Bar None

I rode my Salsa Timberjack this evening for the first time since building the Jones almost four months ago. The main reason for this was because I stole the rear wheel for the Jones build. I finally got around to building a new wheel for the Jones, so the Timberjack was once again intact and ready to ride.

When I hopped on the bike it felt awful. After using the Jones bars with a 45 degree bend, a normal riser bar feels terrible. I immediately felt some tension on the outside of my left (bad) wrist. The bike also felt very long and stretched out.

Up until recently my favorite bar was the Deity CZ38. It's 760mm wide with a 38mm rise and a fairly generous 9.5 degree bend for a riser bar. As I rolled down the driveway, the sensation was that the bars were on backwards. It literally felt like my hands were pointing forward. This never totally went away for the entire ride.

The discomfort from the bars aside, I had a good time. There is no doubt that bashing down a descent with 120mm of travel is a nice change from the rigid Jones. I just need to make some cockpit adjustments so the transition from bike to bike isn't so severe. I don't want Jones bars on my hardtail, but perhaps something with a bend in the high teens will offer the performance and comfort I need.

Later.