Handlebars - flat bar to something more confortable?

hello
i ride a veloz. flat bar road bike. i put i think they are called aero bars on. they bolt onto the existing bar and allow you to (lay down). the increase in power in that position is incredable. the normal posture is still available to use. i think they retail for about 40$, could probably spend more. they were not too heavy. and they allow you to vary your hand positions.

Yes aero bars are an option, but have you considered Road Ends? http://www.endless-innovations.com/mall/dynamic.asp?Category=BarEnds

On the comfort, geometry question, the hand numbness is a worry. Is the bike a bit big, long across the top tube? You may find a stem raiser will help, (BiCorp: ZHU2BK)(Sheldon Brown/Harris: Dimension SM1977 1-1/8" Black).

Hand position on flat bars, make sure the wrist is not bent, flat across the top of the forearm and the back of the hand, that way the median nerve is not constricted. It takes disclipline to do this when you are tired.

[font=Comic Sans MS]Check out Sheldon Brown's advice,pictured the adjusable stem to change reach and hight.[/font]

sheldonbrown.comhandsup.htmlOpen ↗

[quote="smithsr"] apart from periodic numbness in hands and fingers. A common problem of flat bars if my reading of the blogs and forums reflects real world overall.

QUOTE]
For minimizing numbness.......lower front tyre pressure a little......get gell gloves........make sure you do not have to much weight on your hands[may need to adjust riding position for this].......ride flat handed with your fingers resting on the brake levers.... if you do ride with your hands wrapped around the grips don't grip to tightly......add bar ends as another "poster" suggests

smithsr said:

I have just started riding at 51yrs not having ridden a bike since I was 15yrs.
After looking round and listening to salesmen, bought a CRX2 flat bar road bike, which I am so enjoying apart from periodic numbness in hands and fingers. A common problem of flat bars if my reading of the blogs and forums reflects real world overall.

My fitness is OK and find I can opportunistically tail (I think the jargon is draft) onto the back end of seriously coloured up pelotons riding the bike paths and roads at speeds of up to 40kph, while trying to avoid being a pain or causing problems for the other riders.

As I gain more experience and skill, I can see the boys on toys mode kicking in for me, so my question is about making an incremental switch to a handle bar that makes more me aerodynamic (at this stage I can't do the peloton speeds by myself) and also provides different hand positions to minimise numbness.

Having looked around many of the web sites and discussion threads, I haven't seen anything on conversion that might allow me to keep the exisiting shifters and brake gear.

I would appreciate suggestions about change options or whether geometry etc means I should wait until I am ready for a real road bike. Cheers.

Agree with gclark. Take a look at bar ends. Your local shop should be able to help. They come in different lengths and bend designs and will give you more hand positions without having to get all new shifting/brake lever equipment.

Thanks - I bought and fit some bar ends today. will report back how they go.🙂