Fizik's Cyrano (シラノ) brand, which handles seatposts, stems, and handlebars apart from saddles,
recently released a drop bar, so I picked one up for myself.
Cyrano's grade lineup goes "00," "R1," and "R3" from top to bottom,
and both drop bars and seatposts come in these three grades.
The stem comes in just one grade,
and while the manufacturer's site just calls it "Cyrano Stem,"
distributors refer to it as the "R1 Stem."
The one I bought this time was the R3 drop bar,
so let me explain why I chose it.
Fizik proposes a selection criterion for their products
called the "Spine Concept."
To put it simply, based on your forward bend depth (roughly equivalent to spinal flexibility),
they categorize from stiffest to most flexible as Bull, Chameleon, and Snake,
using this as a guide for choosing saddles and handlebars.
The Spine Concept initially applied only to saddles,
but now that handlebars are included in the product lineup,
you're supposed to use the Spine Concept to select those too.
Attempts to quantify saddle selection
or systematize it based on some standard—
as far as I know, Selle San Marco's SUA (スア) was first,
but including that and everything that came after,
I don't think any system has produced results you could call truly successful.
No matter how perfectly the SUA formula applies (quantifying saddle contact area),
I never got along with Selle San Marco's Rielle saddle,
and even when Specialized's Body Geometry told me
"based on your pelvic width, your saddle should be 143mm wide,"
when I use the Tüpé I actually prefer the 130mm width.
So what I bought this time was the R3 Snake.
Basically, the Bull has a shallow drop, the Snake has a deep drop,
and the Chameleon falls somewhere in the middle in terms of shape.
The "Spine Concept" is supposedly based on assessing forward bend depth,
but whether you can bend forward depends more on pelvic anatomy,
so the spine isn't really the issue.
Your hip angle and saddle contact area will indeed change depending on
how much forward lean you can maintain (not just briefly, but for extended periods),
but the products don't really address this in a way that makes sense
(like, take the Arione—because it's shaped this way,
for someone more Chameleon-ish, this particular area might be...)
so saddle selection really comes down to trial and error.
However, the relationship between drop bar depth and how much forward lean you can achieve
is more straightforward than with saddles,
so I think you can reasonably rely on the Spine Concept here.
And this is what it looks like.
Whether I'm actually a Snake according to the Spine Concept is irrelevant.
I specifically wanted a drop bar with this shape.
The 3T Rotundo would work too,
but it doesn't come in 380mm width.
Oh, I forgot to mention—my usual width is 380mm.
However, Fizik's attention to detail is almost excessive,
and they vary the drop amount depending on handlebar width.
As a result, there are actually cases where the Chameleon
ends up deeper than the Snake.
In width/reach/drop (all in mm):
Snake specs are
380/75/125
400/80/130
420/85/140, while
Chameleon specs are
380/80/130
400/80/130
420/85/135.
So with the Snake, if the width isn't wide enough,
the drop won't be as deep.
But since I also liked the overall shape quite a bit,
it's not an issue.
I apologize for seeming to criticize the Spine Concept,
but even if this drop bar actually belonged to the Bull or Chameleon category,
I think I would have bought it anyway based on the shape.
In my own terms, I'd say: "if you're someone who rides on the drops as your home position on flat ground,
it's worth trying."
Just like there's no guarantee that someone classified as Snake by the Spine Concept
will find this drop bar suited to them, in the same way,
just because I say (as のむラボ) that drop bar users should try this
doesn't mean it'll work for everyone who frequently uses the drops.
Finally.
I'm not criticizing the Spine Concept (← I keep saying this)
but I think sorting by forward bend depth alone into Bull, Chameleon, and Snake is flawed,
so separate from Fizik's system,
I created a more detailed chart of my own.
It includes questions that more accurately align with the characteristics of
Bull, Chameleon, and Snake, so
follow the blue arrow for YES, and the red arrow for NO.
Note: I won't accept complaints like
"I followed this chart and bought Fizik products but they didn't work out for me,"
so please be aware.
recently released a drop bar, so I picked one up for myself.
Cyrano's grade lineup goes "00," "R1," and "R3" from top to bottom,
and both drop bars and seatposts come in these three grades.
The stem comes in just one grade,
and while the manufacturer's site just calls it "Cyrano Stem,"
distributors refer to it as the "R1 Stem."
The one I bought this time was the R3 drop bar,
so let me explain why I chose it.
Fizik proposes a selection criterion for their products
called the "Spine Concept."
To put it simply, based on your forward bend depth (roughly equivalent to spinal flexibility),
they categorize from stiffest to most flexible as Bull, Chameleon, and Snake,
using this as a guide for choosing saddles and handlebars.
The Spine Concept initially applied only to saddles,
but now that handlebars are included in the product lineup,
you're supposed to use the Spine Concept to select those too.
Attempts to quantify saddle selection
or systematize it based on some standard—
as far as I know, Selle San Marco's SUA (スア) was first,
but including that and everything that came after,
I don't think any system has produced results you could call truly successful.
No matter how perfectly the SUA formula applies (quantifying saddle contact area),
I never got along with Selle San Marco's Rielle saddle,
and even when Specialized's Body Geometry told me
"based on your pelvic width, your saddle should be 143mm wide,"
when I use the Tüpé I actually prefer the 130mm width.
So what I bought this time was the R3 Snake.
Basically, the Bull has a shallow drop, the Snake has a deep drop,
and the Chameleon falls somewhere in the middle in terms of shape.
The "Spine Concept" is supposedly based on assessing forward bend depth,
but whether you can bend forward depends more on pelvic anatomy,
so the spine isn't really the issue.
Your hip angle and saddle contact area will indeed change depending on
how much forward lean you can maintain (not just briefly, but for extended periods),
but the products don't really address this in a way that makes sense
(like, take the Arione—because it's shaped this way,
for someone more Chameleon-ish, this particular area might be...)
so saddle selection really comes down to trial and error.
However, the relationship between drop bar depth and how much forward lean you can achieve
is more straightforward than with saddles,
so I think you can reasonably rely on the Spine Concept here.
And this is what it looks like.
Whether I'm actually a Snake according to the Spine Concept is irrelevant.
I specifically wanted a drop bar with this shape.
The 3T Rotundo would work too,
but it doesn't come in 380mm width.
Oh, I forgot to mention—my usual width is 380mm.
However, Fizik's attention to detail is almost excessive,
and they vary the drop amount depending on handlebar width.
As a result, there are actually cases where the Chameleon
ends up deeper than the Snake.
In width/reach/drop (all in mm):
Snake specs are
380/75/125
400/80/130
420/85/140, while
Chameleon specs are
380/80/130
400/80/130
420/85/135.
So with the Snake, if the width isn't wide enough,
the drop won't be as deep.
But since I also liked the overall shape quite a bit,
it's not an issue.
I apologize for seeming to criticize the Spine Concept,
but even if this drop bar actually belonged to the Bull or Chameleon category,
I think I would have bought it anyway based on the shape.
In my own terms, I'd say: "if you're someone who rides on the drops as your home position on flat ground,
it's worth trying."
Just like there's no guarantee that someone classified as Snake by the Spine Concept
will find this drop bar suited to them, in the same way,
just because I say (as のむラボ) that drop bar users should try this
doesn't mean it'll work for everyone who frequently uses the drops.
Finally.
I'm not criticizing the Spine Concept (← I keep saying this)
but I think sorting by forward bend depth alone into Bull, Chameleon, and Snake is flawed,
so separate from Fizik's system,
I created a more detailed chart of my own.
It includes questions that more accurately align with the characteristics of
Bull, Chameleon, and Snake, so
follow the blue arrow for YES, and the red arrow for NO.
Note: I won't accept complaints like
"I followed this chart and bought Fizik products but they didn't work out for me,"
so please be aware.