Nitto Noodle Mod. 177 Handlebar

Made in Japan, to a design by Rivendell's Grant Petersen, the Noodle is probably the very best drop handlebar ever made, and the most comfortable. Two of our staff use these and tour on them currently. 

Not ridiculously wide, it's comfortable on traditional road bikes and all-rounders alike. There's no "up" on the tops as there would be on a French-style randonneur bar, instead it has some "sweep-back" toward you on the top and then some quite flat ramps toward the brake levers, where your hands will spend most of their time. A 4-degree flare in the drops completes the shape, so your forearms aren't interfering with the handlebars when you grip the hooks.

Width measured where you'd put the brake levers.

• 26.0mm bar clamp
• 140mm drop, 90mm reach
• 4° flare
• Aluminium
• Really pretty
• The wide ones are more expensive because they're heat-treated for incredibly high strength. Nitto don't make parts with any weaknesses and they test far more stringently than they need to.