Shopping around for some CX based drops that are commuter friendly. Having never spent any real time on a drop bar’ed bike I have no clue at what I’m looking at/after/for and after some time on google am giving up and asking here. The salsa cowbell 2’s seem to be popular and there isn’t much else out there that gets a regular mention. Am I looking in the wrong spot or are they the shiz?
As to choosing a width, do you use road sizing as a basic guide? (easy to find info on) or is there some base rules for CX stuff (not so easy)
I know I’ll need to ride half a dozen sets of bars to get a good idea of what I actually want, but a good starting point would be ace.
I have the Cowbell 3s too. Haven’t built them up yet, but I like the shape. very shallow in the drops.
Got them over the over 2s - Still stiff and light but not as $$.
The the On-one Midges are very popular and are more of a extreme splayed dirt drop. More like the woodchoppers or the WTB TXCs. My only gripe about the midges are the lower parts of the drops are too short for my liking.
Commuter Cycles have the Cowbells in stock, go and see those guys.
Went for 2’s instead of 3’s for the same reason.
Also, i used midge bars before switching. The drop section is too short for me, can’t do longer distances on the hoods, and i could not get used to the look either. They did their job very well on the yarra trails though. I’d say they are very much a dirt-only bar.
Would be happy to do longer distances on gravel etc on the cowbell 3’s, they’re way more versatile.
Nowadays people are generally running normal road drops, but often a size up from their ‘road’ size to give them some extra leverage for the sharper corners found on cx courses.
I like having a shallower drop as it keeps my more upright higher when down there (which is mainly on fast/steeper descents) and thus its easier to see where im going/keep my head up. ymmv…
the cowbells and the bell laps were very popular for a while.
I also like short-reach drops on my CX. I usually run 42s on the road and 44s on the CX but recently went 46 on my SS CX commuter and am loving it. Bigger seems to be better after all.
Decided on the woodchippers as a start, lots of useable positions for me. The flair felt right as did the size of the drop. Only time will tell. Thanks.