Wider bars..

[Azz]

Hey guys,

Just bought a set of ProTaper Evo bars (super-wide, high) and thinking I might have shot myself in the foot.

Having a look at it all when I got home, the clutch and brake cable/line seem to have **** all slack in them.

How do you guys get around it when putting on wider/higher bars?
Is there a lot of re-routing you can do to make them go further?

Thanks!

 

[Erci]

You can move controls in a bit and angle levers down a bit. If it's still not enough, longer lines will be required.
You can also trim the bar to a reasonable width, unless really wide bar is what you're after.

 

[Azz]

See, that's what I thought, but the ends of them are only JUST long enough to fit all the controls on, it's only wider in the middle

 

[Erci]

Oh I see what you mean

That sucks
Have you tried angling the levers down to *gain* slack?

 

[Azz]

Oh I see what you mean

That sucks
Have you tried angling the levers down to *gain* slack?

Yeah, that's what I'm going to try when I take everything off.
I'm trying to reroute a few things and get some slack in them.
At the moment it looks like it'll be REALLY close, the only thing that probably won't go is the clamps on the clutch side, because I've got a seperate one for the mirror (the mirror thread on the clutch clamp broke ).

So I'm hoping I might be able to stretch it, then get a new clutch/mirror clamp..

Any other suggestions are appreciated

 

[Erci]

I got one.. when you mount the clutch side up, slide the clutch lever on first, then the mirror mount and then the grip. You'll still be able to reach clutch lever just fine and that should give you more slack than mounting mirror mount all the way on the inside

 

[Azz]

Although it took about 3 hours, I got the bars on and looking good!
Now the real test, how do they ride?

I'll update you all tomorrow (also with pictures!)

 

[Azz]

Alright guys, forgot pictures, but here's the first impressions.

A little less comfortable then the stocks, and more vibes due to the **** bar ends I put on.

Soo much easier to move though, can't wait to have a go for a run in the twisties!

 

[Erci]

They should be MORE comfortable, as far as position goes. ANY bars is more comfortable than stock. You make have to play with the angle.
As far as vibes.. yeah, heavy bar ends or filling the bar is a must.

 

[Azz]

They should be MORE comfortable, as far as position goes. ANY bars is more comfortable than stock. You make have to play with the angle.
As far as vibes.. yeah, heavy bar ends or filling the bar is a must.

I think its the width thats making it less comfortable, but yeah, bar end suggestions?

 

[Erci]

I think its the width thats making it less comfortable, but yeah, bar end suggestions?

The heavier the better. I happen to have these for sale right now

http://www.600riders.com/forum/bikes-parts-sale/33491-fs-hvmp-heavy-bar-end-weights.html

 

[The Toecutter]

I think its the width thats making it less comfortable, but yeah, bar end suggestions?

You can put these rubber mount bar ends on any bars... :rockon:

 

[Wolfman]

You can put these rubber mount bar ends on any bars... :rockon:

Yeah, but most of them dont do much, except lookm pretty, most of those billet style bar end's are very light....you need big chunky heavy ones like the OEM variety, if you wanna eliminate the vibes completely....other than that, fill the bars with that liqid expanding foam that you can get from the hardware shop...it's light, and it absorbs the vibes extremely well...

That way, you can have pretty bar ends, that are more for looks than function, and no numb hands!

:thumbup:

 

[Erci]

Yeah, but most of them dont do much, except lookm pretty, most of those billet style bar end's are very light....you need big chunky heavy ones like the OEM variety, if you wanna eliminate the vibes completely....other than that, fill the bars with that liqid expanding foam that you can get from the hardware shop...it's light, and it absorbs the vibes extremely well...

That way, you can have pretty bar ends, that are more for looks than function, and no numb hands!

:thumbup:

Agree 100%. Light ones are useless. Had them on my aluminum bar initially and vibes were just as bad as without any bar ends at all.

 

[Azz]

Pics:

So much more awesome at cornering than the others!

 

[afpreppie04]

Off topic, but what mirrors are those? Do they need the black angle mount things or can they screw directly onto the handlebar mounts?

 

[SANGER_A2]

I think its the width thats making it less comfortable, but yeah, bar end suggestions?

The bars look awesome. Nice. Wish I'd been able to get some in black rather than dark grey.

As for the comfort, give it a while to get used to them and experiment with seating/arm positions etc. My higher bars with risers are far more comfy than stock and it's getting close to a cruiser position now with the lowered seat.

As for vibes, filling the bars with sand will help. I did it very cheaply. Lead pellets would probably be even better if you can get them small enough and cheap enough as the lead will be more dense than sand.

Look for steel/stainless steel barends. Alloy are no good at all. They make a big difference. I have cheap bike-it steel ones that were chromed before I sanded and painted them black. Much better. I had to make my own mounting system though. Wish I'd done it without the rubber tubes though, you want a metal to metal contact with the bars to have the barends take the vibrations from the bars themselves.

As always, loads of pics and links on my website.


Andy

 

[Azz]

Off topic, but what mirrors are those? Do they need the black angle mount things or can they screw directly onto the handlebar mounts?

Mirrors are stocko mate, the black bits are just risers.

 

[Ridgeback]

Sorry Azz,but they look too high for me.
I wanted to get away from the high rise look,that's why I chose Drag bars.