Flat Bar Gravel Bike. Ritchey Kyote handle bars on a titanium Kinesis ATR gravel bike.

Some thoughts on the pros and cons (mostly pros) of trying alt bars on your gravel bike. More luggage capacity, different riding position, and overall change of feel are all reasons you may be Interested in trying flat bars on your gravel bike. Ease of packing your bicycle for flight, and easier and cheaper access to sensible gear ratios are all add to the attraction of handlebars such as the Ritchey Kyote bars on a bike such as the titanium Kinesis ATR.
#kinesisatr
#ritcheykyotebar
#bikepackinghandlebars

[@PaintedRoads]

Featured in this video: www.paintedroads.com cycling holiday in Asia 😎🚲⛰🏝🍻 www.buffalobagth.com eu.ritcheylogic.com www.kinesisbikes.co.uk

[@brianyoung9892]

I just love your backyard and the vibe of this video. How can you not be happy and want to tour with this guy. Makes me want to leave the US and go back to Brazil. Thank you!

[@PaintedRoads]

Hello Brian, many thanks. I am lucky to have such a beautiful backyard in which to play, if you don’t go to Brazil maybe you can join us on a trip in Asia some day 👍.

[@lawrencebaker6233]

Great video, just bought some Richey Koyote bars and love them.. Thanks for the information 👍😉

[@PaintedRoads]

Many thanks. I hope you have a great time with your new bike setup 🌞.

[@outbackwack368]

Well done, mate! Thanks from the States! Be safe over there!

[@PaintedRoads]

Cheers!

[@jamese8508]

I recently converted my Surly Cross-Check to flat bar. Based on your video, I just ordered the Ritchey Koyote. Looks cool!

[@PaintedRoads]

Hey James, fitting the Kyote bars should work well with the Cross Check, extending your reach a bit, raising your stack, and the back sweep giving a nice comfy wrist position; enjoy your new ride.

[@bivibikebaggins]

been riding ritchey Kyote for two years now... very nice

[@PaintedRoads]

Yes, nice bars 👍

[@Osteoandyogi]

Great video, we look forward to being able to travel and maybe travel With you guys. Future video of parts on the bikes for the geeks among us, they are stunning looking bikes…

[@PaintedRoads]

Hey, many thanks, I am very pleased you like the video. Yes, let's hope the world is back on track soon, and that we can back to international travel; fortunately things do seem to be heading in the right direction. If you are interested in joining us on a tour and have any queries, please email me via the link on the PaintedRoads website, or PM me via either the Insta of FB page. Good to hear you're interested in some bike parts posts; I am planning a little series on my bikes, what I use, and why. It's not going to be about what's right and wrong and best and worst, but what works for me and why. Hopefully something during the coming week.

[@shanefrechette613]

Thanks for the sharing this information😎🍻

[@PaintedRoads]

You are welcome; thanks for watching.

[@kimrice394]

I do similar on my urban path bike. Narrow MTB bar and some bar ends inside the grip area. Bar tape the whole thing. Works great. Supper stable when needed. Bull horns when standing/climbing. I can still reach the brakes on the horns which is a plus.

[@PaintedRoads]

Sounds like a good setup, taping the bar ends is a great move 👍

[@michaelviglianco6121]

I thought I saw a Leo then you pulled out a Buffalo Bag from my friend. Cool. Was just thinking about converting my Salsa Vaya to these in order to use my Buffalo Bag when I get home soon from my current trip in Thailand

[@PaintedRoads]

I tried a medium size on my drop bar gravel bike (46mm Ritchey Ventura) and as I recall it worked. The bag in this video is a large and does not fit. The Kyote bar should work nicely on the Vaya if you decide to go down that route. Enjoy the rest of your time in Thailand.

[@bagballz]

Your local riding looks bliss!

[@PaintedRoads]

Yes, it is; great trails, beautiful scenery, and mostly great weather - we are very lucky.

[@rollsandthepajakeroz5]

Nice...i like it..

[@PaintedRoads]

Many thanks 🙏

[@lukewalker1051]

Well explained and have done similar on different bikes. I prefer a regular mtb handlebar with more conventional sweep back and kick up...720mm wide and have run them with bar ends in the middle as well. To me ergonomically the sweep back of the alt bar isn't a natural position and have tried many different handlebars with backsweep. That said, most of my bikes are dropbar. I prefer a flatbar for riding a bit more upright...but I like a stretched out position with a pretty tall stack height. For me, for off road, I vastly prefer a flat bar. I think for true cycling addict, good to own different styles of bikes to switch is up once in a while. I have gotten more into building high power ebikes but ergonomics are key and production bikes of any stripe many times don't fit the rider. Same with motorcycles, sportbike versus cruiser is a completely different riding position. Ebikes are great for riding in the heat you mention and if you want a good workout, turn the power level way down and if you want to fly, crank the watts up. Cheers from the US.

[@PaintedRoads]

Yep, mixing it up is the reason I did this build. I think the amount of back sweep is a personal thing, I like the back sweep of these and my Tumbleweed bars for longer rides. As for the heat, you just get used to it when you live in the tropics, and alas, the super high import duty on e-bikes in Thailand pretty much puts them off limits for most folks.

[@mattiasandersson2315]

Got the same bars 👍

[@PaintedRoads]

Great, maybe try the inner mounted bar ends 👍

[@Custard6]

Hi David, all too technical for me but nice to see you looking so well. Hope Thailand is going to control this wave well and gets vaccines into arms asap. Looking forward to ride with you again in December/January. Take care.

[@PaintedRoads]

Hey Jo, good to hear from you, and thanks for taking a look at the video. The bike in the video is the one you rode in Thailand. We are keeping a close eye on the vaccination program here, the big inoculation program apparently rolls into action today, fingers crossed that all goes well. There are presently plans in the pipeline for the "Phuket Sandbox", where effectively the island becomes a quarantine centre for fully vaccinated visitors. If things go to plan, after a week on Phuket and a negative test, you would then be free to travel. Alas, at this stage the is much variation in the alleged basic strategy, including the possibility of 14 days on the island and a 'travel corridor'. Hopefully this will be tidied up during the next month. Once the plan is looking firm and has received the necessary official approval, I will be letting PaintedRoads folks know what's afoot. I hope that all is well there in HK, and I look forward to seeing you again, hopefully before too long.

[@AgraZulfanuddin]

Gravel is goodd ❤️

[@PaintedRoads]

Sure is 👍

[@The2808erik]

This is like the crazy bars from velo orange or the Dunham bars, but cheaper and custom. I can use what ever bar ends I want.

[@PaintedRoads]

Yes, exactly what I think. The Crazy Bar is nice, but with this setup you have the considerable advantage of being able to customise the fit.

[@mr.gigitix]

👍

[@tanguero69]

Great review! are this bars suitable for a classic alu-hardtail xc front suspension bike? got troubles with my elbow due to other sports and i´m searching something more ergonomic than a classic mtb flat bar. I´m not the kind of guy eating mountains but more focused on dirt and doubletrack roads with some mellow singletrack. Thanks!!!

[@PaintedRoads]

Thanks. It sounds as though we enjoy similar styles of riding off-road. I would say that like saddles, handlebars are a personal choice. I prefer a back sweep. In the case of these Koyote bars the back sweep is around 27°. It seems that many problem who are looking for comfort do prefer a back sweep somewhere between 27° and 45°. On another bike I have Tumbleweed Persuader bars, which are a similar width and backsweep, but without the forward sweep of the Koyote bars they give the bike a shorter reach. The reach can be altered by changing the stem, or by choosing a suitable bar, and this is personal. There is also the rise to take into consideration. I recommend using this website to compare handlebars whatbars.com An advantage of the Koyote over the likes of Tumbleweed or Jones is that they are more affordable if you would like to give them a try. Good luck.

[@tanguero69]

@@PaintedRoads thanks a lot!!

[@PaintedRoads]

@@tanguero69 you are welcome. I would be interested in which bars you try, and how you get on with them 👍.

[@belgen]

Hello, do you think I will be able to install Ortlieb Ultimate Six Handlebar Bag on this bar without issues? It seems that the seagul shape will create a problem and I may need an extension adapter.

[@PaintedRoads]

I’ve just checked with a similar Carridice handlebar bag (265mm wide) that fixes to the bars with the same Klickfix bracket that Ortlieb use, and it fits on the Kyote bars. If the the Ultimate Six is not more than 265mm wide I expect it will also fit without the need for an adapter.

[@MrBunnyGibbons]

Thanks for the info. Thinking of trying a flat bar like the Ritchey Kyote on my CX/gravel bike but can't seem to source any in Thailand. Did you import them?

[@PaintedRoads]

Yes, as I recall I had them sent over from one of the German online stores, probably Bike-24. I believe that Pnu at Triple Cats in Chiang Mai may have some Curve Ramlaw bars, which are very similar, but without any rise.

[@MrBunnyGibbons]

@@PaintedRoads Thanks for the reply. I'm in Chiang Mai and know Triple Cats. He's building a rear wheel for me. I'll ask him about bars.

[@PaintedRoads]

@@MrBunnyGibbons that’s great. I know than Pnu imports some still from Curve, and I feel sure I saw him on Facebook with some Ramlaw bars a while back. Good luck.

[@PaintedRoads]

@@MrBunnyGibbons I have just remembered, Thai Access Bikes in BKK import Ritchey products.

[@MrBunnyGibbons]

@@PaintedRoads Thanks again. I'll make an inquiry.

[@warrenhogan6423]

Hi have you tried the buffalo bag on the kyote bars?

[@PaintedRoads]

I’ve not been on a journey using the Buffalo Bag and Kyote bars, but I have fitted the bag to bars, and my next journey will be with that combination. Whilst the Buffalo Bag fits better on the Tumbleweed Persuader bars as sown in the video, there is no reason not to use the bag with the Kyotes. I hope this helps.

[@Pete_YT]

What grips did you use on the end of the bar?

[@PaintedRoads]

They're Ergon GP1.

[@Fitandover40]

Did you have to re-cabled to fit it? Thanks

[@PaintedRoads]

Yes, the cables need to be quite long with the Kyote bars.

[@Fitandover40]

@@PaintedRoads thanks. Its funny almost nobody mentions this detail that increases the price of the handlebar. Thanks

[@leodileodileo]

sorry name of the horns?

[@PaintedRoads]

These are just a pair of old bar-ends from an old MTB. SQ Labs make inner bar ends specifically for the job, which I feel are a nice shape.

[@leodileodileo]

@@PaintedRoads thank you I've purchaser the Ritchey comp short for less than 20 bucks :)

[@PaintedRoads]

@@leodileodileo you know, I think they may be the ones I have; should be good.

[@furkan248]

Buy a jones handlebar :D

[@PaintedRoads]

Many thanks for your thoughts. We do have a pair of the ever popular Jones bars on my wife's bike, which, like many people, she is very happy with. However, they are strikingly different to the Ritchey Kyote. The back sweep on the Jones is 45º as apposed to the Kyote's 27º, and the Jones is 710mm wide compared to 800mm. My preference is for the wider bar and the 27º angle, which is of course a personal thing. Perhaps most important in the case of converting a bike designed for drop bars though, is that the angle of the Jones bar, when compared to the Kyote, will effectively shorten the reach by around 75mm to 80mm when riding on the grips in reach of the brakes. This may well be an advantage for some people, but for others it is a drawback. Interestingly the Jones bars would bring the reach (at the grips) to almost the exact same place as Tumbleweed Persuader, which would be my 'bar of choice. If you are not already familiar, you may find this website useful and interesting whatbars.com Cheers 🍻😀

[@RediHazbiu]

You sound like you got to know about the flat bars just the other day, they have been there since forever.

[@larryt.atcycleitalia5786]

With all the wacky "gravel" bars on the market now with their flare, sweep, rise, curve, etc. it's no surprise to me people are trying other things. What I DON'T get is WTF is so wrong about a simple, standard road drop bar on a gravel bike? No compact, no screwball flare/sweep, just a handlebar? But you put a straight bar on there, isn't it just MTB with skinny tires? Nothing wrong with MTB's, ride 'em on the road if you like..but they're NOT gravel bikes IMHO.

[@PaintedRoads]

Ah, best to not take it all too seriously, it’s just the ramblings of an idle international bicycle tour operator during a global shut down. Tinkering with bicycles and swapping bits around kept me amused, and the landlords dog enjoyer it immensely, in fact, I think the old girl misses those lazy times of the pandemic and bicycle tinkering.

[@ztsb_koneko]

Honestly the whole bike type definition is just silly. How do you even define a "gravel" bike? People take 90's MTBs and slap drops on them and call it a gravel bike. Well, if you're taking it on a gravel road then sure enough, but then if you remove the drops and put an alt bar on, it's suddenly NOT a gravel bike? It's ridiculous.

[@jeffpittman8725]

Exactly.

[@CanItAlready]

Gearing is not the same as a MTB.

[@warrenhogan6423]

Please ignore my comment sorry

[@PaintedRoads]

No problem, already replied 😊.