We've installed a number of handheld shower heads like the one you pictured over the years and have never seen one that requires an extra bar or bracket unless it's the kind that slides up and down on the wall.

The one shown above just fits right where your old shower head is. Remove the old head, wrap some plumber's tape around the threads and attach the new. A job that takes less than five minutes.

If you're not concerned with appearances, the arrangement you've pictured should fit your needs perfectly. The one caveat is that you may need to occasionally replace the connection on the shower arm. After a few years of use, the fitting that holds the shower head in a desired position wears out, and it won't hold the weight of the shower head up properly, so it wants to flop downward. Since yours will only get infrequent use, it shouldn't be much of a problem. It's an inexpensive fix, anyway.

We have one like the one pictured. I don't remember the brand, but it is something not terribly expensive from one of the big box home improvement stores. And it was so simple to install, even my severely DIY-challenged DH could do it without a hitch!

Thanks all for your responses! I'm glad to know that it's an easy install. (We used to have a couple Grohe handhelds and they had the separate bar.) I will take a look at some "live" so I can see the whole setup.

Thanks again! And if anyone cares to share a brand/model of one they like, that would be super.

I need one too, one that has enough water pressure to rinse the shampoo out of my thick hair. One that isn't ridiculously expensive as well. I keep running into the ones with bars. I do not want a bar!

It's surprising to see you say that you've mostly only seen the ones with the bars. My experience has been the opposite - I seem to see the ones like you show in the picture way more than the ones with bars. There are tons of those types at the big box stores - Lowes, HD, Walmart, Target, etc.

kgsd that's funny because I have found hardly any like the one I posted! It becomes more challenging because I'd like a brushed nickel to match the sink faucet, but I have found only chrome and white so far. I looked on the Kohler and Moen websites and on faucet.com and designerplumbingoutlet.com. I think the challenge is that so many pictures only show the showerhead itself, and not how it attaches to the wall and water source. (Even when I look at the install guide.)

I will take a look at the store websites you mention to see what I can find. (And I suppose I should get my lazy self out to look at them in person!)

buyorsell let me know if you find one, and I'll post if I find a good one too. (BTW the picture I posted above is Moen Adler, found on their web site.)

My installer added accessories to my tiles without any issues. His only recommendation was that I try to position the holes at the grout lines as easier to drill there. (He might have said that tiles were less likely to break but I don't remember. My tiles are pretty thick.)

We bought one like you have pictured 4 or 5 months ago at Home Depot. It's a PricePhister. I don't know the model but it was about $30 or $40. We got it because my dad had come to visit and needed a hand-held due to a broken bone in a cast. My husband loves it because it raised effective level of the shower head about 4". I love it because it's easier to clean the shower.
The look is brushed nickel, although parts are plastic. It may not last 15 years, but it was cheap.

We are buying Price Pfister too. Pasadena. it does come in Brushed Nickel.

We looked at Moen Kingsley but it was almost triple the price and we are not planning on living in this house forever and this is an under $200,000 house at high appraisal. Parts of the Moen are plastic too.

They both have lifetime warranties....as long as you own your house anyway.....

Here is a link that might be useful: Pasadena hand shower at Faucets Direct