# Your thoughts on Jones H-Bar



## DougA (Apr 3, 2008)

I have trouble with elbow and wrist pain and hands going numb with normal flat bars on my Mukluk. I'm considering going to H-Bars but wondering what you all think of them. Been through the stem length, seat adjustment routine and still have issues. I mostly bikepack with this bike but confess to trail riding and even park from time to time. I don't expect to trail ride withthese bars tho. How do you feel about H-bars. Thanks.


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## Skeeno (Jan 14, 2009)

I have the H-Bars

My take: 
Great for long mellow rides like fire roads/gravel grinding. Lots of space for strapping bags and accessories. 
Not so great when going downhill or any sort of technical single track.

I also have the Salsa Bend2 Bar. Sort of a compromise between the HBar and straight bars. Not as steep of a bend, but still compfortable hand/wrist position with better technical control.

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## HerrKaLeu (Aug 18, 2017)

Not sure about hardcore technical riding. 

I put it on my fatbike and it really helped to get rid of wristpain going over the roots etc. On the bikepath I also use the aero position, which makes me faster (I also have it o my hybrid, where the speed gain was significant).

I like when descending or standing I can have my weight shifted more backwards than a flatbar could allow. 


the trick is not that that is a great position, the trick is you have positions you can switch around.


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## rockcrusher (Aug 28, 2003)

I use them for everything. I find they don't hunger very technical riding, greatly facilitate riding rigid for me and recently I have been commuting on my Jones bike instead of my commuter because it got doored, and I really like the multiple hand positions of the Jones bar, which is something I never experimented with using it on the mountain bike only.

I've use high sweep bars for years and swear by them for all conditions. Now I don't DH or race but for everyday technical riding and now commuting they work for me.

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## seedub (Nov 16, 2005)

*JHB worked for my hand numbness.*

My JHB solved my hand numbness. I usually commute around 100 miles/week give or take and this was becoming an issue - no longer. I've now been riding the JHB for 5 or 6 years, first on a Krampus, now a Jones Plus. The 45 degree bend was the trick for me, if you look at actual hand position fore/aft they are the same as my flat bars with 10 degree bend, so it's the bend angle, not a more upright stance (comparing bars only).
I agree with rockcrusher in that I do not notice downside with trail riding the JHB, I also keep my wheels on the ground however, so may not be as busy in the cockpit as some. Also agree on the aero positioning when churning out road miles or headwind. Bikepacking they work great obviously.


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## dh024 (Dec 11, 2010)

Another satisfied JHB user - although I am not a technical rider.

I broke my wrist this spring on a fall, and it was hard getting back into cycling. The only bike I could ride at first was my ECR with the HBars. Between the swept bars that put your wrists at a more natural angle, as well as the sweptbars-specific Ergon GC1 grips, that was by far my most comfortable ride and absolutely minimal wrist strain.

I have toured extensively on that bike, including highway, gravel, and backcountry trails, and the bars have been superb. And if you experiment with them, you should be able to set them up so that you can use the top of the loop to get in a fairly aerodynamic position, which is great for long-distance riding or getting in a tuck for a smooth downhill run. Very versatile bars.


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## DougA (Apr 3, 2008)

Thanks all for relating your experiences.


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## Muirenn (Jun 17, 2013)

Just switched from Jones H to Deity Topsoil (which are similar to Salsa Rustler). It's like a different bike, it handles so quickly. Now the bike is nimble. The offset is slight. Maybe 7 degrees, or 9? I'm also considering the Salsa Bend Bars in 25 deg. I got these on sale, so I thought I'd try.

A friend of mine who is a very technical rider tried the Jones bars on her new Krampus. She liked how comfortable they were, but felt they were cumbersome. She switched to Surly Moloko bars, which look similar but apparently handle more like regular bars. Their offset is 34 deg, if memory serves, whereas the Jones are 45 degrees. She also likes the Salsa bend bars.


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## nowhereyonder (Nov 29, 2016)

Straight bars feel really unnatural to me. I have both the Loop and Bend versions on my touring bikes, both with some version on Ergon grips, and for me they're good for all day riding with a decent stack. My wife went from a straight bar to a Mary bar with Ergons with bar ends. They look funny and while there's a possibility of getting caught on a tree, she often uses the bar ends riding on flat sections.

I have a Surly Sunrise bar that I'll use today for trail riding, but that's mostly out of curiosity. I have no issue with the Jones on trails.


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## leeboh (Aug 5, 2011)

Seems to be too much sweep, imho. I use 17 degree sweep bars on my mt bike, Surly sunrise on my fat bike and 15 or so degree sweep bars on my bikepacking rig with bar ends.


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## Ailuropoda (Dec 15, 2010)

Another fan of the Jones H Bar. I’ve never tried them on technical trails but for dirt and gravel they are perfect. The hand position seems very natural and I don’t get hand numbness at all.


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## NYrr496 (Sep 10, 2008)

I do technical trails with Jones bars. I have a poorly done right forearm repair and straight bars hurt my wrist after a while. 
It took me a while to get them dialed in but I learned that I needed a longer stem since the bars move your hands back behind the steerer tube. I was running an 80mm stem with straight bars. I installed the Jones bars and rode and became comfortable with them but I would run into SLIGHT problems doing tight switchbacks. One day, it dawned on my to try moving them forward a little. I dug a 100mm stem out of my parts collection and now all is right with the world. I no longer hit my knee with the end of the bars on tight twisties.


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## bsieb (Aug 23, 2003)

I've been using them for some years now, with Ergon GP1 grips. Best setup I've found for dealing with my hand numbness issue. Elsuperbuenomuchogrande for a bar bag with the loop. I was tempted to try the carbon loop, but instead chose to build a new house in the woods with that money.


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## DougA (Apr 3, 2008)

Thanks again all. And now...Has anyone tried Soma Osprey bars?


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## dh024 (Dec 11, 2010)

bsieb said:


> I've been using them for some years now, with Ergon GP1 grips. Best setup I've found for dealing with my hand numbness issue.


Ergon GP1 or the swept-bar specific GC1 grips? I noticed a huge difference - the GC1 grips put my wrists at a much more relaxed, natural angle



DougA said:


> Thanks again all. And now...Has anyone tried Soma Osprey bars?


No, I haven't. But they look pretty similar to the Jones bar minus the "loop" portion. I gotta say, though - that loop portion is really handy - very nice to have it as an alternate hand position for long-distance cycling, and you can mount a ton of gear on it (e.g., lights, computers, etc.).


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## bsieb (Aug 23, 2003)

^I found that the GC1 grips lost/compromised much of the 45° sweep angle, while the GP1 grips maintain it. :???:


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## 839138 (Jun 7, 2018)

Had a pair of Jones bars on a rigid plus bike and loved 'em for nearly everything from dirt roads to singletrack. I ride about half singletrack/half FS roads with some bikepacking trips mixed in. I even rode the Hbar on some fairly rough trails and thought they handled fine with the rigid setup. Then I ended up swapping out the rigid fork for front suspension for some rougher, steeper singletrack and put a flat bar back on for better handling over the rough sections as well as tight cornering (hard to do with the H bar).

Now I swapped back on the flat bar and have the H bar loaned out to a friend. I've got my name down for a new Krampus and plan on trying out the Jones bar again for a bikepacking setup.

Also, I'm 6'3" with a lanky build for reference. The stem length and height is pretty important to dial in with the Jones bars. I originally had it on a 100mm stem, then tried a 50mm and felt too twitchy with the bars back. When I get the Krampus I'm envisioning the Jones bars with a 70-80mm stem as a good middle ground. Plus I like how you can stretch out more with the Jones bars.


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## NYrr496 (Sep 10, 2008)

You might want the riser Jones bars on a Krampus. Works well.


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## Fattyrider38 (Jun 7, 2018)

H-Bar user since back in the day when they only came in titanium, I love them, that is on a rigid bike I love them, which is what they are actually intended to be used for, and they are intended to be used with Jeffs frames as well as a part of his geometry system, I had a space frame titanium about 10 years ago, got out of biking and recently got back into it. i built up a rig with a suspension fork and threw the H-Bars on it and didn't like them so much. So Ive converted to an oddity cycles Razorbar with 15 degrees of sweep and love it. I just built up a rigid fat bike and threw on another 15 degree sweep bar on it as now the h-bars just feel like they have way to much sweep for me. But they are a great bar and a lot of people love them, I about had a heart attack when I walked into REI the other day and saw a production "bike packing" bike with a set of h-bars on them!


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## mikesee (Aug 25, 2003)

High sweep bars like the Jones exacerbated my hand numbness issues.

Normal MTB bars are roughly 5 to 7 degrees sweep. I get numb hands from these.

Some swept bars fall into the 16 to 22* range. SQ Lab, Answer, and Regular Cycles make these. These greatly reduce hand numbness for me.

Jones and others go as high as 40 to 45* sweep. These are comfy but make my hands just as numb as 5 to 7* bars.


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## bigolclyde (Aug 1, 2011)

No bikepacking experience with them (yet), but I put them on a Trek Stache recently and love them. Very comfortable with multiple positions, and you could hang all sorts of bags off them.


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## iowamtb (May 17, 2014)

I do very little technical. Mostly gravel. I like them for that and bike packing. I have used them a few times for single track. They do fine as long as you do your part.


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## Blatz (Jun 8, 2016)

I've used them for Bikepacking and technical trail riding on my Karate Monkey. I would highly recommend them


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## Muirenn (Jun 17, 2013)

BTW, I'm going to sell my Jones H loop aluminum, 710 mm (retails for $119) if anyone is interested.


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## Co-opski (Oct 24, 2013)

I have the Jones Carbon H-loops on my rig for winter riding. Long days in the saddle chasing glaciers and carsonite reflective blazes on a flat groomed trail is where they shine. For the summer technical riding and single track, when I put the 27.5+ wheels on the Fatback, I swap in my Answer carbon 20/20 bars. These have just enough sweep to keep my wrists and forearms happy and are not as long and drastic sweep of the Jones bars that I feel get torqued in technical riding.


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## BearcatSandor (Sep 19, 2008)

Does anyone have any experience using the loop bars while doing all-mountain fs riding? Would they be wasted money with technical stuff, down hill, roots, drops etc?


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## NYrr496 (Sep 10, 2008)

BearcatSandor said:


> Does anyone have any experience using the loop bars while doing all-mountain fs riding? Would they be wasted money with technical stuff, down hill, roots, drops etc?


I have them on my fat bike and my Krampus, both of which I ride on any and all types of riding. It took me a few rides to get used to the H Bars but now I can ride em anywhere.


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## Arch Stanton (Oct 17, 2019)

I’m thinking about getting the Jones Hbar 2.5 for my 2018 Stache 5. Which version do you have? How does the bike handle with these bar? Thanks!


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## fishguy (Oct 6, 2008)

I have them on my ECR for bike packing etc. I love them. In fact my wrists hurt a bit when I get on my trail bike with straight bars for an extended time. When I get back on the jones bars pain goes away. I almost instantly felt more comfortable with the jones bars.


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## 1 cog frog (Dec 21, 2004)

I have Jones Loop H-bars on my Velo Orange Piolet commuter/bikepacking rig. Very comfy for mellow, long distance cruising. I used the same setup for single track for a while, but the Piolet is not as good for normal mountain biking. 

I’m curious what front harness/handlebar bags others are using for bikepacking with Jones bars? I have a Broadfork Banana Hammock in the loop for snacks.

Frog


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## NYrr496 (Sep 10, 2008)

I have the Surly bag that they sell for their Moloko bars. Fits mint.


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## 1 cog frog (Dec 21, 2004)

NYrr496 said:


> I have the Surly bag that they sell for their Moloko bars. Fits mint.


Thanks!

I have this already, and it works great for small stuff:

https://www.broadforkbags.com/store/p5/Banana_Hammock_for_Jones_H-Bars.html

I'm looking for suggestions for full size handlebar cradles & rolls like the Salsa EXP Anything Cradle that play well with the Jones Loop H-bars.

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## HerrKaLeu (Aug 18, 2017)

1 cog frog said:


> Thanks!
> 
> I have this already, and it works great for small stuff:
> 
> ...


The problem with all these bags is that they take away some of the hand position options. I had the original Jones handlebar bag and ended up selling it since i wanted to use the handlebar with all positions (the whole point of the bar is the multiple position options)


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## Mojoe (Jan 29, 2004)

I just bought the Jones bag for mine last week. I haven't used it yet, but for me, I don't think it will limit my hand positions. I tend to rest my hands flat on the loop of the bar without really gripping it for getting aero. I will give some feedback here once I try the bag out.


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