More carbon...

[Matno]

I'm still not ready to commit to a carbon frame (for domestic reasons!), but I took one step closer to the carbon dream yesterday and picked up a set of Easton carbon Monkey Lite bars on eBay yesterday. I'm not really losing a ton of weight since I already have pretty light bars on there now, but I will be going from 24" bars to 26" which is an improvement in my book. (My wife's bike and my single speed have 25" bars, and I like the extra control. We'll see if 26" is too much - I doubt it!) Too bad I'm not willing to give up the matching Easton carbon seatpost on my road bike or I'd have a great matching set! (Except that I think the road post is too short...)

My bro's in town, so I'll actually be riding sometime this week! AND in other news... looks like I'll be spending about a month in Utah this summer! Won't have much time to ride, but I'll manage to squeeze in at least a couple of rides a week...

[Carbon_Angus]

you will like the feel of the carbon, just enough flex in the right ways, so it's as stiff as can be yet compliant.

be careful you don't snag your bike with the wider bars.

what kinda grips do you use??? i can't remember

[smiley=beer.gif]

[BFG]

The easton bars are amazing.  I was blown away at how light mine is.  I have the monkey light XC version.
My Bro. in law worked for easton in the returns dept and very few of these bars ever fail.  The best part is that he got us all bars and posts for $35.

[Matno]

$35?! Man, I'm jealous! I'd get two more for that price - just in case I might want them in the future!

Carbon Angus: I use Lizard Skins Slick grips. They are the best grips around IMO. They're not fat - quite thin in fact, which gives me lots of control and fits better with gloves. They are very grippy rubber, but not the soft kind that gets gummy with time. In fact, the ones I have now are still in great shape after almost FOUR years! I'm even going to swap them over to the new bars. (I thought about getting a pair of red ones to match all my other red highlights on the bike, but I won't buy new ones until these wear out!)

I thought about trying out the ODI lock on Ruffians - another thin grip, but I hear they get gummy and wear out rather quickly. Since my Lizard Skins never slip, I see no reason to spend the extra $10 on lock-ons. I do have Lock-ons on my wife's bike (they're a "Yeti" version), and they're fine, I'm sure they would have worn out long ago though if the bike got ridden more often. Very soft rubber. Also, the lock rings are annoying with the grip shifters on that bike. Whenever I ride it without gloves, they really dig into my skin. Just a thought...

I missed out on the "inside track" because I married into my wife's family after her bro-in-law stopped working at Specialized. The whole family got top of the line bikes at ridiculous prices, not to mention cyclocomputers, helmets, and jerseys... However, I do have a bro-in-law now who works for Adidas, which means he can get me Adidas, Solomon, and Mavic stuff at cost (or even below cost sometimes). I have yet to take him up on anything though...

[Scott]

You might find the Easton post long enough-I'm 5-7 and used the American Classic road post on my Oz and they run around 210-220mm.  My seat is 27.5 from the b.b. center to  where my sitz (sp?) bones rest.