Thursday, March 16, 2006

1st impression of JJ H-bar

So, I rode the Jeff Jones H-bar on 4-5 rides. I wanted to love it, but it just didn't feel right. I put a longer stem on per everyone's recommendation (I normally run a 90mm Stem and put on a 110mm). First ride with the "los" at Madrone, I liked the sweep, but nothing else. 1/3 of the way through the ride, and my hands were numb. Second and third rides showed the same results, and on my final ride with Alan @ Flat Rock Ranch, I was through with them. Hands numb, and I felt that the extensions were useless. I also never rode in the position everyone said was their favorite at the junction of the extensions and the flap portion of the bar. I didn't play around with angle, or even try a different length. After much frustration and a considerable investment in a bar, I'm done.

I decided to put my 90mm stem back on and attached my EC90, rode it last night and felt very comfortable. No hand numbness, although I did miss the sweep of the Jones bar. My next move will be to slap on the Mary bars and see how I like them. I may just be a riser bar kind of guy.

Ricky, thoughts?

3 comments:

DT said...

I wouldn't worry about it man. You know Ricky had his frame designed with those bars in mind...they aren't for everyone. I also remember it taking Ricky an extremely long time to get used to those bars, like more than a month.

I say give the Mary's a try, if you don't take to them after a ride or two go back to a riser bar. No shame in sticking with what works. That's why there are so many options out there, what works for somebody else may not be what works best for you.

DT said...

Oh, by the way, the next time I'm in Austin we are totally hooking up for a ride and some beers bitch!

dfd said...

Try trekking/butterfly bars.