I'd seen a few 'butterfly' handlebars during my travels and heard mixed reports about their pros and cons. On longer days I occasionally get numb fingers, especially on bumpy tracks, so I thought I'd give the multi-position bars a go.
Despite trying out numerous handlebar positions, seat stem height adjustments and sliding my saddle further forward or back, I haven't found any real advantage; except that with the new multi-position bars I now occasionally get numb fingers, especially on bumpy tracks, but in a greater variety of positions. On top of this, with a fully laden bike I preferred the increased control my straight bars gave by virtue of the wider arm position. So, after a lot of fiddling to no avail, I've reverted to my old set up, but with a fresh pair of 'palm-support' grips which seems to have done the trick.
So here's Little Bike all ready for the off, on an early morning tootle around Anglezarke, a really beautiful corner of Lancashire, close to where we live. If the name rings a bell, it's the area where they held all the Road Race and MTB events when they held the 2002 Commonwealth Games over here in Manchester - and if you have never been, it's well worth a visit.
