I’m putting first-gen shape Microshift brifters (patterned after Shimano 10-speed levers) on a modern-shape short-reach UNO drop bar on @MrsTallRider’s road bike.
When initially mounting the levers on the bar, there was more of a gap between the rubber hood material and the “ramp” section of the bar. I was able to minimize the gap somewhat by rotating the levers upwards. My wife does tend to like more up-angled hoods, but I also want to make sure her smaller hands can get good braking grip from the drops.
I’m wondering:
a) how much is this just a mismatch between the sharper bend of modern short-reach bars, and a brifter hood shape designed for older bars
b) how much is this unlikely to be a problem for my wife’s smaller hands? (whereas my big hands are almost always partly on the hood and partly on the bar)
c) just have her try the positions and go from there
d) I’m worrying about a gap that will be less noticeable once the bar tape is wrapped
Hmmmm….I would argue that the bar shape of the UNO’s is not a “modern” design (even if it is short reach). That type of bend is, to my eye, reminiscent of a 90’s era round bar. Sharp dropp off after the tops rather than a more horizontal top with a sharper return after the brifter.
If you are set on that particular set of bars, I would probably just move the brifters farther up the bar in order to smooth out the transition. The brifters will have a bit of an anti-aircraft gun look, but they will be more comfortable.
Alternatively, I’d look into some other allow bars like the Zipp Service Course 70 bars.
Thanks @VeloBouf. Wasn’t sure if you’re familiar with the UNO bar generally, or just from my photo.
If the latter, here’s a shot of the bar without levers. It looks more modern to my eye - just the tighter downward curve going forward from the ramp, which is the part that I thought may be involved here. But I’m not the best to make these categorizations; I’ve recently used Nitto B115 on new builds (long-reach ramps = good for big hands; I disliked the Cowchipper b/c the lack of hand space).
Per your second comment, I do like this bar (the semi-ergo-ish drop looks better on that bike, and fits her hand well plus she only rides in the drops when descending), and I feel comfortable sliding the levers further up to minimize the gap, and making sure the fit is comfortable for my wife.
It’s not easy to tell from these photos, but the levers in the second photo seem to be in a better position regardless of the hood gap. And I suspect that bar tape will go a long way toward filling that gap.
I had the same thought as @adamrice. In those first two photos, the shifters seem way too low. Maybe the problem will be solved when slid up into the appropriate position?
As VeloBouf said this looks reminiscent of 90s-00s designs. Both the angle of the bar from the lever up to the top, and the shape of the lever itself look like mid to late 90s-00s designs. Do a google search of pro bikes and you’ll get some ideas of bar angle and placement of the lever on the bars for either a traditional (horizontal) position, or a higher and more ‘raised’ position. I remember lots of pros doing this with Shimano 10 speed era shifters.
Another small trick to smooth the transition is to cut a small square of bar tape and place it under the lip of the shifter body on the top of the bar, then wrap your tape over it as normal. This just helps to fill that gap a little.
Thanks Paul. Yeah, I’d originally thought first-gen Microshift lever body shape was like Shimano 9-speed, but it matches more closely to v1 Shimano 10-speed levers. Both have more of a curve where the hand sits, and seem designed to angle up a bit. (I had 9-speed Shimano brifters on a bike in the aughts and didn’t like the shape, but that’s for my hand size.)
Anyway, thanks for corroboration on the bar shape and lever shape seeming from the same era. If there’s still a gap when I have everything adjusted nicely for my wife, I’ll use that trick of extra piece of bar tape to fill in the area.
Also, to @adamrice comment, when thinking of this from the perspective of up-angled Shimano 9/10-speed brifters, how I’d set them in the first photo (top of the college) was definitely too low.
