Handlebars & grips recomendation

[twistedwankel]

Does anyone care to educate this newbie on handlebars and grips?
Thanks,
Eric

Stick with 7/8" bars so if (when) you wreck they will bend and absorb alot of your forward energy when they fold. Also you won't have to change the other fittings which can get expensive.

Go to any large bike store and they should have a large supply of handle bars to get the feel you want. Several websites have dimensions for determining the sizes available for what you think you want? Good grips will cost you more than the bars for sure. You don't want to ship stuff back and forth as that gets expensive nowadays.

Make sure you have enough slack in your cables (all of them) to fit a longer sweptback handle bar without kinking or you will be buying all new custom cables too.

Factory bars usually are middle of the road one size fits all which obviously won't be comfy for both extremes of tall and short people only average people. Did you know that 1/2 the people in the world are below average? Even lifting the angle up and down makes a big difference in the effect on your elbows over a longer ride. Most people seem to prefer the big soft grips. I still use the factory thin original ones with padded gloves.

I like a more upward position with my Vetter windscreen so have slightly swept back bars to allow me a more vertical spine. I can still hunch over for the twisties anytime I want but that is short term - when going any distance comfort is king.

[eric]

Thanks for the info. What websites do you recommend for scoping out bar options?
Mine is a commuter bike, but my commute is 15 miles of nice back country roads. Kinda upright is fine for me. No need to be athletic.
Eric