Mountain Bike Reviews Forum banner

WTB Dirt Drops or Midge bars

Midge vs WTB Dirt Drops

8K views 16 replies 12 participants last post by  ernesto_from_Wisconsin 
#1 ·
I now have a set of WTB Dirt Drops - and I like them a lot! And I also like my On One Midge bars.

Pros? The WTBs have a nice flat section on the drops. Cons? $$$

Midge pros? Shallow and I am very used to them. Cons? $$$

Any others ride them?
 
#2 ·
I've been looking at both, but can't justify spending the $$$ just to see if they are better than what I already have. 4 bike shops in town, and nothing to put my hands on.

"Uh... we don't usually carry dirt drops... uh... yeah, we can order just about anything you want... uh... On-one? don't know that one... what bike is this for?" Yeah dingleberries, I get it... why don't I just order one online without the $30 markup? Oh yeah, because I don't even know if I want to buy one yet.

You'd think in a town like Flagstaff, there would be bike shops that carried or were at least aware of things like alt-bars.</end_rant>

So, does the flare make a huge difference? I've been running a Spec. Pro Road bar in a 44cm width because it is all I could actually get my hands on. Works decently. Definitely could be wider on the trail.
 
#6 ·
wtb= originals.
much like eno, it's hard to piss on the original, even if your new junk might be flashier.
anything tried and true in the tomac era's ok by me (no, tomes didn't ride wtb's he had custom made cinellis IIRC)
 
#10 ·
bukkake

umarth said:
Dirt drops is on the "One Day" list. I haven't seen them at LBS either and I live in Eugene,where Shiggy lives. I'd assume shallow is better, given that most bikes are already using retarded stems to get the hands in the right place.
I got mine from ebunk because at the time, there were no Midges. I have Midge bars on my Land Shark, Charlotte's Land Shark, Sarah's Surly, and, and...

I got Origin 8 bars on an old Schwinn.

WTBs on another Schwinn.

Eh, I guess I am bias but the Midge bars are my faves.
 
#11 ·
Fat Bob said:
I didn't see anyone mention the Origin 8 Gary bar.... I doubt the quality is that of the WTB bars, but it's probably not too far off the mark compared to the On-Ones.... besdies you can pick up some "Gary" bars for like $20-25 online blow out
Origin8 does not recommend Gary for off road use any more, AFAIK.

I like the WTB's because I've got big hands and the Midges are a bit short. I would rather the WTB had less drop, but whaddayagonnadoo? Some peeps dog on the WTB's for having ergo bends, but it's fine with me. You can set up the ergo bend of the WTB the same way you'd set up the flat portion of a MIdge.

I'm likin' what Salsa's got, but I'd like to see some more detailed measurements since I'd like a bar 2-4cm wider at the tips than the WTB. Soma's also got the Junebug, though it's a bit narrow.

Brant from Shedfire's got a new bar coming, too. I think I'll just run the WTB until I can get my hands on a Luxy.

http://shedfire.posterous.com/d62-aka-luxy-aka-offroad-drop-bar
 
#12 ·
i had a set of midge hanging around for a couple years....finally got around to actually mounting them. Love 'em! wonder why it took me so long to try it out...

haven't tried the WTB but the deeper drop scares me, and it would probably take me another 2 years to mount 'em anyways.
 
#13 ·
I own two sets of Midge, ridden the DD, both old and new version, loaned by friends. Very different shape, reach and drop vary quite a bit. The brake lever placement is easier on Dirt Drops, very tricky to find the balance on the Midge. If you ever want to run bar ends, WTB will not take them, new or old, the Midge will.
 
#14 ·
Con - WTB dirt drops - sleeve

i rode the original WTB dirt drops for 7 or 8 years or so. i've had a nasty creak in the front end for a couple of years. finally traced it to the metal sleeve on the dirt drops where the stem connects; the sleeve must have have come a bit loose from the bars over the years. replaced the dirt drops with the origin 8 bars...now silent.

so i got good use out of them, but that design with the sleeve is suspect. i don't know if the new ones are solid or have a sleeve.
 
#16 ·
slocaus said:
I own two sets of Midge, ridden the DD, both old and new version, loaned by friends. Very different shape, reach and drop vary quite a bit. The brake lever placement is easier on Dirt Drops, very tricky to find the balance on the Midge. If you ever want to run bar ends, WTB will not take them, new or old, the Midge will.
I agree, the WTB is too tight. I couldn't put some old steel end caps - the diameter was too small in the bars - so I used some Bontrager end caps - flexible.

I am leaning more and more to the Midge bars since I am so used to them.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top