Here We Go Again

It's a sickness. With winter approaching, thus ending the season for the touring/commuting Trek (and beginning the season for the slush mobile), my thoughts turn to tinkering over the long winter.

Although I have been pretty happy with the high, oddly angled drop bars, they are very narrow (39 cm or so), which is not ideal for commuting. Starting from a red light or stop sign (which I don't stop for anyway, but sometimes I slow down) is awkward when on the tops (where the interrupter brake levers are), and I don't want to do the racer thing and grab the drops.

So I've been thinking maybe a set of trekking ("butterfly") bars, set nice and high. I couldn't get aero-low, but maybe I could get aero-forward. Well. I ordered one (or is it a set?), and maybe I'll get around to installing it/them.

The best solution probably would have been a 46 cm Nitto Noodle, but it costs three times more. And I would have wanted to put on aero brake levers instead of the old Mafac ones with the cables curved too sharply on their way to the interrupter levers. Tinkering isn't fun when you spend a lot of money on it.

Update:
The new bars are on, and I like them pretty well, especially for urban riding. The bike feels much more stable with the wider bars (much less noticeable shimmy), and the forward position (with the brake levers) is comfortable enough to ride all the time, which is good for sidewalks and bike paths. And, most important of all, they are quite fun. Butt-ugly, but fun.