Laura's ALT BAR Salsa Cutthroat
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- Опубликовано: 10 авг 2020
- Laura reviews the Ritchey Kyote bars on her Salsa Cutthroat conversion.
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Glad you're enjoying the bar, Laura! Looks like a good comfy set up as well!
“Laura Explains Stuff” should be a regular feature on the channel.
Laura I found on my mountain bike I needed more hand positions. I found CaneCreek bar ends. A grippy rubber ,just fits the palm.
“Laura Explains Stuff" is a really great idea. I've sent her saddle review to a number of women seeking saddle advice (I don't know, but here's an actual woman's opinion...)
Great video, you explained your conversion really well .
Laura is such an articulate presenter as well! Stoked for more from her too. I definitely feel the flat bar aero disadvantages while commuting but it makes the ride so much more fun.
Yay! More Laura on the channel.
I hope to live long enough to see the day when it’s socially acceptable to put whatever bars you want on whatever bike you ride. I’ve been doing so for most of my cycling life and decided several years ago I would not be explaining my choices to anyone. When asked I reply with some variation of “because it’s *my* bike, and that’s the way I want it.” BTW, I wear white after Labor Day and have been known to enjoy red wine with fish.
Exactly, if it's your bike, it needs to fit you so that you want to ride your bike. I have seen some very bizarre setups myself, but if it's what that rider likes, who am I to tell them it's wrong?
Hear hear.
I love Laura content! I've always been one to put alt bars on my bikes already simply cuz I love the variety and how it makes a bike more unique. Love it!
Great job Laura. I think featuring you more prominently than in the past offers broader appeal to more subscribers and I’m sure you’ll push it over the 100k mark you seek. Really enjoying seeing more of you and your take on things. Best of luck you guys!
I'm relatively new to the channel, and it was a lot of fun to see Laura provide a review and her personal experience with this handlebar conversion. Great video!
If you want alternative positions on those bars consider putting a 'bar end horn' mid bar to act as 'mini aero bars'
here we are Yes was just going to say add bar ends to the center, or the Farr aero bar or any type of aero bar for those long stretches of flat roads. Anything goes on a gravel bike.
Yep, a set of Ritchey Comp 125mm bar ends pushed right up to the "bend" in the bars will give almost the same hand position as drop bar hoods. Great for riding pavement on the way to the trails.
And here i thought i was the only weirdo who put barends inside the handlebar.
I've also converted my salsa cutthroat 2015 to flat bars. I used fome pretty straight bars that I use for more technical trails, I added some end bars for different hand position and also some aerobars on a fred bar for long distance. Best of both world since this is my bikepacking, commuting, fun, trial bike
I think this is a perfect example of someone understanding what works best for them, and their purpose and intent.
I've been considering a bar swap on my mountain bike to a more bikepacking type bar such as Jones H-bars. I believe for my purpose its a good choice. And after all, its easily reversible if it doesn't work out.
Nice video. Thanks for sharing.
Ma'am, I completely agree with you. I started mountain biking two months ago, on age 60. My hands went completely numbed after some time and I was not so comfortable. I was leaning too forward.
I don't care at all what other people say or think, but I got myself a 120 mm raized bar with 9° back sweep. Now I am fompletely comfortable and my hands don't go numb. I am sitting more upright and I am doing so much better uphill.
I am partially handicapped and cannot ride standing yet. I am seeing more people of the older generation raising their handlebars for comfort.
Thanks for the review. I have had that model bars on my 1997 stumpjumper for about a year. I cut them down a bit with a pipe cutter as i found them too wide. Also they have no rise so i needed to add a riser stem. Slightly diff to your experience i appreciate as yours was a drop bar originally while mine was an old mtb. Took me a while to get used to them but i like them now. Also i like that they are much cheaper than jones bars!
Great review and the video to back it up. And it affirms my reservations about drop bars on sketchy roads and trails. (grins)
I put some alt bars and new grips on my wife's fitness bike which had almost straight bars. I then changed out the stock seat with a Charge Ladle based on a recommendation here. Also swapped stock pedals with some wide mtb flats. She used to get serious butt and shoulder pain after less than 20 miles. Now she's riding 30+ in comfort and really enjoying it - and the bike still looks sporty. Now I just need to find some supple 32cc tires and it'll be perfect. You all do a great job on this channel.
Very good info! Your description of the advantages was just what we need to hear!!! Too often, this channel focuses a lot on “what is supple and what is not”
“Supple” It’s such a subjective concept, and will always mean different things to different people. You sold me on your insightful and detailed descriptions of the bars and their benefits. And how you Presented the pros and cons. Thank you so very much.!!
Approaching 68 and not as supple as your great channel ,I changed the drops on my Thorn Nomad 26inches wheeled tourer for very similar bars to the ones you're using on your cutthroat.It looks a bit weird but it's really comfortable and the handling is improved.The bike feels quicker as well.I love the channel. You're both great presenters.
I love that color combo. That's my favorite looking Salsa bike. I thought about buying one and converting it to straight bars well. Thanks for sharing this.
First decent Richey Kyote bars review on youtube. Thank you.
The thing i love about biking especially gravel and your channel is that there isn’t a right answer for everyone just a right answer for you great share love the content keep it up
I've got similar bars on my commuting bike, a 26" wheeled mountain bike on slick tyres. I could not get on with such wide bars, so I cut about 2" off each end and now find them much more comfortable. Mine are also rotated slightly so the tips of the bars are just angled down. This gives me a much more natural position around my wrists and palms. I'm also using Ergon grips, but mine have the pad to support the heels of my hand which I find much more comfortable.
I agree in an urban environment narrow bars are much more important. Negotiating between parked cars, pedestrians, light poles, etc is a higher priority. I'm planning on getting some alt bars for my commuter also but will probably trim them down.
I did something similar for the same reasons. Specialized Stumpjumper 29 with a raised Jones bar. Fantastic comfort and still great for trails.
Well done. Thanks for the feedback.
Personally I'm a big fan of running "ergo grips with horns" on my flat bar bikes. These give you notable wrist support and an additional hand position.
I am running the same bars, I put on a 2020 Kona rove st. I've found several hand positions, also played with stems until I settled on 80mmx6°. That way you can stretch out and get aero. I put two sets of grips on each side. Great bars once they are dialed in.
I have a Specialized AWOL and I taken the drop bars off and put on a straight bar with barends which I find more versatile, at slow speed in town and on gravel and forrest paths. I have something like your bar in storage and maybe I will switch to that when I don't care for speed, just now it's my travel bike. Like your setup!
Another good option are the RITCHEY carbon Bullmoose bars. I got the 100mm reach version and an 11 speed grip shift. It has made all the improvements you have mentioned. In addition, I added a 100mm suspension fork which performs very well with the drops and the Bullmoose bars.
Yay Laura! Great review.
This was helpful -- thanks!
I use these bars & I've put end bars on the radius of each rise , This enable me to lean forward more when cycling into a head wind .
The Ritchey Kyote is a fabulous bar! Just swapped my partner's bike (which was tad too long for her as well) over from drop-bar to this bar.
I echo your sentiment about riding in the drops down descents. It's a little counterintuitive that drop bars offer you the most control and braking leverage in the drops, but that also puts you physically in a pretty scary, unideal place for descending sketchy stuff.
I completely agree with your logic and I think those bars are well designed for this application.
I've been running another brand of alt bars and love them but I don't think there for every bike. I wanted to replace my straight bars on my short wheelbase 29er so I thought I'd give the Kyote bars a try, excellent! No stress on my wrists and have given me a little more reach. I've been riding my 29er more than ever since I installed the Kyote bars and have no wrist discomfort issues after riding. They're a little wider than any handlebars I've ever ridden with, I thought I'd trim them back, I find I like the wide width and will not be trimming them. Thanks for the review.
I just ordered some for my 29er hardtail. Can't wait to try them.
Almost there - Jones Loop Bar - multiple positions, can stretch out, great and comfortable sweep!
I love alt bars! The Coyote's look good. I have had a Jones Loop on my rigid 29er and have just switched to the Alpkit Confucius with less sweep.
Thanks for the video.. Besides the bars what other parts did you purchase? Thanks
Did you change the stem when you put the new bars on or did you just need the sweep of the bars to reduce reach?
Well done video, keep them coming, Laura. 😁
I am running a similar bar setup on a soma wolverine.
There are a couple of things I would add. Short stems that make you sit super upright are not comfortable for every rider. I experimented with a 70mm stem and contecs baguette bar that has both upward rise and back sweep. I found it felt "comfortable" on shorter rides, however for me over longer distances I started to feel like I was losing a lot of that comfort.
I now run a 120mm stem with -6 degrees of drop and have lowered the stem on the steerer tube about 30 mm as well. I actually find this position much more comfortable and "efficient", particularly over longer rides.
Other than my gravel bike being lighter than my mountain bike, the one thing I like about the gravel bike over my mountain bike is the drop bars. They give me a variety of hand positions. For me, that's an issue because invariably I quickly get numb hands with the mountain bike single hand position. Bar ends have helped so I can get that more natural hand angle, but still. So, if anything, I'd go the other way with the bars--switch straight bars to drops. As it is, I probably won't change either because my MTB with bar ends is really good for steep climbing. At the end of the day, tough, it's nice that there are so many choices and we can swap out bars to suit each of our bodies and preferences.
Also, I tend to prefer the geometry of the mountain bike over the gravel bike most of the time. Mainly because of what she describes in the video--so I get it. I'm definitely more comfortable on steep descents on the mountain bike (it's a hardtail XC MTB) with the flat bars rather than the gravel bike with drops. But, I'll bet part of the reason she felt less comfortable on downhills is the geometry as well as the handlebars. Most gravel bikes tend to put you over the front wheel more like a road bike. MTBs typically have a more slack geometry, putting the front wheel out in front of you more. That's comforting for me on downhills and I can lay off the brakes and feel more comfortable at speed. I'll bet if she tried a dedicated XC mountain bike, she'd like it even more as far as the riding position and the ability to point it down the hill and let it go. Check a Timberjack out--nice hardtail trail bike.
Yay, nice surprise to see Laura again in front of the camera! 😁 (Should have expected it though!)
What's the angle on the backsweep? I've used a cheap cube bar with 35° backsweep on my fatbike and instantly loved it! Now I've gotten the surly moloko bar because it has the same backsweep. 😊
With the new bars it looks quite short regarding reach. Any thoughts about a longer stem?
what is the make and model of that rear fender? Ive been looking for one for my MTB. Thanks. Love the bars.
More Laura!
Mid bar options would be interesting to hear about, I’m mostly on my hoods and use the flared drops for descents for stability but I have a new build planned and a flat bar set up is less expensive and easier to setup a wide range on.
Great review. Curious as to how drop bars such as the Salsa Cowchipper would work with that short stem.
What grips do you have on there and how do you like them with that set up?
Any updated thoughts on this setup? I’m considering this setup for my currently drop bar gravel bike to have a more comfortable position while bikepacking.
Your bike looks great Laura! I love that bar. I am looking at something different for my Marin Pine Mountain. The stock bar is too wide. I was thinking about a Jones bar but this Ritchey bar is definitely going to get a look. Thanks.
That is a mountain bike, on mountain bike trails. As far as I'm concerned, you're already a mountain biker.
yeah, mountainbiking=/=dropping A line and doing 50 minutes of airtime
Yep, she's a mountain biker in the purest sense of the word. It's where mountain biking started. It's mainly the kind of mountain biking I do as well. No death defying acts of technical insanity or lightning fast descents. Just a quiet ride through the woods and nature.
Well explained! Did you upgrade to hydraulic brakes to match those levers? Any other mechanical changes to make note of?
Somehow my personal case is almost exactly the opposite - descending difficult trails on my Cutthroat I feel much more secure in the flared drops (less so in the hoods), arms bent, and with the full-length 100mm stem. If I felt like a less bent-over riding position I'd add a spacer or two under the stem. For efficiency into headwinds I just grip the tops of the levers with my forearms on the hoods. But there's plenty of room for personal preference in this regard and I'm glad you've found something that works for you!
Had to get new shifters, drive train and brakes.
An upright position can be really comfortable and it's much easier to look around behind you. Of course I'm fixing to turn 64. Hahaha it helps. I like the way your Cutthroat looks. Let us know how it works out. Atb, Tony
Looking forward to hearing about the conversion process. When changing from the drop bar brakes and shifters you had to make some complicated decisions on new ones. What did you go with and the reasoning behind the choices? It looks like you went hydro for the brakes.
Have you considered flipping the bars over for a slight drop? I'm considering this for my rigid mtb as well
Which grips you using? I take you swapped the brakes? Which ones are you using now?
Great video. I always ask myself how much time I'm actually spending in the drops on drop bar bikes, and if it isn't that much, another type of bar can be a better solution.
Funny, in one of the last PLP videos I watched I saw you riding this bike and was wondering if it was a Cutthroat. I have a Cutthroat and switched to it specially for the drop bars but it was still cool to see a different setup, Thanks for sharing!
I am doing the exact same thing this week- not the Richey bars- but similar, with some ergo grips. I may even add some suspension forks.....I’m far too old to give a hoot what I look like, on, or off, a bike!
The big tradeoff between drop bars and mountain bars, whatever the rise or sweep. Drop bars have a few hand positions available, get you forward and in a power position yet maybe too far forward, and too low, for rough descents. Mountain bars= great control but tedious hand positioning and often not enough reach for power, hence bar ends. I wonder if those will l make if full circle like many other things in bicycling since the 80's.
Saw a Knolly Cache (slate colourway with nice purple accents) set up a with flat bar, on the trail head to a blue descent.
I've just put some similar bars on my hardtail MTB and it's completely changed the bike for the better. Far more comfortable than the stock straight bars it came with. On One OG bars from Planet X in the UK.
I could see myself riding something like that with a bit longer stem, I personally like a bit more stretched position. Those bars look fun, I would love to tey them on my SS 29er.
Back in college, I used to ride along the lake to the campus for a good number of miles (on a 26 mtb... youth🤪)
Well one day I decided to go pick up a cheap set of aero bar like triathletes use and just bolt them on my flat bars. Maybe it helped?
Anyway, I'm kinda done with drops for now and I'm working on a flat bar conversion for my gravel bike. I like these swept back bars, and the price!
Looks so upright like you'll need one of those Brooks Flyer saddles :)
Did you tried the same setup but with a longer stem (70-80mm)?
Feels like it can add even more stability for descents and help your back to avoid vertical compression hits ;)
have you considered a Jones Loop bar? more hand positions, more sweep. looking at your fingers during the last part of the video, it looks like you were still a little too stretched to sit upright comfortably.
It's definitely an option. I put Jones bars on all of my bikes, even my drop bar bikes.
Put a set of bar ends at the bends for a alt position they work great it's like a crazy bar
Neat swap! A possible alternative hand position would be running bar-ends inboard of your controls, and you have plenty of available room to position them. Something like the SQ Lab "inner bar ends" might work wonders. To me, a "perfect" hand position that is the only hand position is by definition no longer perfect.
On one OG v2 bar is similar, and awesome i love it, however 800mm wide bars are a bit overkill
I like it. I bet braking confidence is much higher as well. Drop bar brakes can be awkward.
Finally! When I mention difficulty accessing/modulating brakes from any position other than in the drops, most people look at me funny! Flat bars for me. Drop bars might give you lots of hand positions, but only one of them allows you to effectively use the brakes!
If you allow for more lever travel by loosening the cable it’s much easier to get good leverage from the hoods. Newer shimano brifters allow for reach adjustment as well, which makes it easier to reach the lever in the drops and you get better leverage on the tops from the start of the brake travel.
I also went away from drop bars and built a Surly Ogre with Mokoloko bars for gravel riding and packing. Much more confidence and comfort. Braking off the hoods with a loaded bike gets painful after a while for me.
Hi Laura, interesting video and hoping you can help me answer one important question. Do you feel you could have gone up a full frame size on a cutthroat based on using a swept back bar like in this video or Jones H bar? Hope this makes sense
No. Medium was already pretty long.
The bike industry has reinvented the classic allrounder handlebars and rebranded them !!!
Millions of people have used the allrounder handlebars on single speed and 3 speed roadsters for touring and commuting countless miles.
And there GREAT !!!!! Which is why they have stood the test of time
Great review, well presented. Russ, take a break. PLP is in good hands!
Add a suspension fork and your downhil confidence will increase even more. Bought an old GT hardtail and it’s my favorite bike in my stable right now.
Great video, Laura.
I own those Ergon grips, so I'm going to make a suggestion that you could try out the Ergon grips that are specifically for swept back bars - the GC1 or better still the GC1 Biokork - both are real comfy, but the kork version especially so Laura. If your riding a mountain bike and your on something that isn't tarmac then yor a mountain biker..... just a supple mountain biker thats all :.)
I totally agree about the GC1 Biocork grips. I use them on my Carver MyTi alt bars and love them. carverbikes.com/parts/cockpit/myti-handlebar/
Have you thought about shortening the bars? 800mm is really really wide. I intend on shortening mines to at least 730-720mm when I get them.
Just curious, did you try a shorter stem with the drop bars?
No. Prefer it with the Redshift stem and they don’t make anything smaller than a 90mm.
Hi, I use Kyote too. I cut to 73cm, and flip it for best climb. I install Kyote to my Surly Ogre. In my opinion, Kyote flip installation better than Moloko.
I did flip the bar using its rise for a tiny bit of that aero feel but definitely not that significant. However, the comfort is king on this bar, takes away that sore in contrast to the straight and drop.
Perhaps you should try Russ’s Jones Loop bar. It offers a lot more hand positions and has nice sweep also.
I'm doing this to my drop bar gravel bike.
Fully rigid MTB Rock🤘. GO HARD!!!
Alt bars rule!!!! Go Laura. Way to be bold.
How a about a comparison with the Surly Moloko bar? It may be the best of both worlds in terms of versatility and be the best one suiting your specific needs...
Seems like a much better bike now, still light and fast but also more comfortable and capable.
Nice presentation. This discussion is nuanced for sure and people will come away with different conclusions and sometimes only fractionally.
Take me. I don't like a dropbar off road. I love a dropbar on the road at higher speed...multiple hand positions and getting out of the wind.
To me, gravel bikes with dropbars are an inauthentic bike. As you state, one has no leverage on a dropbar to brace the body against jarring of riding off road.
Where we deviate a bit is...I like to ride more stretched out than you which also helps with aerodynamics. Lastly, there is a reason why a conventional mtb handlebar has say 11 deg or so of backsweep. It is anatomically more correct to supporting the wrists and body compared to a bar you prefer with more backsweep. This relates to not only how the wrists are attached to a human body but also physics in terms of force applied. If doing a push up you don't want the floor to fall away from your palms.
So, there are subtleties to this conversation and of course the mtb community would push back on what you state about the Kyote bar being more ergonomic. For 'you' perhaps but not for the off road community.
A last note of further subtlety,, The more upright you ride...and you like Paul seem to prefer a more upright position, the more handlebar backsweep is tolerated...think Dutch style bicycle. Why is that? Because when riding upright you carry more weight on the saddle and the handle pressure is reduced lowering grip pressure to keep the hands in place. From a force standpoint, the math is...prpportional to the sine of the backsweep.
Thanks for your review of perhaps the most important topic when it comes to bicycles, riding position and bicycle geometry.
Why such a short stem with the "flat" bars? I would have gone to a longer stem if anything converting a drop bar to a flat bar since you lose so much reach. It just looked like you were cramped and putting a bunch of pressure through your wrists trying to find a good hand position being so close to the bars.
You do it however you want and we’ll do it however we want.
Answer 20/20 bars on my Gravel bike. Love 'em.
more Laura vids!
Very nice, I plan to modify Muirwoods with this bar, but why pronounce it as if it was spelled coyote?
Nice bars any way you want to look at it!
Nice mountain bike, Laura. :-)
It seems, based on your comments that the Cutthroat is too long for you. Shortening the reach either with a shorter stem or a swept back flat bar both can work depending on how much you need to shorten your reach. One other comment, the Ritchey Venturemax bars have a little bump in the drops that, I feel, keeps my hands from feeling like they will slide off.
i agree- it looks a little wide. you can tell from the scene taken from the back view.
The classic trade-off when moving away from those drop bars.
I know a good amount of people put Jones bars on Salsa Fargo’s
Is nice!
Wow such precise advice. Great job, what happened to that other presenter ;-)
I much prefer the power that mountain bike brakes provide . I always found it uncomfortable to brake with road levers, using my two weakest fingers seems daft, for the majority of the time I was on the hoods.
Had these on my Cannondale Quick 4. Hate the straight bars.