Surly Corner Bar Review: Drop Bars for Mountain Bikes
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- Опубліковано 30 чер 2024
- Want a drop bar on your mountain bike? Just released, the new Surly Corner Bar is the first handlebar that functions like a drop bar using a mountain shifter and brake levers to easily convert a mountain bike to drops. In this video, Neil shares thoughts on what makes the Corner Bar unique, how he set his up, and some overall ride impressions.
Find our written/photo review up on the site at bikepacking.com/gear/surly-co...
Outline:
Intro - 0:00
Bar details - 0:50
Understanding the bar - 1:42
Setting it up - 2:17
Ride Impressions - 4:21
Bikepacking? - 7:00
Final Thoughts - 7:29
Mentioned Links:
DROP BARS VS FLAT BARS: WHICH HANDLEBAR IS BEST? - bikepacking.com/gear/drop-bar...
Bike Featured In This Video:
Salsa GX Timberjack with modifications - More more: • 2021 Salsa Timberjack ...
Do you enjoy our videos, routes, and articles? Help sustain this resource by joining the Bikepacking Collective: bikepacking.com/join/?...
#pedalfurther #bikepacking #cornerbar
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Hosted by Neil Beltchenko
Music by Ben Weaver (benweaver.net)
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Surly's rnd is just a bunch of mad geniuses at this point. This solves a problem we didn't even know we had
Right!!! I never knew I needed this till today and now it's all I can think about!
The Corner bar has been on my radar for several months.
Surly is a lot better than 1/2 the marketing BS driven cycling industry who attempt to solve problems that simply don't exist!
These are h'bars that actually save you real money. They also allow you to repurpose old, forgotten yet perfectly functional bicycles. As far as I'm concerned that's actual 'green thinking' which way more than half the cycling industry fails miserably at.
As soon as I find myself an old Santa Cruz made Bontrager frame, I'm going to buy a set.
Nope, it’s exactly what I was looking for actually. 😊
Wow, Surly just fixed a problem that has been a genuine issue. I know just the bike I want to ride these bars on. Ordering one today. Thanks Neil!
yeah, before seeing this bar I was planning to buy a wide bullhorn bar with bar end shifters, but now I can just use this bar and even put hydraulic brakes. But I think Surly should have make this front horns longer to be able to put hands on it for resting position.
@@justdude8115 If the horns are the same diameter as the tips, which seems to be the case, a Controltech Terminator bar end extension should fit for an extra 20mm.
I just built a gravel bike with a corner bar. I wanted to run components I already had from a mountain bike that I cannibalized to keep the whole build cheap so this was my best option.
So far I've been very happy. I will say that a SRAM Eagle shifter works really well. My thumb is right there for both shifts. Personally, I dislike the thumb only shifting of Eagle shift levers, but on the corner bar it just works for me.
On singletrack I have handling confidence and on long climbs or road sections I've got multiple hand positions for comfort. I'm so far very impressed. I'm contemplating putting some on one of my mountain bikes.
This handlebar will make converting my 90's vbrake, single speed, MTB to drop bar a lot easier than sorting, purchasing; problem solver for long pull vbrake, brake levers, road handlebar.
Great stuff surly
tekro rl520 levers. done.
@Michael D H1' to 1/ 1/8 upper steerer tube converter with 31.8 four bolt stem. Specifically modernized those parts to try different types of handle bars and stem lengths in the future.
Those Tektro levers work great or the identical rebranded Cane Creek drop Vees work with mtn v brakes or long pull mechanical discs. Almost all road mechanical calipers simply arent strong enough for steep, serious trail and or heavy touring loads. Dia Compe makes a long pull lever as well. 180mm or 200mm rotors if you want good strong braking offroad with a load.
If you want excellent high position stems for serious offroad use, check out Velo Orange Cigne stems, Happy stems or their extra tall quill stem. They all use removeable face plates. Several other companies make LD (limp dick) stems. Any good custom frame builder can make an unusual stem if you're willing to wait and pay.
I've done lots of drop bar mtb set ups and heavy duty gravel and dirt touring set ups. I use this stuff myself. If you've got questions, I might be able to help.
My favorite ride is a fixed gear cyclocross bike with cantilevers, mostly because it's simple and reliable.
I’ve ridden drop bars off road since the 80’s (yeah, I’m old) Been running hydraulic brakes on my fat bike which pretty much locked me in to a flat bar until now. I just installed a set of these on my fatty, only put a short ride on them but I’m liking them so far. Thanks for the thorough introduction Neil.
These Corner bars solve some real problems and could save quite a bit of money. I want some!
There are some cool options to use mtb hydro calipers mixed with road hydro levers. They're not exactly cheap though. You need to be technically savvy as well.
Ive been running drop bars on offroad bikes since the '70s. I just turned 60 and I'm still attempting to put youngsters to shame on long rides!
Anything is possible if you put your mind to it, experiment and learn from mistakes. There's NOTHING wrong with rim brakes either.
I didn’t know that I needed this in my life. But now I NEED this in my life.
Cool. Definitely will make MTB conversion to drop bars a lot easier. Though I'm sure cables will become a problem for anyone trying to put more stuff on the front of the bike.
Cool! I'm a mechanic at a bike shop and one of our great customers is going to have us build up a Trek 1120 with these handlebars so I was so happy to see that you had a great review on them! Cool! Now I have some ideas to share with my customer! I also have an 1120 and I love drop bars and maybe someday I'll give these bars a try! Again, thanks for the review and ideas for how to set them up!
So informative one, Currently im having Jones bar but now I am in love with this bar
Alright, we've got to try these bars. Looks like we need to create an XL 1/2 for these bad boys.
i’ve been doing something similar to this. been running the fairdale Archer v2’s, just flipped upside down. turns it from a standard riser/cruiser bar to a super flared, super squashed drop bar
F yes mate, f yes, this is a thing I've been waiting for
Pretty cool, right!?
@@pedalingnowhere I can't wait to put my hands on a cheap rip off of this product :)
@@pedalingnowhere The best thing about it is very shallow drop from "hoods" to drop, I run compact road bar on my monstercross bike and it's either OK on drops and too high on hoods or the other way around
@@6ryba6 Agreed
@@6ryba6 .... which will hopefully be made out of aluminium
Can hardly wait to try it. Thanks for the info.
Thanks for this, now I just gotta get me a corner bar. Such a great design!
I recently did a conversion to my 98' Rocky Mountain Blizzard with drop bars Ritchey Ergomax, 1x9 setup, a Microshift bar end shifter, Shimano XT rear derailleur, Tektro RL520 vbrake levers, carbon fork and it's awesome.
Really liked the thorough review of the corner bar, very well put together. One bar nobody really seemed to cover was the truck stop bar. Maybe we´ll get one sooner or later???
I think this is just what I've been looking for! Thanks
Thanks for the video! Immediately ordered the handlebar. After sleepless nights of thinking about practical bike components for my gravel touring bike. Using trusted mtb componets could and hopefully will be the way to go imho.
That’s very simple but quite an invention. I did need to get GRX shifter/levers, rear derailleur, brakeset, all hoses/cables, dropper lever, and handlebars so to convert an MTB to gravel bike, which cost me $500 range. I actually wondered why there’s no option of dropbar with D22.2mm when I was planning how to convert mine. Now we don’t bother to change to road/gravel groupset or Tanpan or barend shifter. Simplest, yet smartest solutions(and cheapest).
Aaannndd Surly does it again! Gotta love the wacky folks at Surly 🤙🏼
Really love it
One point plus it’s clamp on 25.4, nice to build vintage gravel with quill stem
Thx for the review
Very interesting and creative and removes the the need for new shifters/gears/brakes...the thing for me would be how comfy I could get the stubby hood bits. Maybe you could cut down regular flat bar grips and have them extending off the end of the stub by an extra cm perhaps?
I'm on a home made Denham Koga which has transformed my hand comfort. 5-6 hand positions, better than a Jones bar.
No more white finger...
This looks highly promising too, thanx.
Subscribed.
Regards from NE Thailand.
6:00 in order to fully imitate the pose of the hood, it is necessary that the authors-developers of the bar lengthen the handles where the hood is, so that it is convenient to put your hands like on the hoods of a standard drop bar.
Thanks for reviewing this bar 👍.
I am new to flat bars and hate mine. This review comes at a great time, it’s just what I am looking for in a bar!
Hi ! Awesome video , clear answer for my question ;) -- smaler bags-- , Love my moloko ,and will be in love with the corner bar . Surly masters made it again :)
Interesting! I have a Scott Sub Cross, that I'm thinking of replacing the front suspension to a suspension corrected fork, (thinking a Surly Krampus). I could put this handlebar and potentially make this bike into a nice gravel bike.... Thanks for the video!
Great review
Clear and informative video. All all killa no filla . Great job even if I don't need one of these bars
Surly always one step ahead. Gotta love that brand.
This seems highly interesting. Could be exactly what I need.
I have a triathlon background so aero and drops have always been my preference. Bought a MTB to have a crack and I simply don't like flat bars as I seem to lack control and find them twitchy and uncomfortable on my aging wrists.
In recent years I have moved to primarily a gravel bike with drops and love it even on single track, I find I have much more control with drops. I've thought about an MTB drop bar conversion but everything I read indicates it's potentially expensive and the geometry is a struggle.
So I was going to sell my MTB [dual suspension] but now I pulling it from the shop and buying a Surly Corner Bars, excited!
Just installed mine on my chisel comp … great alternative for several positions
love your videos
I will definitely look at buying one. Looks like just what I have been after for my HT. I think it would have been good if Surly had just made those 'hoods' a little longer - and mabye curved a bit. Maybe room for a bar end type of thing?
Super sick bars. Carbon version would be welcomed in the future. Good job surly!
it´s out there, but not by surly.
Hmm interesting! I've never really rode drops for any length of time, but have been interested in trying some. Swapping controls out was what kept me from trying, though, so I might give these a go! I've been playing with a number of different "comfort" bars over the last couple of years. Jones Loop, Surly Open, and even some Renthal Moto bars I had laying around from my ATV days because it has similar rise and sweep to Tumbleweed's Persuader bars.
How did you mount renthals ? I have mc flat track bars mounted using 1/2 a reducer shim but can’t find stem that fits 28.7 bars
@@TK-OK Make sure to @ folks if you want a response in a reasonable time... I'm happy to respond but we don't get notifications for responses made without the @... you actually have to do some digging to find the comments that you've even made, try it! Anyway... I used some scrap, thin steel, cut in to two separate pieces and just crammed them in there! Hah. Not my best work, for sure. But it has held up just fine aside from starting to rust.
I just used a holland handlebar and turned it upside down, It has probably kind of a similar feeling and its cheap because they are everywhere. I have a small drop which is enough for bikepacking. The hoods are my combo mtb brake and shiftlevers, fortunately they have a hand friendly design so I can grab them, cushioned them with some carpet stopper and wrapped bar tape over.
I have this one already, nice
Way to go buddy!
Awesome to have an option, go Surly 👍
OMG I need this!!!
Interesting… May try them on my Salsa Beargrease.
Thanks for sharing
Very cool. May add to my Salsa El Mariachi.
I currently have a bullhorn on my all around MTB, it is outstanding for climbs and provides different hand positions, I'll give this a try to see if its any different or improve the comfort over a bullhorn. thanks
Credit to surly to come up with this product.
Might try these so I can get the SRAM Eagle drivetrain that's collecting dust onto my gravel bike (Jamis Renegade). As out of shape as I am...that 50T out back might be quite useful for some of the steep WV mountains I have to climb although walking would probably be faster.
Thanks for this video!
Would like to ask how big your front bikepacking bag is, the second one you show up in the video...
Thnaks
Moustache Cycles had a similar bar some time back featured at the Radavist site (bike is labeled Kristin's Emerald Mine) with a different flare up front.
I want this in my roadbike!
I would love to try this out and compare it to the Moloko bar.
Oh snap, I know where that is! I rode there yesterday!
If you had to pick one for gravel/forest road exploring with some rocky trails thrown in, would you go with Moloko's or the Corner bar?
I sold my moloko. Just don't like that much sweep on a "flat" bar. Less than about 30 deg (flat), or greater than about 75 (gravel drop). In between is not for me. And, the horns were too close together and caused wrist pain when caught having to stand up while on them. I could see the corner bar being a good option in my case.
I have been using flat bars on my surly troll for a long time and a jones loopbar was perfect especially with the 2.5 rise… but lately i got hold of a surly ghost grappler here in tge philippines.
Since the grappler was designed for dropbars… dovyou think a corner bar would be compatibke? I can’t spend money on new drivetrain STI setup . Will the corner bar still wotk on the grappler? Nice video by the way. Very informative and concise
I remember riding a construction worker bike few years ago. A Japanese bike with inverted handlebar.
Thanks for sharing this video. Very informative. Recent subscriber here
seems like the ideal bar for mtb with suspension, gravel bar seems a bit lacking if they were to turn large wheels with a suspension fork in that position, now the lines blurs even more
For sure
I GOTTA GET ONE!!!👍🏻😃
Thanks!
Love me some North Table!
My Canyon pathlite hybrid which already does the job as a gravel bike and as a mountain bike with its current flat-bar will become the ultimate gravel bike with these corner bars, bravo to Surly who saves me money on not buying an N+1 bicycle.
Definitely innovative; however, I favor a much cleaner cockpit and it appears a cradle and bikepacking bag setup would interfere with the cables too much. Look forward to your full testing! Thanks! BTW, the stache looks good!
Going with a narrow but larger circumference bag for a harness system like the Pronghorn would be a great option and wont interfere with the cables. Similar to drop bars, going with a wide bag will just get in the way of your controls.
This hand position is in jones bar, for non bikepacking and simplicity this handlebar is awesome, you can convert your hybrid into cyclecross, gravel bike groupsets in mtb and interchangeable of mtb shimano groupsets to road bike.. This evolution created new genes of bicycle to be design in mix parts the dream of every bicycles enthusiasts and creative cyclist .
Any thoughts on adding this to a Cutthroat? I prefer the feel of flat bars and these seem to move towards that dynamic without fully losing drops. Thanks
dang, this made me miss ripping around south table mountain!
It’s my go-to to test any product out. Such a wonderful spot.
I've got a multi-day gravel grinder in June and have to finger out what I'm going to ride. I'm a roady and right now don't have a lot of gravel or trail time. I have a 2011 aluminum rim brake cross bike that will need wider wheels and lower gearing and I have a 2021 all-rounder modern carbon hardtail with a flat bar. I'm thinking about using the hardtail over to cross bike but the flat bar is the deal killer. This might be a great option if it's actually comfortable for 4-hour rides. One of these, a rigid fork, gravel tubless tires and call it a day???
blend this with a jones bar and im sold. im kinda already sold, love me some wonk bars
I was wondering how it would compare to the Jones bar. Sounds like a good head-to-head video.
Have you tried those handlebar extender with curve. Adding it to a straight bar may look like a drop. Brake would probably still be on the top. But with your perspective can be on the drop extender...dunno.
Soma did this 5 yrs ago. About time
I'm into this, and would also like to meet you at the corner bar, Neil.
The corner bar is really the spot to be, nice place to have a conversation and face each other.
I just picked up my corner bars & wow what a difference from a frat bars
i went cross country with my flatbar MTB my hands were sore//cramped for a couple of days! switched to butterfly bars they felt better perhaps could try these out ^^
My 93 GT timberline came stock with bars like that , but turned completely upside down
hi, just wondering what sized corner bar you used in the video and what is recommended for what purpose. thanks
Love a good line party!
Going back to single track real quick. Is it something you would ride on the reg on single track? I live in PA, where you can traverse over a lot on dirt roads and single tracks to make for longer rides, but I’m a gravel curious mountain biker through and through.
My trails aren’t anywhere like out west. They are super chunky, primitive, with quick ascends/descends. Would this be limiting to my xc love?
I've got SRAM Rival on my Niner RLT. Do you think the bar would be compatible with the road levers slipped onto the drops and running cables under bar tape to clean things up a bit? Not enough curve on the drops to do so?
I had contemplated getting this bar to replace a flared drop I had on my “gravel” bike but went to the surly Molko bar instead. There were a couple of reasons; more hand positions and a slightly less wider bar. Where I ride many of the bike trails, paths are gated and I can barely get through these gates even with Molko bar.
Are there bike gates on bike paths where you live that requires bike yoga to get through?
I just starting to get back to MT/Gravel...
What happened to Bar Ends???
I've been riding drop bars for years and now I feel it's the moment to try a different bar, without STIs. A complete change, do you think I'll get used to it easily? I normally use my bike to run errands, go grocery shopping and eventual escapes on weekends. Cheers!
what do you think when you use it, is it more like using drop bar in hood position or like using drop bar in drop position ?
I've been thinking about changing over to drop bars for my bikepaking bike recently, sins i enjoy them a lot on my vintage road bike. Looks like this bar would be a cool option to try out, or go whit some more standard flared bars and use bar end friction shiftes. There's pro and cons to both sides, so i was wondering what your opinnon was between the 2.
This would definitely feel more like a dirt drop bar, I think. So it's a matter of preference. People from a road cycling background will probably like the flared bar more, and mountain bikers might prefer this one.
*since not sins (dude!!!)
Nice create
That bar should be fantastic on the Surly LHT
How stiff is the corner bar, compared to other wide alloy dirt drops?
Some of my widest 31.8 bars seem a bit flexy, but I appreciate the comfort.
Reminds me of a flipped Albatross but with a flat top section.
Evolving back to a flat bar.
It'd be interesting to hear your thoughts on the 46cm bar. Sure it is narrower than a gravel bar but the "flare" is huge so it might just compensate. You seemed pretty wide armed in the frontal shots.
I'm on board in spirit. Love the idea. I'm 100% in when it's aluminum and not steel.
Aliexpress has a carbon version
Agree, it's too heavy.
And too wide, a bit narrower version in aluminum would be ideal.
It's still comfort or matched if using roadbike shifters as well bro?
Thay copped it from the old dirt track racing bikes in the 20s cool look
That corner bar is so unique, that in the 1920's they were riding exactly this type of bikes, same handlebars shapes, and wide tyres. Roads were not that good then...
Would this be a bar to consider on a drop bar mountain bike? Fargo/Cutthroat? I'm curious how comfortable those "drops" are for long distance, or if it would just make more sense to put a flat bar on it. Is it truly just for getting a more drop bar feel for an old mountain bike or does the reverse make any sense? I use my fargo for a bit of light cross country mountain biking and I don't care for drop bar handling in these environments. So that's where I would see a benefit for me.
The main idea is to get a drop bar similar position, but using your existing brake levers and shifters from your flat bar, so you don't have to buy new ones.
Going from a flat bar to drops would otherwise require buying brake levers, shifters, and even new hydraulic brake calipers.
So if you want to go the other way, from drop bars to flat bars, you would have the same issue.
SURLY: The best bike company in the world.
What about putting these on an existing drop bar bike? would I just have to shorten the stem to try and have the reach work out?
I would try it on my gravel bike.
That mustache is the most fitting for this bar
90s mountain bike with drop bars into a gravel and gravel bikes are just 90s mountain with drop bars. The worlds collide