Best handlebars for Campy

bmonkey said:

I'm building a bike, and am trying to decide on the best bars to use with Campy Chorus. I've always been a Campy guy, but I think I like how the hoods on Shimano rise higher. There just seems to be a more positive feel (certainly not going to slide off the front with Shimano). Is there a handlebar for Campy that will give an effective higher rise to the hoods, while still allowing good reach to the breaks in the drops?

Assuming you want to adjust the drops somewhat parallel to the road, almost any bar will do. This didn't use to be the case because Campy shifters could be unsafe if positioned on too tight of the radius of a bar. They issued a warning about this. The new shifters do not have this limitation and the redesigned part can be used on older shifters. As far as "going to slide off the front" that will only happen when you hit a stationary object. The ergonomic considerations of Campy vs Shimano vs Sram are considerable. One of the top racers in my club, who has only ridden Shimano, just got an Orbea team bike with the Sram group, he said he would never go back to Shimano.

lks said:

Assuming you want to adjust the drops somewhat parallel to the road, almost any bar will do. This didn't use to be the case because Campy shifters could be unsafe if positioned on too tight of the radius of a bar. They issued a warning about this. The new shifters do not have this limitation and the redesigned part can be used on older shifters. As far as "going to slide off the front" that will only happen when you hit a stationary object. The ergonomic considerations of Campy vs Shimano vs Sram are considerable. One of the top racers in my club, who has only ridden Shimano, just got an Orbea team bike with the Sram group, he said he would never go back to Shimano.

Thanks, Iks.

I've been riding Campy for five years, and haven't slid off the bars, even on a steep, bumpy downhill--I just meant that Shimano, with the higher hoods, seems to give you a more solid feel when you ride the hoods, like I do. I recently did a quick test ride on a bike that happened to have Shimano, and didn't even think about the high hoods until I did that ride...and I just liked the feel. But I didn't want to switch just for that.

It seems to me that if I angle up the brake/shifters higher on the bars, to get a more vertical angle on the hoods, that the levers may then be too far from the bars. Another way to describe this: it looks like the angle between the flat part of the Campy hood and the lever is about 90 degrees, while on Shimano it's less (let's say 70 degrees), allowing the Shimano hood to be angled up a little more.

I wasn't sure if they made any bars specifically that are better for Campy in this way. I read that the Deda Newton handlebars may be designed to be better for Campy, but I'm not sure why--maybe it has to do with the old problem you were talking about.

I may just have to play around with this at my LBS.

bmonkey said:

Thanks, Iks.

I've been riding Campy for five years, and haven't slid off the bars, even on a steep, bumpy downhill--I just meant that Shimano, with the higher hoods, seems to give you a more solid feel when you ride the hoods, like I do. I recently did a quick test ride on a bike that happened to have Shimano, and didn't even think about the high hoods until I did that ride...and I just liked the feel. But I didn't want to switch just for that.

It seems to me that if I angle up the brake/shifters higher on the bars, to get a more vertical angle on the hoods, that the levers may then be too far from the bars. Another way to describe this: it looks like the angle between the flat part of the Campy hood and the lever is about 90 degrees, while on Shimano it's less (let's say 70 degrees), allowing the Shimano hood to be angled up a little more.

I wasn't sure if they made any bars specifically that are better for Campy in this way. I read that the Deda Newton handlebars may be designed to be better for Campy, but I'm not sure why--maybe it has to do with the old problem you were talking about.

I may just have to play around with this at my LBS.

If you look at all the Pro bikes you will see that their levers are never less than verticle and many are swept back because the shifters are mounted higher on the bars. Only you can decided what feels best. If you buy bars that you can route the cables internally, make sure the cable holes in the bar, align with where the cables exit the shifters, for where you want to locate your shifters. If you don't buy an integrated bar/stem, you can rotate the bars backward a little, to raise the shifter without changing the angle of the drops much. Bars also have different flex and a big difference can be felt, the rougher the road.

bmonkey said:

I'm building a bike, and am trying to decide on the best bars to use with Campy Chorus. I've always been a Campy guy, but I think I like how the hoods on Shimano rise higher. There just seems to be a more positive feel (certainly not going to slide off the front with Shimano). Is there a handlebar for Campy that will give an effective higher rise to the hoods, while still allowing good reach to the breaks in the drops?

Deda Newton. They are the best.

i'm currently running chorus on fsa 'energy' bars. it's a good combination imo, even if the drops are a tad on the short side.

the chorus levers can be fitted with some degree of reach/angle adjustment on the bar. just be sure you follow campy's mounting recommendations for minimum reach and lever height above the drop.

for an 'all italian' setup, check out itm's lineup. good stuff (as is deda).

Itm , 3TTT, and of course Deda are all excellent. I would go with Newtons... nice stuff, look good and go with the all-Italian theme. 😎

bmonkey said:

I'm building a bike, and am trying to decide on the best bars to use with Campy Chorus. I've always been a Campy guy, but I think I like how the hoods on Shimano rise higher. There just seems to be a more positive feel (certainly not going to slide off the front with Shimano). Is there a handlebar for Campy that will give an effective higher rise to the hoods, while still allowing good reach to the breaks in the drops?

I think you are approaching your quest in the wrong way ...

As noted, the Campagnolo levers can be fitted on ANY bar in the position that suits YOU (within reason, of course) ... to state the obvious, the REACH & BEND varies ...

What you need to decide is the bend/"curve" of the drop that you prefer -- there are different "ergo" bends AND pro bends ... Deda is good, but I found that ITM & TTT are the brands with the "best" curve & drop FOR ME, whereas I always look at those Ritchey bars (very similar to the TTT) and think THAT is probably a good ergo bend, too.

Without consideration to where the levers are mounted on your current bike, figure out what position the current bend/"curve" of your drops feels best to YOU ... put your bike in a stationary trainer -- loosen the stem's faceplate bolts enough to allow you to JUST rotate the bars ... get on the bike and grab the bars in the drops as you would when riding to find the optimum positioning ... tighten the stem's faceplate bolts ... step back & look at the orientation of the bend.

FWIW. MY current favorite (?) bar is the ITM Super Anatomica 330 which I guess has a quasi-pro bend ... I am a former Cinelli 64 user and generally like the bend of those bars.

Regardless, BEFORE you order, you have to be aware that the sizing on some is c-c (center-to-center) and on other o-o (outside-to-outside) AND the clamping area may be the same-OR-narrower than the width of the drops ... the clamping width is perhaps MORE IMPORTANT (to me) than the curve of the drop (which is why I have continue to have a set of Deda Magic [their cheapest?] bars on one of my bikes -- they DO look/feel good) ...

BTW. The way I mount my levers, I think that Deda may have the shortest forward reach AND yields the "flatest top" (see attachment) ...

bmonkey said:

I've always been a Campy guy...

Hey, I'm the only gay in this forum... thank you very much!!! 😄

alfeng said:

...What you need to decide is the bend/"curve" of the drop that you prefer ...

Thanks for the advice. I did start here looking for a way to angle up the hoods, but I think now a flatter top and better angle on the drops may get me where I want to be. I put a Deda Newton on order to try. My LBS will let me swap it out if I don't like it, but it looks like it should work for me.

When you talk about the clamping area width--is this the width of the bars measured along between the hoods? Or are you talking about something else? I'll have to look at that. (I have a fairly narrow shoulder width, so I'm looking at a 42cm, which is definitely a change from my current off-the-shelf setup).

Ideally, I'd be able to put my new frame in a trainer and test out a few different bars, back to back, but it's tough to do that at most shops.

My Chorus levers sit perfectly on a set of Cinelli RAM bars. Molded to fit the hands in several positions, and the finish on these bars really is something to write home about. Just beautiful.

bmonkey said:

Thanks for the advice. I did start here looking for a way to angle up the hoods, but I think now a flatter top and better angle on the drops may get me where I want to be. I put a Deda Newton on order to try. My LBS will let me swap it out if I don't like it, but it looks like it should work for me.

When you talk about the clamping area width--is this the width of the bars measured along between the hoods? Or are you talking about something else? I'll have to look at that. (I have a fairly narrow shoulder width, so I'm looking at a 42cm, which is definitely a change from my current off-the-shelf setup).

Ideally, I'd be able to put my new frame in a trainer and test out a few different bars, back to back, but it's tough to do that at most shops.

I am referring to where the brake levers mount on the handlebars when I refer to the "clamping area"...

Unless my memory fails me (which it could!), the "horns" on the hoods of your Campagnolo levers will be spaced 40cm apart when mounted on your 42cm Deda bars -- my 42cm (c-c, at the ends) Deda handlebars are pretty close to (just over) 40cm where the brake levers mount. The hoods are, I recall, at just about 40cm along the hood's "mold parting line" as I mounted them with the inner "face" of the lever bodies close-to perpendicular to the rear of the bars (hope that makes sense).

BTW. The OLD Cinelli 64 bars (40cm -- mine, that is) were the same width where you clamped the levers as at the ends ... and, I now think I would have actually opted for a 44cm Deda bar to give me a slightly wider 42cm separation at the hoods ...

I am using campy with the Deda Newton fits really nice the bar is pretty stiff too

Anatomic or classic drops? Campy shifters with Deda 215 or Newton Italian bends are great. You can move the body up the bar a bit and still reach the brake from the drops.

Easton has a mid-deep classic bend too which works well.

Spunout said:

Anatomic or classic drops? ...

I opted for anatomic. I just want to try that. I know some folks like the classic curve better, but I'll see how it feels for me. I'll get to try them in a few days.

fauxpas said:

Hey, I'm the only gay in this forum... thank you very much!!! 😄

I'm proud to be a Campy guy, and I won't apologize to anyone!

bmonkey said:

I'm building a bike, and am trying to decide on the best bars to use with Campy Chorus. I've always been a Campy guy, but I think I like how the hoods on Shimano rise higher. There just seems to be a more positive feel (certainly not going to slide off the front with Shimano). Is there a handlebar for Campy that will give an effective higher rise to the hoods, while still allowing good reach to the breaks in the drops?

Personally I like the Ritchey WCS OS anatomic design. The shape of the campy hood forms a nice straight line with the bar. They don't have the dual cable grooves, but I don't mind the cables being routed to the front at all.

bmonkey said:

I'm building a bike, and am trying to decide on the best bars to use with Campy Chorus. I've always been a Campy guy, but I think I like how the hoods on Shimano rise higher. There just seems to be a more positive feel (certainly not going to slide off the front with Shimano). Is there a handlebar for Campy that will give an effective higher rise to the hoods, while still allowing good reach to the breaks in the drops?

I like my Cinelli RAM integrated bar/stem so much, I keep transfering it to each new frameset I build up. It now has over 25,000 miles on it and has been down hard enough to crack a Giro helmut one time and break my hip the other time. With my Record cables routed internally, it really looks clean/sleek.