Friday, May 8, 2009

3T Ergonova review part 3.

Continued from earlier...

The icing on the cake with this bar is the slight outward sweep that the drops have. Where the brake hoods mount to the bar is actually almost 2 whole centimeters narrower than in the drops. This works brilliantly by giving you the ability to run your brake hoods at a width you are normally comfortable (in my case 42 centimeters) but at the same time giving your a bit more leverage in the drops when you are sprinting. This flared design also pulls my forearms a bit further away from the tops of the bars which gives a much more open and stable feel when out of the saddle in the drops.

3t5

I found this to work so well in fact that I installed a pair of these bars on my track bike as well.

3ttrack

There are other companies out there that have designed bars that are similar to the 3T.

The FSA compact bar design is a great solution for smaller riders who are looking for some of the same benefits of the Ergonova but I have found that for my height and riding style they can be a bit too cramped if you like to ride in the drops a fair bit.

That aside however, I have found that the dimensions of the FSA compact bar (about 1 full centimeter smaller in reach and drop compared to the 3t) has worked wonders for shorter or less flexible riders that I have fit on their existing bikes and almost always allows them to use the drop bars far more than they ever had been able to in the past.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

so what size are your bars if the hoods are at 42cm? I was looking for reviews on these bars and am thinking about picking up a pair.