No Holds Barred

Okay, so further to yesterday's post, let's talk about handlebars now:

Back in November 2015--so two years ago now, time sure does fly like a motorized Cancellara, doesn't it?--I took delivery of a Marin Pine Mountain 1 (now just the "Pine Mountan"):

I wanted to try the Renovo because it isn't often you get to ride a $10,000 wooden bike with push-button shifting, but I jumped at the opportunity to test the Marin because it was very much in line with my sensibilities.  Specifically:

--It was metal;

--It was cheap;

--It was rigid (or, in Craigslist speak, "ridged");

--It had "standard" dropout spacing and quick release hubs;

Moreover, it had those plus-sized tires I'd been curious about, as well as a single-ring, wide-range drivetrain.  (I'd been riding a self-curated artisanal 1x9 on my geared mountain bike for quite awhile, but doing away with jump-stops and chainstays wrapped in inner tubes seemed like an attractive proposition.)

Unsurprisingly, the Marin won me over in short order, and not only did I proceed to purchase it with actual money but I also retired my geared mountain bike.  In fact I liked it so much I became inclined towards using it for longer rides, because there's just something about those chubby tires that makes you want to ramble.  However, this revealed one shortcoming, which was a lack of hand positions.

See, picking your way through rocky terrain is one thing, but when you're putting in miles getting to and from that terrain you want to be able to move your hands around.  Also, it's much more comfortable to keep your hands and wrists at an angle, which is why you spend a lot of time on your hoods when you ride a road bike, and also why bars like this are awesome:

So, thinking about where I wished I could rest my hands on these longer rides, it became increasingly clear that what I needed was this:

I must have mentioned this in a post at some point, then I wrote my controversial (and of course correct) Outside column about suspension, and as a result of both Jones reached out to me and now Ol' Piney looks like this:

I've still got some work to do on these bars.  For example, Jones recommends going even shorter on the stem in order to attain the upright position he espouses:

So I've got a stubby stem on order and as soon as it arrives I'll give it a try.  I also intend to tape the lower inner portion of the bars, since I really do find myself using all those hand positions.

Speaking of hand positions, those pending tweaks notwithstanding, the bars immediately did what I hoped they would.  Specifically, they turned the Marin from a mountain bike that was also okay to ride to and from the trails into--well, into an actual bike.  You know, something you'd want to ride even if you weren't planning on doing any "technical" riding that day.  In fact, if I wasn't a total bike weenie I could probably use Ol' Piney for pretty much all of my riding and not miss a thing, especially if I set up some 29er wheels with narrower, slick tires for more pavement-oriented rides.  (However, I am a total bike weenie, so obviously only having one is never going to happen.)

Indeed, the worst thing I can say about the Jones bars is that they're clearly a gateway drug to getting a Jones bicycle.  Sure, the Marin is quite capable, but somehow with the Jones bar on there the pointlessness of that jacked-up suspension-corrected fork really bugs me in a way it didn't before.  Certainly as someone who prefers rigid bicycles I can't help wanting a go-anywhere bike that's designed to be rigid.  I mean as far as riding goes this is pretty much where I'm at right now:

Then again, I should probably come to terms with the fact that as busy as I am parenting and running a one-Fred media empire the Marin serves my current sub-epic approach to cycling just fine.  Speaking of which, a reader had this to say yesterday:

Anonymous said...

"...there are people in this world who like to buy expensive bicycles and that's ultimately a good thing for the rest of us so long may they spend."

I disagree. The fact that there are people out there willing to drop a shit ton of money on bicycles is why we're sold all sorts of pointless new upgrades and component standards, and why people think they need hydraulic disc brakes and carbon frames, etc.

Also, being self-aware and self-deprecating about the fact that you're riding and reviewing a $10,000 wooden road bike doesn't change the fact that you're riding and reviewing a $10,000 wooden road bike.

November 27, 2017 at 10:58 AM

Firstly, I have no compunctions about leveraging my status as a world-renowned bike blogger to play around with bits of cycling exotica.  Secondly, for all my carping about the excesses of the bike industry the fact is we live in an age of unprecedented accessibility when it comes to cycling equipment, and I think Ol' Piney is rolling proof.  It's a cheap bike that will accept pretty much any part in my antiquated parts bin, and all it takes is a handlebar or tire swap to make it your own.  And it's by no means an isolated example: the current Surly lineup alone probably represents more versatility and bang for your buck than the entire retail bicycle landscape did 20 years ago.  But yes, my funky Marin with the kooky bars is objectively a better bike than the Renovo, that's for sure.

In any case, the point of all this is that I really like this handlebar, so there you go.

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