Butterfly-Bar Road Test

The riser-bar on a bike I often commute on has persistent surface rust, which annoys me a lot because I keep it clean and dry as much as possible. I've been wanting to try butterfly-bars for a while, so after a bit of shopping I found what I wanted and a few weeks the bars arrived in the  post, so some shopping for bar-tape later, I went to work replacing the old handle-bar.

The change-over is quite easy, I have two separate brake levers and one twist-shifter for the gears (8-speed internal hub gears). I only needed one hex-key, a socket scissors and a screwdriver to remove the old handlebar 'furniture' and handlebar and install the new handlebar and stuff. No special skill was needed, though I wasn't sure which way up to put the new handlebar as it can be installed in four different ways, and even then, the tilt of the bar can be adjusted. A quick look on the internet didn't help much, though I did get a few tips about wrapping the bar tape, for which I did a few 'practice runs' before I was happy with the result. All up the change-over took about an hour and didn't require any special skills. All the cables reached the new position on the handlebar and no other adjustment was needed.

A bit wobbly on the first dozen yards when riding with the new butterfly-bars, but overall they have about the same response to movement as the old flat bars. Still a very 'site-up-and-beg' riding position, but very comfortable and more ways to hold on and ride than I can think of. Been riding it with the butterfly-bar installed into the CBD to work for two weeks now, and I would say I can't find a position to hold on that's uncomfortable. There are way more places to hold on than on drop-bars, and I find the bar tape more comfortable and not as slippery when wet as the rubber grips were - no gloves needed! A downside (which I didn't expect) is that I still can't get low when riding into the wind. I like the butterfly-bar, much more comfortable than the flat bars and it will be staying on the bike, but might experiment with the position more - tilts, flip them etc.

What you need:

• A bike
• Butterfly-bars ($27 + postage) online
• Bar-tape ($15) from LBS
• A roll of electrical tape
• A soldering iron (optional - to seal the ends of the electrical tape)
• A few tools (hex-keys , a socket set, scissors and screw drivers)
• A positive mental attitude

Highly recommended, I see now why tourers like them - 8 out of 10 Freds!