I have bought ventruemax recently ( comp version which is cheaper) and had few rides with them.

https://www.bike24.com/1.php?conten...content=8;product=197748;menu=1000,4,133,31;mid[7]=1;pgc[20537]=20538;orderby=2

My other bike has more of a "standard" dropbar with 12° flare.

At first I though I am going to like this "ergo bio bend" ventruemax has in the drops but now I am not so sure.

Partly the problem seems the position of the "ergo bio bend". Currently it seem to low for me (and the brake/shifter levers to far). The only solution I can think of is trying to angle whole dropbar little but upwards (then I would have to move brake/shirt levers down to compensate)

I want my hoods horizontal of course, but for the drops, I feel the grip angle doesnt suit me well compared to my other bike where I can push my hands more forward into the bars and rest the side of my wrist on the drops themselves (which I cannot do on the ventruemax but maybe the flare is partly responsible for that as well)

One thing is for sure, because of the "ergo bio bend", you need to keep your hands in exact position, otherwise I get annoying pressure on my wrist.

I thought of maybe trying Salsa Woddchipper 2 which doesnt have "ergo bio bend", but still has a flat drops which I think I may not like now because they prevent me to rest the wrist as I mentioned above.

https://www.bike24.com/p270179.html

 

Hi,

thanks for your comments.

So after a few months of debating, I ordered the Venturemax Comp in 44 and 46cm, together with new topmounted brakelevers and a new stem, since I had an On One Midge before in the 25,4mm version.

After unpacking and playing around with it, I leaned towards the 44cm version. When I had stripped the Midge though it appeared that the 46cm is just as wide as the midge at the end of the drops and at the most forward point.

I just installed and adjusted everything. It was more difficult than expected, because the clamp area is narrower and it was difficult to squeeze the stem mount, accessory mount and toplevers next to each other.

FIrst impression is that it got 2 things better than my Midge:
*The tops are wider and I can now grab the tops with my hands completely on the tops without the outsides of my hands being on the outside bend already.
*After aligning the hoods horizontally with the top of the bars, the drops are much flatter than on the Midge. On the Midge I never found a position that brought hoods and drops both in a really comfy position.

Cant tell about the bio-bend yet. Will have to ride it for a while and maybe finetune things. Because of that, I wrapped it only once with the old bartape. When I am done, it will get two layers of Cinelli Cork tape

I will tune in again in here when I got my hands on it for a few hours.

 

Here is another review on the Venturemax:
Ritchey Design VentureMax Handlebar: Quick Review -

and here is a nice overview of dirt dropbars over in the Commuting subforum:
http://forums.mtbr.com/commuting/budget-dirt-drop-bars-843841.html#post13525793

 

Can you make a photo of how you have yours set?

Here is mine:

 

Somehow managed to delete all the pics from my phone :-/

Will make new ones tomorrow in daylight. Comparison pics midge/venturemax will need to be done with the 44cm version before I send it back.....

Yours seem to be tilted upwards more than mine though.

 

Hey, folks. Can anyone tell me how these bars are sized? Are they measured center to center at the top of the drops? All the descriptions I see are a teeny bit vague.
Thanks!

 

Cant tell exactly either, but I added two pics to my album, that shows the Ritchey definition of "width". Hope this helps you.

Thanks for the credits everyone.

CU CD

 

Here are some pics.

Unfortunately I can not put any comments to the photos so I post them here already:

1-3 show the Midge: Levers angle outwards more, enough space between the toplevers to mount speedometer, stem and accessorymount.

The next pics show the Venturemax on my bike, thats the 46 version.

About the comparison pics that show the venturemax and midge next to each other, you should know that:
-The venturemax is the 44cm version (Comparison pics with the 46cm got lost...)
-The midge has drop extensions of 20mm long installed (Controltech Terminators)
-The venturemax is the one with the blue/white cartboard shield still on it (just to be sure...)

You can clearly see that there is not much difference in overall size, but the difference in the bends is obvious.

Furthermore you can see that the clamp area of the venturemax is much smaller and the sloping area is much bigger. The toplevers are mounted really on the edge of the slope and the toplevers really are just a hair away from the stem.
For the rest, the venturemax rules big time. My hands fit on the tops completely on the straight section, the brakelevers are more vertical and I can reach them better in the drops. Last but not least, the drops are long enough and are more horizontal. Have hardly ridden the bike, maybe 15min, but it feels better already

So here you go:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/VoABNhwQDz0A6VvG3

 

cool!

after some riding I must admin 24° sweep is too much for me and I will go back to 12° sweep.

 

Thanks for the pics!

 

Those last two pics were EXACTLY what I needed!
Thanks for posting them.

 

Glad I could help

 

Btw I tilted mine upwards a tad today after a 20min ride. Tomorrow I start commuting on the bike but I have the feeling that I will probably move the brake levers upwards just a bit, to get the hoods better aligned with the bar. Glad that I didnt wrap new bartape yet.

Have to get used to the wider topsection though. Today I wanted to brake with the toplevers and the left hand grabbed just the air next to it, the right hand caught it just with the pointing finger. That was enough luckily. It is probably the combination of wider top section and the toplevers moved more inwards.

 

I've had the 46 Venturemax bars for about a year. I had switched over from Cowchippers.

I double taped the ergo feature when I taped the bars. I also switched to a 10mm shorter stem after a few rides.

I personally love these bars. They are far better for me than the cowchippers because of the lower drop. Also I like riding on the hoods and these bars are 46cm at the hoods so perfect for me. In the drops the ergo feature fits my large hands perfectly. I've tried Midges' Luxys, Gary's, WTB's and these are the best hands-down.

mike

 

So I am commuting now with the venturemax for ~6 weeks and still like them a lot and much better than the on one midge that I had before.

I doublewrapped them now too and the ergo bend has faded a bit but is still noticeable. I have to say that I like it when I ride in the drops and the ergo bends do not disturb when riding in the hoods. I mostly ride on the hoods though. No probs there either in combination with the sram s500 ss brakelevers.

 

So I still have the venturemax and just put them on my cyclocrossbike as well. The bike had a regular 42cm compact road bar on it which was just awful. Specifically it was difficult to get to the brifters in the hooks. Put on a venturemax this morning and the difference in comfort is amazing. Much easier to get to the brifters, both from the hoods and in the hooks.

I chose a 46cm again but could have gone for a 44cm on this bike. The other bike is a touring bike on which I regularly ride with loaded panniers and the extra leverage is welcome there. The new cx bike is much more nimble and I will only ride it with some light bikepacking bags up front, if any bikes at all.

I think I dont have anything to say anymore here. After a midge, woodchipper and the cx stock bar I still like these the best, and I have put 4000km/2700m of touring and commuting on it. I think that speaks for itself.