Caution, this bike is no longer available: The Street Machine Gt recumbent with steel frame and rigid seat has been replaced by the Street Machine Gte. These pages are only online for archive purposes.
The Street Machine Gt Handlebars
Two different types of handlebars are available for the Street Machine Gt: our Ergobars under the seat or the Above Seat Steering (ASS) handlebars over the legs. The choice of handlebars is a matter of taste; some cyclists prefer the ASS, most (including ourselves) find the Ergobars more comfortable.
Some riders prefer above the seat steering and it has many practical advantages. All controls are within the field of vision, which is especially reassuring for beginners. Also there is no restriction on the turning circle which can be a problem for people riding for the first time and not confident enough to lean into corners.
We use the TerraCycle Glideflex stem which we believe to be one of the most robust and ergonomic designs available. The stem pivots forwards for access to the seat and rests back comfortably within reach. The pivot is robustly made with no tendency to develop looseness, a problem with many similar designs. The bars are shaped to comfortably clear the knees and have telescopic adjustment. When correctly adjusted the grips should fall easily into your hands with your
upper arm hanging loosely down and your elbows at 90°.
Having over seat steering gives you a place to mount battery lights, computers and other accessories and also makes it easier to manoeuvre the bike when pushing it along the pavement or getting it into a hallway. Over long distances however the under seat bars are more comfortable and also give you a better field of view. With the Ergobars the hands are in the most relaxed position possible, they rest at the height of the hips with the grip pointing upward and slightly forward. It is easy to adjust the angle of the bars, moving them forward will also take them slightly further away from the body.
The handlebars on the Street Machine Gt have a slight forward curve at the ends of the bars. This gives a particularly comfortable resting position, especially when used in combination with the bar-end levers. They also give a variety of gripping positions which is particularly nice on long journeys. (In case you order your bike with Rohloff hub gears, we will mount a handlebar with straight handlebars ends to match our super-long twist shifter.)
As an alternative to the 60 cm wide standard underseat handlebares, you can order your bike with extrawide 65 cm handlebars with straight handlebar ends.
