic bicycle race, which is fun. I plan to parade the Cruzbike around there. Should get lots of stares. If you lived in Orange county, you have to know about the Santa Ana River Trail. They have elxpanded that on this end now, with a section that runs continuously from almost Norco all the way through Riverside, Colton and into San Bernardino. It will soon be expanded into Redlands. I don't remember what the timeframe is for connection to the Orange County trail, but I know some intermittant sections are getting put in now. That will be cool to be able to jump on the trail here in Redlands and take it all the way to the beach. We do that now, but that means surface streets into and through Corona.

Mark

 

[Brian Lewis]

Ahh that is awesome, yea I come out and visit every June and December, I usually meet up with friends and ride Whiting Ranch, I'm afraid to see what those trails look like this year since the fire Might head over to Aliso Woods Canyon and climb up to the top again to view Laguna Beach from Top of the World.
I never did cycle on roads when I lived in CA, I was into mountain biking trails around Ladera Ranch, Whiting Ranch, etc. My passion turned to road when I moved out here to Texas because we have super nice wide roadways and the cars are generally nice to riders, a hell of alot nicer than CA thats for sure.
If you do any MTB riding I'd love to have you join me on my next visit, I always set a date/time to ride with friends on the trails.

 

[Mark B]

Brian Lewis wrote: If you do any MTB riding I'd love to have you join me on my next visit, I always set a date/time to ride with friends on the trails.

I'm strictly a roadie, so maybe we'll just have to settle for a beer...

Mark

 

[Rick Harker]

Guys,

Without any riding experience yet (Cruzbikes or recumbent) I'm getting the feeling that the wider bars make a big difference.
Brian has expressed his delight and if anyone has a wider bar on a Sofrider I'd be happy to read about the experience.

Regards,

Rick.

 

[cycleguy]

Brian Lewis wrote: Good thought, I might cut an inch off the 2" that sticks out. When I hold the bars I like the slight curve to support the lower portion of my hand, so I can hold lightly onto the bars and they will stay up as they rest on that curve. Cutoff tool and file here I come

From the WTB website for these bars:

"WTB does not recommend modifying the Mountain Road bar in any way, and doing so will void the warranty and could result in injury or death." maybe more then legalize...structural issue?

I just got mine today.. putting them on now!

Harold

 

[Mark B]

cycleguy wrote:

Brian Lewis wrote: Good thought, I might cut an inch off the 2" that sticks out. When I hold the bars I like the slight curve to support the lower portion of my hand, so I can hold lightly onto the bars and they will stay up as they rest on that curve. Cutoff tool and file here I come

From the WTB website for these bars:

"WTB does not recommend modifying the Mountain Road bar in any way, and doing so will void the warranty and could result in injury or death." maybe more then legalize...structural issue?

I just got mine today.. putting them on now!

Harold

Yeah, you would void the warrantee. But to tell the truth, the biggest stress put upon handlebars is the weight borne on them. In their normal capacity, you would epect to have, what, 100 plus pounds of upper body bearing down on them? In our usage, there is no weight bearing issues. You don't have to rely on the structural integrity near as much. Certainly, you do not need the drop portion and that is the part I have talked about chopping off. Please do not attempt such modifications at my suggestion. Brian has suggested the drop still serves a purpose for a change of hand position. I'll check that out before I chop. Stay tuned.

Mark

 

[Hotdog]

Mark B wrote:
Yeah, you would void the warrantee. But to tell the truth, the biggest stress put upon handlebars is the weight borne on them. In their normal capacity, you would epect to have, what, 100 plus pounds of upper body bearing down on them? In our usage, there is no weight bearing issues. You don't have to rely on the structural integrity near as much. Certainly, you do not need the drop portion and that is the part I have talked about chopping off. Please do not attempt such modifications at my suggestion. Brian has suggested the drop still serves a purpose for a change of hand position. I'll check that out before I chop. Stay tuned.

I'd be slightly wary of the argument that handlebars on a Silvio are subject to smaller loads than on an upright road bike. Handlebars on most recumbents are indeed subject to very light loads (just steering forces) but MBB FWD bikes are different as you can be expected to pull (hard) on the bars in order to use upper body strength to assist your pedalling action. I would imagine the peak stresses on the handlebars of a Silvio would be similar to those of an upright road bike, in both cases it's not due to the weight they bear but is determined by how hard the rider pulls on the bars (and that can be a lot more than the weight of the rider's upper body). The main difference would be that a rider on a upright road bike pulls the bars mostly upwards while standing to climb/sprint whereas the equivalent action on a Silvio involves pulling the bars mostly backwards.

So, I'd say a Silvio will want similar strength in the handlebars as an upright road bike, but that doesn't mean trimming the bars is necessarily a bad plan. The ends of the bars below your hand position contribute nothing to structural strength, so cutting a little off below the final bend in order to increase leg clearance/reduce weight/get a cool new look won't weaken them. I would ride with the bars unmodified for a while first though, to establish just how much of the bars you're actually making use of in practice.