# Handlebars for sprinters?



## 853 (Feb 4, 2002)

I just started doing some sprint workouts (working on hard gear jumps and fast cadence seated sprints) and noticed that I seem to bang up my forearms quite a bit. Enough to leave a slight bruise on them, right above the wrist.

Is it the bars I use and or how they are positioned or the technique?
btw...I am on Ritchey WCS carbon bars.

Thanks!


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## Kerry Irons (Feb 25, 2002)

*It's you*



853 said:


> Is it the bars I use and or how they are positioned or the technique?


It's you. You are possibly placing your hands too far forward on the drop section of the bars, or moving too far forward as a body position. This of course assumes that you have the right length stem. It could be caused by a stem that's too short.


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## wim (Feb 28, 2005)

*Some thoughts.*

What Kerry said. Also make sure that you're not bringing your forearms towards the center of the bike by rotating your hands inward. The backs of your hands should not be horizontal or near horizontal and facing up, but should be vertical and facing out away from the bike. With your hands in that position, your elbows might stick out a little more than you'd like. But it doesn't matter, given the massive air resistance of an out-of-the-saddle sprinter.

As an aside, the standard track bar for many years was the Cinelli Model 67 in the photo below. The bend of that bar was such that it offered a little more clearance for your forearms than a road bar would. That bar also had a slight A-shape when seen directly from the front. These type of bars are on the fixed-gear market again, but mostly for reasons of fashion.

You could also just live with the bruises. When I rode track many years ago, my forearms had bruises from the standing starts for the 1,000-meter time trial, as did the arms of one of my competitors. It was just one part of racing.


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## Andrea138 (Mar 10, 2008)

The FSA Wing Pro in compact bend is pretty good at helping with that, but like others said... it's likely something that you need to change with fit or just deal with.


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## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

Andrea138 said:


> The FSA Wing Pro in compact bend is pretty good at helping with that, but like others said... it's likely something that you need to change with fit or just deal with.


I use some variant of the Wing Pro, but if I stand too far forward, it's still possible to do hit my forearms on them. 

Without seeing a side angle of the sprint position (in a trainer?) and/or fit, I'd guestimate it's a technique thing. On the road, you might possibly notice the rear wheel skipping as well, although I once intentionally did a practice sprint like this and my rear wheel didn't skip.


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## 853 (Feb 4, 2002)

I really crank and pull on the bars to the point that I can sometimes pick up the front wheel. I need to look at those FSA bars. Anybody hear or seen track bars on a roadbike?


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## goneskiian (Jan 13, 2005)

Some bars just hit you funny. 

I don't understand what Kerry means by being too far forward in the drops though. When I sprint I'm all the way in the hooks and wouldn't have it any other way. That's the most secure spot to be sprinting from. Perhaps I'm misunderstanding though. 

Try some different bars and maybe rotating your hands so your wrists are outside the bars and your elbow bent.


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## Wookiebiker (Sep 5, 2005)

I like my Pro Vibe 7's because they have a little more clearance for the forearms (they start the curve earlier than a lot of bars) when in the drops...much like the track bars do. I can get all the way forward in the drops and still not hit my forearms on the bars.

Not only that...they are just nice feeling bars regardless of where my hands are on them


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## iliveonnitro (Feb 19, 2006)

853 said:


> I really crank and pull on the bars to the point that I can sometimes pick up the front wheel. I need to look at those FSA bars. Anybody hear or seen track bars on a roadbike?


Track bars aren't meant to have shifters on them, so there is a quick, steep dropoff.

There's hundreds of thousands of riders who can sprint without this problem. Don't blame the bars.


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## wim (Feb 28, 2005)

Davis Phinney out of the saddle on the hoods—not leaning forward excessively, elbows out a bit. He didn't look that different on the drops. (1980s)


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## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

goneskiian said:


> I don't understand what Kerry means by being too far forward in the drops though. When I sprint I'm all the way in the hooks and wouldn't have it any other way. That's the most secure spot to be sprinting from. Perhaps I'm misunderstanding though.


As you slide forward, the angle of your wrists and forearms changes. The closer you are, the closer your forearms get to the bars. While my bike and I don't exhibit this, but if you put all of your weight forward, thus removing a lot of it from the back wheel, you can some traction on the back wheel, much like anything rear wheel drive and too light on the back end. 

I think the general rule of thumb is that you don't want your shoulders in front of your hands, which would be hard to diagnose unless looking from a side view.


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## goneskiian (Jan 13, 2005)

spade2you said:


> As you slide forward, the angle of your wrists and forearms changes. The closer you are, the closer your forearms get to the bars. While my bike and I don't exhibit this, but if you put all of your weight forward, thus removing a lot of it from the back wheel, you can some traction on the back wheel, much like anything rear wheel drive and too light on the back end.
> 
> I think the general rule of thumb is that you don't want your shoulders in front of your hands, which would be hard to diagnose unless looking from a side view.


I'll have to pay attention to how I sprint and see how far forward I am. Thanks for pointing this out spade.

I know if I don't focus on keeping my weight back when I start to sprint I get the wheel hop. 

I hope this doesn't hijack the thread too much but what about bar width?

Any big guys out there using 46cm wide bars? I'm looking for some and have found Specialized makes an aluminum one (looks like it's been discounted and likely discontinued).

Also looks like Bontrager offers them in just about all their high end bars. 

The Specialized bar is measured center to center. Not sure about the Bontrager stuff.

Cheers!


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## Wookiebiker (Sep 5, 2005)

goneskiian said:


> I'll have to pay attention to how I sprint and see how far forward I am. Thanks for pointing this out spade.
> 
> I know if I don't focus on keeping my weight back when I start to sprint I get the wheel hop.
> 
> ...


If your wheel is hopping during sprints you are either too far forward or or your bike may be a bit small for you...thus putting you too far forward during the sprint.

As for bars...I've used Ritchey Pro (anatomical) that were 46cm CTC and for the most part they were fine. I don't think they held any advantage over 46cm OTO (44cm CTC) when it came to sprinting but were nice for out of the saddle climbing and overall comfort during long rides.

With that said, all of my bikes now have 46cm OTO (44cm CTC) bars on them since I found a bar that I really like fit wise in the drops and hoods.

If you are looking for a true 46cm bar make sure you pay attention to how they measure the bars. I would even go to a shop that carries them and measure them to make sure they are an actual 46cm CTC bar measurement...some say they are, but don't measure up


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## allison (Apr 19, 2006)

I'm not a sprinter, but bruise my forearms when I try  I went from holding the comfy part of the drops where it's somewhat vertical to holding on the very last bit of horizontal portion. Helped solve my problems.


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## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

I think the different widths would have different impact, pending stem selection and overall form. You could always try to sprint in a trainer and have someone take a look from the side. 

I guess a bike too small would do that as well. I've heard that bikes with a shorter wheel base are also somewhat prone to the rear wheel skipping if too far forward, which makes sense.

How much will it matter, no clue. I used to bang up my forearms during sprints or responding to attacks, but never understood why. I later purchased a Carmichael Training Sys DVD for sprinting and that's where they said the rule of thumb about shoulder positioning. I can't say how it has changed my overall speed since I'm too busy to look at that particular moment, but my arms feel fine.


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## 853 (Feb 4, 2002)

allison said:


> I'm not a sprinter, but bruise my forearms when I try  I went from holding the comfy part of the drops where it's somewhat vertical to holding on the very last bit of horizontal portion. Helped solve my problems.


Ya, I tried this as well, it actually helped solve the problem, but it does not seem as controlable or as powerful as in the drops and can't realy reach the shifter in that spot(campy thumb lever) and the bars seem to flex quite a bit more at the far ends.

I'm just glad that this is a common problem....not many racers on my team practice sprinting, so I realy can't get much feedback from them. 

I did take my bike into the shop today and the local Cat 2/sprinter showed me that he uses the Easton carbon bars for the same reason, the bend is sharper on top and there is considerably less overlap between the tops and the drops. I could see how this would help.


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## Gnarly 928 (Nov 19, 2005)

Look at some Modolo Curvissima (sp?) if you like carbon bars. I have em on both my bikes because the shape suits me...a little less drop than some and the top is slightly sloped and forward. I've not seen these in the equipment listings lately so they may not be selling them new now.


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## whatoday (Mar 16, 2010)

*depends on your use*

If you crit race, stay in the drops and get a bar/stem height that allows that, because you want to keep people from clipping you bar, absorb blows, to react, plus it's a short race. I agree that FSA's are great for this (especially compact w/ 125 drop)
If you road race, 99% of the race is on the hoods, so just keep you wrists out in the sprint
If you're cyclocross racing, that depends: big drops (Belgian 145mm) are good for sprinting after staying on the hoods mountain bike style for most of the race, but I find the reach is also long, and that's a problem. 
Anyone know a good bar for new shimano that has a short reach in the hoods, but longer reach in the drops?


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