I love my bicycle, but its high, straight bars made riding into the wind difficult. I thought about adding drop bars to make myself more aerodynamic, but then I would have had to replace my brakes and shifters. I found the solution while reading a forum thread discussing . A member posted a picture of his butterfly-shaped (also called Euro touring bars), and I knew they would be perfect.
Instead of lowering the grip like drop bars, trekking bars extend the rider's arms forward. They also offer many more hand positions, and I could attach my existing brakes and shifters to the rear grips. I some bars last week and attached them this evening.
First, I removed the hardware and the old bar.
Then, I attached the new bars to the stem and reattached the hardware.
I left the bolts loose and took the bike outside to adjust the angles of the bar, brakes, and shifters. I could tell the front grips would give me a much lower and faster ride. The rear grips were slightly closer and higher than the straight bars, but it felt good to be more upright when starting or stopping.
With everything tightened, I took the bike back inside to wrap the bar with spongy grip tape. I trimmed the ends with electrical tape. The only difficulty came on the inch and a half stub between the shifters and the end of the bar. The tape barely fit between the bar and shifter housing. I had to use a small flathead screwdriver to push it through.
I took a test ride around the block. The bars feel great, and I love how unique they look. I am going to donate the old straight bars to .
