What Is Your Moustache Attitude?

[Eric Norris]

Seeing Manny's panda photo has prompted me to wonder: What is the attitude (tilt) of your mustache bars?

I'm on my second mustache-equipped bike, and having the same problem finding a comfortable tilt that I had on the first (which I long ago switched over to standard drop bars). So I ask of those of you who have M-bars and like them: how do you have them set up? Parallel to the ground? Tilted?

Any help the group can offer to find a way to set up the bars so they're comfortable for more than an hour's ride would be much appreciated.

--Eric "Love the Look, Hate the Feel" Norris

[Philip Williamson]

I used to really like my moustache bars, but now I don't, so I kind of wonder about angles, too. I did have albatross bars on that bike for a while, and a different seat. Either I didn't set the m-bars up the same as they had been before, or else I changed...

Philip

www.biketinker.com

[Matt Beebe]

I like them to be more or less parallel to the ground.   That is, so that the ends of the bar are horizontal, or maybe barely-perceptibly pointed downward.

One of the the keys to moustache bars I have found is, you have to give them a little time.   You need at least a week of riding every day before you really get to liking them.    I have them on one of my bikes but have noodles on my regular commuter and so am most accustomed to those-   and I find that if I switch over to the moustache-barred bike for a while, it a takes a bit to get settled in and really appreciate them.    Once I get to that point, they are touring-comfortable, no problem, and are great off-road.

The other thing about moustaches is I have to have my levers set up so that the brake lever hoods are no more than 12.5-13cm apart between the points (where the cable comes out on non-aero levers).     This is about what the original Bridgestone catalog recommended I believe.    If they are too far apart, riding on the hoods doesn't work, and that, or some variant of that (there are multiple ways to ride on the hoods with moustaches), is my 75-percent-of-the-time position on those bars.     I seen a lot of people set up their moustaches with the levers much farther apart, like out/down on the hooks, and I wonder if that's why they don't end up liking the bars sometimes.

[David Spranger]

My SimpleOne has its mustache pointed down at a about 5-6 degree angle. Got that way after trial and error. I have three bikes, each with a different bar (mustache, noodle, albatross). Mustache is my favorite followed closely by the albatross. I used to love the noodle as well, but I think I am just not a drop bar person anymore. I have considered trading it out for a mustache, but I like that all three bikes are setup differently.

David

Charlotte, NC

On Friday, September 7, 2012 1:32:35 AM UTC-4, Eric Norris wrote:

[Michael Rivers]

http://flic.kr/p/a9aRtg

Here is a side view where I ended up. After a year I switched to VO Rando bars after trying many angles and stems. I never figured out how to make these comfortable on this bike. I do think the location of the brake levers effects comfort also, as there is a lot of lateral choice for placement.

[Scott G.]

I use the Soma Lauterwasser bars, the m-bars grand dad.

Tops are level, the drops end up at about 10% tilt.

[Addison Wilhite]

Like many I wanted to like them more than I actually did.  I finally reinstalled them on my Allrounder and got the height right.  I don't think I'd want to do a long tour with them but they are great for what I use the AR for.  The pic doesn't really show the height but you get the idea.

http://reno-rambler.blogspot.com/2011/09/bicycle-cockpit.html

--
Addison
http://reno-rambler.blogspot.com

[Matthew J]

I'll admit this is not exactly helpful, but I gave up on M bars.  I got them with my Hilsen and really wanted to like them.   I tried a bunch of angles and even flipped them over.  Nothing worked right for me.

 

I've since gone to Albatross and Jitensha bars, both of which work great for me.  I have Dream bars (apparently no longer available?) on my Sunday afternoon joy ride bike.

[Kelly]

I have the mustache bars on my Quickbeam.   My biggest mistake with them was to have them to far away.   A nice stretched out ride in the hooks but due to the short backward reach I was always putting to much pressure on me hands for all day tours when sitting up. 

I love the feel up on in the hooks but the end of bar feel has been difficult to find a happy place for me.  I have raised the bar now and installed a dirt drop stem to shorten the reach.  Feels better sitting up but doesn't feel "as" good when climbing or in the hooks.  Overall I like them and will keep them on this bike for a while longer. 

Kelly

[BSWP]

About 5 degrees drop at the ends, and the top just slightly angled down. No bar-end shifters on my QB, so I machined some extenders that give me a similar length at the ends, nice for my wrists.

I have M-bars on all three of my bicycles, they feel just fine and natural after 15 years of using 'em.

- Andrew, Berkeley

[Lee Chae]

Good morning, all.

I guess this is a good example of everybody needing to make their own peace with moustache bars. I like them low and a bit far away. With this positioning, I do most of my riding with my hands at 10 and 2 on the curves leading from the hooks to the bar ends. When my hands need a little relief, I rotate my wrists or move my hands to a new place. When my hands or back need more relief, I can lean into the hooks or go upright at the bar ends. I also use the hooks position for headwinds or faster moments. And, I like grabbing on the straight bar segments when climbing.

With this configuration, I find that I have to tilt the bars down or else the bar ends force my wrists into a broken position, like after you swing a hammer or cast a fly. I've also positioned my saddle and bars so that I'm pretty balanced and can lift my hands off the bar and still stay in my riding position. So, not a lot of pressure on the bars to begin with.

With all of that said, on a couple of longer rides, at the 60-70 mile mark, I have felt some discomfort in my hands that I have yet to experience with drop bars.

Anyways, here's some pics of my setup:

http://tinyurl.com/3upa5ox
http://tinyurl.com/9owepc5
http://tinyurl.com/3sjfeoq

Happy Friday!
Lee
SF, CA

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[clyde canter]

I like the brake hoods parallel with the ground and the reach 10cm shorter and 10cm more height than I do on drops. For me the reach and height are more important as to how they feel than the tilt. A half centimeter one way or the other can really screw up  the feel for me.  YMMV.

 

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[Stonehog]

I had them most recently at about 6-8 degrees (http://flic.kr/p/c3moYY), but swapped them out for Porteur bars (similar angle - http://flic.kr/p/cZgd4w). I usually have the bars about the same angle of tilt as the saddle.  I like that the Porteurs have a similar feel, albeit narrower, and they come back a bit giving me an upright rest position. 

I am gradually becoming a drop convert, however, and see the day coming where I just have noodles on my riders. 

Brian Hanson

Seattle, WA

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[PATRICK MOORE]

57 here, and certainly not as spry as I was 10 years ago. I've tried M-bars many times on many different bikes, with positions ranging from high and close to one similar to a lowish hoods position (on the M-bar's hoods), and I've tried them angled down and flat. I have really wanted to like them -- have even toyed briefly recently with the idea of trying them again on the Fargo -- but I can never be comfortable on them for more than a few miles: they hurt my left palm. But the most comfortable position (tho' this was 15 years ago) was at the same (below-saddle) height as my drops with a similar (~8 cm) stem, with the ends parallel to the earth and riding them mostly on the hoods with levers placed a la Grant's instructions back in the B-stone days: ie, close. I commuted on this setup for a year or so, ~10 miles each way.The problem with *that* was that there was no "sit up and relax" postion like the flats on a drop bar, tho' holding on by my finger tips to the ends of the bars while climbing did help a bit.

Overall, I just can't make them work. 

On Fri, Sep 7, 2012 at 10:22 AM, Mattt <matt...@gmail.com> wrote:

I keep my moustache bars parallel to the ground.  I like my bars a little lower than the "standard."  If I tilt them back, I have to reach down too low.  It works for me.

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Patrick Moore, Albuquerque, NM, USA
For professional resumes, contact Patrick Moore, ACRW
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[Bryan]

When I lived in Wisconsin, I loved them for riding in cold weather and snow. Getting my hands around the brakes on drop bars was too sketchy in big puffy mittens. Moustache bars totally solved that problem and provided extra leverage for getting through the slop. Now living back in California, my moustache bars are sitting bike-less in my garage while the Noodles get all the attention. Guess I need a new bike to hold them. 

On Thursday, September 6, 2012 10:32:35 PM UTC-7, Eric Norris wrote:

[Bill M.]

After years of trying M-bars off and on without real success, I finally sold them.  I was never totally comfortable on them, I think mostly due to the lack of a position like the tops of a drop bar.  The best setup for me was quite high, on a bike with too short a top tube so they were very close.  They made a bike that was too small somewhat ridable, in the way that albatross bars can make a too-long frame ridable.  Still, I never found them to be preferable to a proper fit with a drop bar.

These days I'm running various flavors of short reach, shallow drop bars (3T Ergosum, SOMA Hwy 1, Salsa Cowbell) and find all of them preferable to the moustache.

Bill

Stockton, CA

On Thursday, September 6, 2012 10:32:35 PM UTC-7, Eric Norris wrote:

[Leslie]

My original plan for my Bomba was wavering between either a Bullmoose, or a dirt-drop stem with an off-road dirt drop bar (Woodchippers, Midge, original RM2, etc.). While awaiting my frame, I'd whittled through the list, narrowing it down to wanting an RM2, but having a time getting ahold of one ( outbid on auctions, some wanting to sell then not, etc); so I started leaning towards the Bullmoose more, but was still wanting the dirt drops.

But started really thinking about what I liked about my Noodles on the Ram, what was it I was wanting in dirt drops (flare), and finally noticed that the Moustache Bars were kinda like a dirt drop bar, flattened on out. And, came across a steel of a deal on some genuine Nitto ones (was a 25.4 instead of a 26; a shim didn't bother me); that way, if I decided I didn't like them, I could still use the stem w/ some dirt-drops (compounding this was the discontinuing of the regular Bullmoose, too).

So, frame/wheels/stem arrive, I build it up w/ the 'stache... Set about as high as the saddle, angled down (like the drops on a Noodle), levers about as far out as the go, on the apex of the forward bends, level to the deck.

I like them. Better than I expected, actually. I really expected to not be as keen on them, that they were my temporary placeholder. They are GREAT on downhill descents, fine for climbing, comfortable for tooling around town.

However... I'm starting to find a limit. Shorter rides, never think about 'em. Up to 10-mile-long trips, not a problem. But, when I'm getting up past 15, approaching a 20-mile jaunt, my hands are starting to let me know.

I'm thinking, maybe try them a little higher, will keep playing w/ them; but, I'm not yet positive about them if I was to do another metric, or a longer tour, etc. I still want to find some RM2 bars to try, if I can find the right ones tat I want, for a believable price...

IMHO, YMMV, yada yada yada....

-L

[Ryan]

Swept back portion angled down; top part as viewed from the side of the bike  is horizontal. I agree that they are an acquired taste. M-bars on All-rounder, X0-1 and Peugeot PX-10 SS.

AR and Peugeot use Nitto Pearl and Tech deluxe stems. Bars and saddle are level X0-1 uses stock Ritchey Force stem and bars are an inch or so below the saddle

I find changing hand positions frequently helps, otherwise palms tend to go numb...especially on 30K+ rides

[Bruce Herbitter]

My experience is similar to Lee's.  Same bar position. I ride most on the "top " of the curves. I prefer these bars on rides of 50 moles or less but they are my favorite for climbing.

Sent from my Kindle Fire

---

From: Lee Chae <lee...@stanford.edu>
Sent: Fri Sep 07 09:47:06 CST 2012
To: rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [RBW] Re: What Is Your Moustache Attitude?

[Michael]

So far, they work for me pretty well with bars at saddle height. Tops and stem and hooks same height as saddle, too. Brake levers horizontal. Just one line from stem-tops-levers.

I tried other angles, but this seems to work best so far. 

[Kellie Stapleton]

Nitto Dirt Drop stem

On Thursday, September 6, 2012 10:32:35 PM UTC-7, Eric Norris wrote: