Review: Titec J-Bar

I’ve had the Titec J-Bar handlebars on my hybrid bike for about 8 months and at least 500 miles. Since I’m about to replace them with porteur bars (a topic for a later post), I thought this would be a good point to write up a quick review.
This is the second year that I rode in the Tour de Canal, and the first time I rode the full distance (183 miles over 2 days). Most of my long-distance cycling is on a road bike, so a long-distance off-road event like this was a new experience for me. I was concerned about riding such a long distance on a bike with flat mountain-style handlebars (and only one hand position), so I was looking for alternatives. I had tried bar-ends years ago, and never got comfortable with them. My dream was to find a bar that gave me the kind of control and comfort I have riding on the hoods of a road-style drop bar.
The H-Bar and its derivatives seemed like a good option. If you are unfamiliar with these bars, they are shaped roughly like an H, with the uprights splayed out at the bottom, and curved in at the top. The originals, designed by Jeff Jones in titanium, are beautiful, but cost more than I spent for my whole bike. Fortunately, he also licensed the design to Titec to produce in aluminum at a fraction of the cost. Titec’s J-Bar is shaped just like the original H-Bar, and that’s the one I chose. Titec also produces a model called the “H-Bar”, but their version has a rise and sweep to it that looks rather goofy (at least to my aesthetic).
One of the challenges with using H-Bars is figuring out exactly what combination of brakes and shifters to use. My setup at the time still had the SRAM grip-shifters that the Mongoose came with. I decided to switch to Shimano trigger shifters with integrated brakes (ST-EF50). Others had used them successfully with these bars, and they cost less than $25. You can see how they are mounted in the photo. Others have mounted them further forward than I did, so they are on the “J” extension part of the bar. I tried that position initially, but found it reduced the number of places I could grip the bar, and variety of hand positions was the main reason for choosing this style of handlebar in the first place.

These bars support at least 4 different hand positions that I’m aware of (see the photo). Number 1 gives you a hand grip much like an old-fashioned city bike, and this is actually the one I ended up using the most. Position 2 is the most similar to resting your hands on the brake hoods of a drop bar. It provides a good deal of power for climbing, and really makes you feel connected to the bike. The third position is intended to let you stretch out into a more aerodynamic posture, but I didn’t find it particularly comfortable, and used it very little. [Aerodynamics were the least of my concerns as I slogged along muddy canal trails, but your mileage may vary.] The fourth position is similar to how you hold a flat bar, but further inboard. This is a useful position, mainly as a break from #1 and #2.
For the most part, I would say that the J-Bar lived up to my expectations. It does afford a variety of hand positions, and most of them are more comfortable than a traditional flat bar. The second position is terrific for climbing. There are really two problems with the bars for the kind of use I have in mind. The first issue is that it’s a really wide handlebar. I keep catching against things when I try to get it up or down from the basement, get into the elevator at work, etc. It isn’t an issue on the trail, but it’s a bit of a pain for a bike that’s primarily a commuting bike. The second problem for me is that there’s no good place to mount shifters on these bars. I think I found the best compromise, but even so the shifter itself makes for a less comfortable grip in position #2. My fingers end up gripping the shifter housing rather than the bar. I’m left with the conclusion that these are great bars for a single-speed trail bike, but I don’t know that I would use them again for a city bike with multiple gears.