I have been running a set of Mary bars for the last two years and although I like the back sweep I have never been able to find a good all round position for them despite trying various stem lengths and even flipping the bars and stems. The problem is that as well as being a little narrow I also run inboard bar ends and if these were in the right place then the hand grips were too close to me or if the hand grips felt right then the reach to the bar ends was too far. The problem was caused by the the extreme bends in the bar. I have now fitted a pair of standard Fleegle bars which have much less back sweep but also less extreme bends. I now have bars that are comfortable to use in both positions and the extra 30mm to each end adds a little more leverage. I have also been able to spread the straps on my MYOG bar harness wider giving a bit more stability when using a 13L drybag. Whilst I was at it I also replaced my aging Avid Elixir R front and Deore mechanical rear brakes with a set of new Avid BB7 calipers for £42 inc p&p from China c/o Amazon mated to a pair of new Avid FR5 levers for £7.20 inc p&p from ebay. For the price I must say that I am very impressed with these brakes which were easy to set and have good modulation even if they are a little weighty.
I'm sure you all know what BB7's look like but I like the colour, was wondering what a frame sprayed up the same would look like? New bar 003 by youngray50, on Flickr
Nice, do you miss the sweep of the Mary's? I love my jones's.
I think that colour is great, both matt black or graphite grey would look really "stealth" IMO.
That looks good. I've got Fleegles on my Swift and I like them. I considered adding inboard bar ends but a) haven't yet felt the need b) haven't got around to it and c) think they might interfere with my bar bag.
bike 004 by youngray50, on Flickr
New bar 001 by youngray50, on Flickr
New bar 003 by youngray50, on Flickr