Though I loved my Jones H bars, when someone donated a Surly Moloko bar to the Bicycle Co-Op, I couldn't resist giving them a try. Prior to purchasing the Jones bar I was torn between the two and couldn't find much comparison information that made sense to me. Both the Surly and Jones sites (as well as most reviews) provide and array of angles and measurements, but quite frankly these numbers meant nothing to me. I needed photos.
So hopefully these images will help someone else who's torn between both bars. Before putting the bars on my Trek FX4 sport, I held them up to each of the other the bikes in my collection. I was hoping to give you a feel for how the bars compare width and reach wise to those already on the bikes.
Here's the Surly and Jones bar comparison on my Trek. Though it's hard to tell from this image, you can see the with is about the same, though the Sulry Moloko bar is just a little wider and it's reach farther forward.
On my Niner RTL 9 touring bike, you can see just how different this hand position and reach would be. Although the Moloko bars attempt to mimic the "riding on the hoods" position, where I primarily ride on this bike is on the blacked taped area, occasionally moving up to the hoods. Clearly the Moloko bars would dramatically change my current "comfort zone" and even more surprising is the fact that they are actually narrower than the hoods of my drop bar.
On my Specialized Turbo Vado SL, the Moloko bars again offer a drastic change. Although the standing width is comparable, the change in reach is pretty eye opening.
And finally on my Liv Devote, you can see the Surly bars are again mimicking the "riding on the hoods" position, while offering multiple wide reaching hand positions.
Once on the Trek I thought the Moloko bars looked pretty cool. Getting them on, was also easy now that I have the experience of the Jones bars behind me - and there is certainly real estate galore for gear attachments.
Hand position wise, you'll notice though that the sharp curve of the bar leaving the stem provides a fairly awkward, wrist turning in position. I'm not sure I'd want to ride that way - let alone have any control of the bike from there. So it seems the main riding positions are the "hoods" or anywhere along the traditional bar / taped sections. You may also notice that because of where I've placed the brake levers and shifter, both interfere with the "riding on the hoods" hand position. Of course, it's possible that these bars just weren't designed for a Trek FX4 - or even more possible that I had no idea what i was doing in attempting to install them. But for me, this wasn't a win.
I felt like the bars were ironically too narrow where my hands wanted to be and too low at the wider gripping areas. That said, it's only fair to point out that I'd been riding with the Jones H Loop 2.5 bars for months, which of course offer a far more upright position, so perhaps this isn't a fair comparison. I also have to admit, that I didn't give these bars much of a chance. After a few rides, they were happily donated back to the Bicycle Co-op.
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