11.04.2011

New Cockpit


The first picture is of the Jones H-Bar in it's original form. I ran it like this on the Xtracycle for about a year. I used the multiple hand positions occasionally, but never got around to wrapping them with bar tape. When I moved the bars over to the Troll, I thought I would desire a little more comfort in the alternate positions.

I've got a trip coming that'll have me pedaling the Troll a good 65 miles over a 24 hour period. I figured this was as good a time as any to wrap the bars. Conclusion? I should've done this long ago. I never got around to wrapping them because I rarely used those hand positions. But after wrapping them, I realized that I never used them because they weren't as comfortable.

Now, they're a great option, even on a shorter commute, to give my hands a rest and make riding more enjoyable. It was foolish to wait this long.

As a side note, I'm not great at wrapping bars. Honestly, I have no idea what I'm doing. Add to that the fact that these bars a unusually shaped and I was clueless. This certainly works, but I'm sure a pro could do better.

Get out there.

5 comments:

  1. Looks like a good wrapping job. Wrapping is not something that needs to be done by a pro. Just keep wrapping and unwrapping until you get it the way you like.

    I had never see the H-bar before a couple of days ago, I saw one on a custom build at the bike shop. After seeing yours I think I want one (bad) on my Xtracycle.

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  2. @ Chris - I really like them. They're great for longer rides. But I benefit mostly from the primary hand position being pointed slightly inward. On a straight bar, I have a lot of wrist pain. These are perfect for MTB riding. I liked them on my Xtra, but they didn't get used to their fullest potential since it doesn't see a huge amount of mileage.

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  3. I have H-bars on both my Xtracycle and Pugsley. The wide, angled bars give loads of control on the snow when riding the Pugsley.

    The wrap job looks fine. It's tricky to transition the tape from the straight bar to the angled part.

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  4. @ Doug - I love the wideness, too. I've been riding them for a week with the wrap and they're becoming my favorite bars.

    As far as the wrap job looks... I don't really know what to do at the end of the bars. A close up of the bar end would show an ugly tape job :)

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  5. My Jones Loop bar on my LHT is frankenwrapped. I just added an extra layer on the left but not on the right bc I need to find another short piece. I'm still not quite satisfied with reach and wrists for long rides, but in town it's fine.

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