Help selecting comfort handlebars for eMTB - BH Rebel Lynx PWX

[FlatSix911]

The Jones bars are standard diameter so most grips should work unless they are an odd size. The Ergon grips with bar ends might be a bit awkward with the 45 degree sweep.
Cable length is always a consideration when swapping bars. Control cables (brake & shift) aren't too difficult or expensive to replace if necessary. The ebike wiring harness is another story. Some brands offer extender cables which just plug into the existing connectors. It is sometimes necessary to piece out the wiring which requires a bit of skill. Doing so may also void the bike warranty. Your LBS may be able to help you here.
To get an idea of the fit, I removed the grip and controls from one end of my existing bar. I held them in the approximate position where they would be on the Jones bars to see if there was enough slack in the cables & wiring. The Jones website gives bar dimensions. In my case, the old bars were the swept back mustache style so there was plenty of slack.
I don't own a BH but from pictures, it doesn't look like there is much cable slack on the bike to work with. Again, your dealer may be able to advise you.

I'm 5 foot 7 with short arms. Hence I would like the backsweep. Your son has this same bike - do you think the Jones would fit on it? It looks like the display might be limited in cable length. I agree that I don't want to mess with getting new display extension wires and voiding the nice 5 year warranty.

The problem looks like the control panel has a limited cable length to the main display.
With the Jones bars, the control unit might not sit close to the end of the bars where the grips are?

I own a BH Rebel Lynx 5.5 with the Yamaha PW-X system and there is plenty of slack in the control cables and wiring to add a riser stem and swept-back bar.
There is no need to worry about extender cables or rewiring any controls. I hope this helps...

 

[Yamahonian]

I own a BH Rebel 5.5 with the Yamaha PW-X system and there is plenty of slack in the control cables and wiring to add a riser stem and swept-back bar.
There is no need to worry about extender cables or rewiring any controls. Hope this helps...

Thanks - if there is no need for changing my cable housing then it sounds like I can change the bars out myself.

Is there anything I should know about our bike for changing out the handlebars, or is it a simple matter of taking off the shifters/brakes and putting them on the new bars? Should I use a Torque Wrench for re screwing the shifters/brakes?

 

[FlatSix911]

Thanks - if there is no need for changing my cable housing then it sounds like I can change the bars out myself.

Is there anything I should know about our bike for changing out the handlebars, or is it a simple matter of taking off the shifters/brakes and putting them on the new bars? Should I use a Torque Wrench for re screwing the shifters/brakes?

When I swapped the bars and grips it was a simple process... just remember to re-torque the stem and controls to 3-4 Nm as required.

 

[Yamahonian]

When I swapped the bars and grips it was a simple process... just remember to re-torque the stem and controls to 3-4 Nm as required.

Thanks, what bars did you put on your rebel lynx?

 

[DouglasB]

One thing to watch out for is having your hands too far out to the side. If your hands are too far out, it may feel more stable but it's putting your arms out too far. The thing you want is to have your body as close to a "neutral" position as possible. "Neutral" just means keeping it within the natural range of motion for that specific part of your body. You may have a bit of extra control for someting like a mountain bike with your hands in a wide stance but if you are holding that position for more than a couple of hours and it is even slightly out of the "neutral" range, it will begin to take it toll. I whacked off several inches from the width of my handlebars and feel more relaxed because of it.

 

[FlatSix911]

One thing to watch out for is having your hands too far out to the side. If your hands are too far out, it may feel more stable but it's putting your arms out too far. The thing you want is to have your body as close to a "neutral" position as possible. "Neutral" just means keeping it within the natural range of motion for that specific part of your body. You may have a bit of extra control for someting like a mountain bike with your hands in a wide stance but if you are holding that position for more than a couple of hours and it is even slightly out of the "neutral" range, it will begin to take it toll. I whacked off several inches from the width of my handlebars and feel more relaxed because of it.

I agree with the neutral ergonomics observation and cut down my bars from 31"/790mm to 25"/640mm.

 

[Browneye]

I got one of these for my Giant right away - transformed comfort. Handling is unaffected for my riding.

 

[steve marino]

For street riding, I use the type below because they are super comfortable. Unless you're riding a mountain bike on off road trails, 90% of H-bars are designed the wrong way. Drop your hands down by your sides, then slowly raise them and see what position they're in. Then turn them to where they would be on straight bars. That throws your wrists, elbows and shoulders all out of whack. I learned a little when I worked in an orthopedic ward.

 

[FlatSix911]

...

For street riding, I use the type below because they are super comfortable. Unless you're riding a mountain bike on off road trails, 90% of H-bars are designed the wrong way.
Drop your hands down by your sides, then slowly raise them and see what position they're in. Then turn them to where they would be on straight bars.
That throws your wrists, elbows and shoulders all out of whack. I learned a little when I worked in an orthopedic ward.

Interesting... how does the steering feel with the stem reversed? I would worry about some twitchiness.

 

[Browneye]

That would be way too short for me.

 

[Yamahonian]

For street riding, I use the type below because they are super comfortable. Unless you're riding a mountain bike on off road trails, 90% of H-bars are designed the wrong way. Drop your hands down by your sides, then slowly raise them and see what position they're in. Then turn them to where they would be on straight bars. That throws your wrists, elbows and shoulders all out of whack. I learned a little when I worked in an orthopedic ward.

Reversed the stem?? Is that handling safe?

 

[Browneye]

It just makes the reach really short. Will ride fine, but puts you upright as well. I like to be a little more spread out - the attack stance, with elbows out. We learned it riding dirtbikes. Your arms run into you body sooner with the bars way back.

 

[Yamahonian]

This is very interesting.

I ended up getting those Jones H-Bars with 2.5" rise and just reversed the stem.

The seating position is extremely comfortable. My arms sit completely naturally.

Looking forward to tomorrow's ride.

 

[Yamahonian]

For street riding, I use the type below because they are super comfortable. Unless you're riding a mountain bike on off road trails, 90% of H-bars are designed the wrong way. Drop your hands down by your sides, then slowly raise them and see what position they're in. Then turn them to where they would be on straight bars. That throws your wrists, elbows and shoulders all out of whack. I learned a little when I worked in an orthopedic ward.

I tried reversing my 60mm stem on my Jones-H bars, and the seating position was perfectly comfortable, as you said. There was zero back or shoulder pain.

The steering however was awful. Very twitchy. Seemed like an accident waiting to happen. I switched back after 5 minutes.

How is your experience with the handling?

 

[TomD]

I've been looking at various options. Hard to really guess what might work without trying them. I think I'll just buy some cheap bars on amazon and see how they feel and handle. These are pretty cheap and light. I'm not sure there's enough forward sweep so may need to add some reach to keep things neutral.

Amazon.com

If they feel too twichy I may end up splitting the difference and going for a 20 sweep / 20 rise bar like this:

Amazon.com

 

[TomD]

I decided to order the two bars above to compare. I got the 20/20 from level9sports as they were cheaper than amazon ($110 after coupon). Initial impressions: The Upanbike bars might make for nice "comfort" handlebars for casual riding as they have a bit of a rise in addition to sweep, but feel tiny in comparison to my MTB bars and too short for off road. The Protaper bars came today and wow, these things are truly feather light. Unfortunately they shipped me 720mm bars instead of 820mm which I ordered. I think they will be ok as I prefer shorter bars, hard to tell until I install them. I can see these being a nice compromise for off road.

Upanbike (640mm):



Protaper 20/20 (720mm):

 

[FlatSix911]

I decided to order the two bars above to compare. I got the 20/20 from level9sports as they were cheaper than amazon ($110 after coupon). Initial impressions:
The Upanbike bars might make for nice "comfort" handlebars for casual riding as they have a bit of a rise in addition to sweep, but feel tiny in comparison to my MTB bars and too short for off-road.

The Protaper bars came today and wow, these things are truly feather-light.
Unfortunately, they shipped me 720mm bars instead of 820mm which I ordered. I think they will be ok as I prefer shorter bars, hard to tell until I install them. I can see these being a nice compromise for off-road.

Upanbike (640mm):
View attachment 47171 View attachment 47170
Protaper 20/20 (720mm):
View attachment 47172 View attachment 47173

The Protaper bars look perfect! The 720mm length should be fine... only 1" shorter than OEM.

 

[Browneye]

Coolio - didn't know Protaper made bicycle bars.

 

[smorgasbord]

Here's a good survey of available comfort bars: https://bikepacking.com/gear/list-of-comfort-mtb-handlebars/

I'm trying out the SQLabs 30X 16-degree backsweep, 45mm rise bars (also available for less money in alloy), on the same 45-degree Wake stem that Browneye showed above. That stem is billed as a 90mm, but in reality it measures closer to 105mm. That turned out to be just right for what I wanted, replacing a 7-degree 70mm stem with the Wake 45-degree hardly changed by reach at all (2mm), but increased the rise by 35mm.

Here's a diagram of stem measurements:

Note for this diagram that Rises aren't directly comparable for different stems having different clamp Heights. I prefer to measure from the top of the clamp section, since that is relatively fixed by your steerer tube length (unless you add a stem extender).


Separately, I've been trying out different stems, stem risers, handlebars. At one point I got all OCD and literally plotted all my stems on a big sheet of paper so I could see where they put the handlebars relative to the top center of the clamp section. That was eye-opening. Once I get to take a long enough ride and convince myself that I have the right set-up, I'll be selling the stems, stem extensions, and handlebars I'm not using.

 

[FlatSix911]

Note for this diagram that Rises aren't directly comparable for different stems having different clamp Heights. I prefer to measure from the top of the clamp section, since that is relatively fixed by your steerer tube length (unless you add a stem extender).

Separately, I've been trying out different stems, stem risers, handlebars. At one point I got all OCD and literally plotted all my stems on a big sheet of paper so I could see where they put the handlebars relative to the top center of the clamp section. That was eye-opening. Once I get to take a long enough ride and convince myself that I have the right set-up, I'll be selling the stems, stem extensions, and handlebars I'm not using.

No need to plot all the stem geometries for comparison... here is a handy website for that.

Stem Comparison Tool | yojimg.net

www.yojimg.net