New so introduction and the obligatory first question........handlebars!?

\nNew to the forum, live in Uk, it's wet, rough, muddy generally!! Been riding bikes for years and at the tender age of 48 not skating so much now so seem to be more. Not extreme amounts or distances like a lot of you I imagine more of a fun thing than competitive or ‘serious’. Needed something to help keep cholesterol down so just over a year ago so bought a Genesis Croix De Fer 20. Love it! \nDue to not being such smooth a rider and a sturdy 6’2”ish along with loving the anything that isn’t a road and smoothish to rough as a bears ars* mashed the stock hubs (more me than the quality of hub and not re-greasing a hub that’s not sealed)…….. now run a Hope wheel set which is spot on and just got a Brooks B17 Imperial as always wanted to try that bit of UK history!! \n \nThree other bikes two BMX and a MtBike. So there is a little of me but now to a question I have which is handlebar related for the CDF! \nLooking to get some ‘more’ flared handlebars on the CDF as love the rough stuff and have some great farmers lanes, bridleways around my way sometimes getting very rough terrain wise, even riding over to the Mendip hills at times for everything from fire road to single track but love avoiding tarmac on this bike!!! \n \nThere are two in particular I have been looking at the Ritchey WCS Venturemax (but I don’t get the bump on the drops lol) look great and the Salsa Cowchipper which seems to get great reviews! Both have very similar specs but according to the specs the the Cowchipper has a slightly longer reach to the Venturemax making the Venturemax preferable ‘for me’ though I then read a review on the Cowchipper which stated it had a shorter reach than the Venturemax which confused me!! \nTo me and the riding I like the flare makes sense for comfort and control. Anyway I’m throwing it open to discussion as I have trawled through here, reviews and other forums on said bars and others but riders know best!!! \n \nOf the Ritchey WCS Venturemax and the Salsa Cowchipper who has experience of one, both? \nDo they prefer one to the other and why? \nOr should I be looking at some others too? \n \nCheers in advance for any help in making a decision. \n \nJ \n

I have Cowchippers on 3 of my bikes and find them to be a great choice.  I also have used the woodchippers but the drops stick-out to far for my taste.
I also have a pair of Easton AX70 bars and really like those.  The flare is really nice.  I also have used a pair of on one midge bars.  Extremely short drop and flare on the drops.  Just to much flare for my taste makes riding on the hoods to difficult for any distance.  Still I cant bring myself to part with em.  The Salsa bars are a good starting point.  I held a pair of the Ritchey AdventureMax bars but couldn't get past the bumps on the drops,  and couldn't bring myself to drop the money at the time.  A very interesting bar for sure.  You can almost always find 42 and 44cm cowchippers used.  Anything wider is more difficult to find used.

Ekh.

The fact you have 3 sets of Cowchippers says a lot in itself! I thought the same of the Woodchipper and as cool as the Midge looks it's a pretty big step so had ruled it out for now probably. \nNot looked at the Easton so will do before making any decisions. \nAs for that bump on the Ritchey Venturemax it's the only bit that worries me as cool as they look. Should get my hands on a pair. \nSecondhand is a possibility bit as you say harder at larger size (me typically!) would be either 440 or 460 wide but I'll look can't hurt. Stock ones are 440mm on bike at moment as have the XL version but with the added flare 440mm wide may still be ok. \n \nThanks for the feedback, really appreciatedc😀

This topic was thoroughly discussed here:http://ridinggravel.forumchitchat.com/post/gravel-specific-handlebars-8456522?highlight=handle+bar&pid=1296797816
The take away is that for a lot of us, the preferred handle bar for gravel has a shallow drop with flared ramps. This allows the rider to ride comfortably in the drops for better control, when the going gets rough. My choice is the Ritchie Venturemax.

Bmxargh wrote:

Thank you Bob

Sometimes you can't see the wood for the trees when serching forums etc. I'll have a read of the link.

I have found out the stock Genesis is a 16° flarewhich surprised me so I'll be looking to the 24° bars without a doubt!

Much apprieciated

One other factor I forgot to mention about gravel specific bars is they also usually have shorter reach as well as shallow drop and flared ramps. All of these design mod's give you a more upright comfortable position that, when sometimes combined with a somewhat shorter higher stem,  sacrifices some aerodynamics for greater control, and comfort - especially your lower back, hands and wrists. Of course a lot depends on your riding style, flexibility etc. Just remember, that works for you on a road bike on smooth pavement, can be murder on a rough dirt and gravel road.

I don't have the Ritchey WCS Venturemax bars, but I have a set of "ergo" bars with a similar bump and I hate them. The bump limits hand placement locations for me, because it is uncomfortable unless your hands are in the drops "just so".

Getting down the local shop this week I hope. Contenders are Venturemax, Midge, Cowchipper or something similar if they suggest anything. May get some of that Supacaz Sticky Cush to go on whatever i get, also toyed with the idea of some Brooks tape but probably Cush.....we'll see

Bmxargh wrote:Getting down the local shop this week I hope. Contenders are Venturemax, Midge, Cowchipper or something similar if they suggest anything. May get some of that Supacaz Sticky Cush to go on whatever i get, also toyed with the idea of some Brooks tape but probably Cush.....we'll see

I'll repeat myself here from other posts: padded tape may help a bit, but IMHO, for gravel comfort look for wider supple low pressure tires, and more forgiving (upright) position on the bike. On tires - in general, the wider the better. Many tests and articles have shown that wider tires at lower pressure, have the same or lower rolling resistance as narrower tires of the same make and model run at their required higher pressure. The main disadvantage of wider tires is increased weight, but this is negligible in real world dirt and gravel, while the increased traction and improved shock absorption of wider tires at lower pressure more than offsets the weight penalty. You'll see this even in the pro peleton, where more and more teams are opting for 25 or even 28 mm tires in preference to the old standard 19 and 23 mm.

bobknh wrote:
I'll repeat myself here from other posts: padded tape may help a bit, but IMHO, for gravel comfort look for wider supple low pressure tires, and more forgiving (upright) position on the bike. On tires - in general, the wider the better. Many tests and articles have shown that wider tires at lower pressure, have the same or lower rolling resistance as narrower tires of the same make and model run at their required higher pressure. The main disadvantage of wider tires is increased weight, but this is negligible in real world dirt and gravel, while the increased traction and improved shock absorption of wider tires at lower pressure more than offsets the weight penalty. You'll see this even in the pro peleton, where more and more teams are opting for 25 or even 28 mm tires in preference to the old standard 19 and 23 mm.

\n \nTotally! Running a set of Challenger Gravel Grinders 38mm bought specifically for our wet UK muddy winter. Really notice the comfort level upping on a slightly lower pressure, roll well too, great tyre! Nice size and smooth enough central section to fly along but the lugs on the side come into their own particularly in the real muddy sections when your tyre sinks in and they find purchase aswell as loose corners where with my older tyre I started to lose traction and the wet UK winter really hit in even if shift my weight about to try and find it the smoother old tyre couldn't bite enough. I lean my bike over slightly to let the lugs on the side of the Gravel Grinders bite in on straight sections at times in deep mud or loose stuff so not quite riding upright but it works where the old ones would slip and spin at times. \nI expect I'll stick a tyre with a little less tread on the sides with more even tread depth across it again come summer and muds not such a problem where hardpacked and loose stone gravel is more the issue but the 35-38mm tyre size is where I like it regardless.

Well after a lot of deliberation. Umming and ahhhhhing I finally settled on some bars. Will they be good or work for me? Only time and actual riding will tell. \nThere is a possibility of a slightly shorter stem and when I say slightly I mean around the 10mm mark may happen due to them being of longer reach BUT I am leaving this until after a few rides and I get a feel for them. Not jumping in. \nNext on the list after that is perhaps an inline seatpost but I digress, the bars, what did I get??? \n \nSome 440mm Thomson Dirt Drops, we'll see what they do for me........thanks for the help 😁 \n \n