YAHT (Yet Another Handlebar Thread) :D

[Jon Craig (Vendraen)]

I have a 2016 Sam, from the batch of completes that year.  I love the bike, and now that I'm riding a lot more (my wife was gifted with being able to ride again after not being able to for years; she has a '16 Sam too), I swapped bars from the stock (Nitto Noodle) to an Albastache.  

The Noodle was only giving me ONE hand position, on the hoods.  The drops didn't feel usable to me and the flats are just too narrow for my comfort.  The hoods position was putting a lot of pressure on the meaty part of my hands behind the thumbs.

The 'Stache fixes that and gives me a lot of hand positions - on the "hoods" (but it's a big flat on the 'Stache of course), behind them, and pretty much all along the rest of the bar.  I like it, but...

I do miss the hand position that only comes from having a drop bar on being on those hoods in that orientation; I just need one that will put them in a spot that doesn't put all the weight on the meaty-hand-part behind the thumbs.

I have to admit I also miss how the bike looks with a drop bar. O_o  I dunno, I guess the bike just "wants" that look, to me.

I'd also like to not run the shifters as barend shifters... So I'd go thumbie or some type of (SHHHH DON'T TELL GRANT) brifter. 

The other issue I don't have access to the funds that some others around here seem to. :)  These bikes were EXPENSIVE to us ($2,600 a pop and we've added front and rear racks, fenders, etc.)

Ideas, comments, questions, help, etc, etc?  I'm sure lots around here have Sams and have done this handlebar/cockpit rodeo lots of times!

[Johnny Alien]

I love handlebar discussions. I am a pretty big fan of the Albastache bars and generally have moved to them in instances where I would normally use drops. Similar to you I don't really ride in the drops so Noodles just don't have the same amount of options. That said I also love the look and traditional feel of drops. I plan to try out the Blue Lug specific variant of the Noodles. They are the same bar but with shallower drops and less reach. It seems like that could be perfect and make riding in the drops more accessible. As far as anything that would keep you with road levers for brifters thats about the only options. Albastache bars are clunky set up that way because of the way you need to throw the lever to shift. I have only held off trying the BL bars because I am waiting for a stem I want to come in so that shipping makes more sense.

Now if you do want to move toward a thumb shifter route for road bikes I cannot recommend the Losco bars enough. So good for a sweptback road experience.

[Jon Craig (Vendraen)]

Eh, I'm really thinking of going back to a drop bar of some sort - there's 100000000000 of them out there, and it seems ones with shallower drops and mid to high flare are going to make the drops usable.  And I probably want something with a longer ramp for even more position variability.  There are just. so. many. bars. now.

[Stephen Durfee]

For sure, a drop bar looks great, and as others have already pointed out, there are several drop bar variations out there besides the Noodle...I've been curious about the Origin8 Tiki Bar, for example. I'm just now looking to offload a Roadini that is fit with Noodles and brifters, and I have to say that while the combination is fun,  I also get sore hands fairly quickly - say by mile 15.  I've got an Albastache bar on my XO-3, and am quite happy with that for my around-town riding and daily commute. I'm also fully behind the idea of saving $, so intra-list sales and swaps, CL and Facebook marketplace are my main source of parts. 

[James M]

I find the Choco bar mounted upside-down (as in the moose version on my Hunq) is a great road bar replacement.  I have a modern indexed 10-speed shifter on the right and a SunTour wishbone shifter on the left, under the bar -  really great for this application.  The moose version of the Choco is great for trail rides - no slippage!  Also fun to show off the Fairweather Ongr bag that I finally found to fill the triangle ;)

[Mackenzy Albright]

I second the Choco-Moose bars! They're everything I wanted the RM-016 moustache / albastache bars to be. There is a lot of real-estate. Great control from the grips - nice position in the hook - and everything in between. Plus I'd say they look pretty darn good. 

[Kainalu V. -Brooklyn NY]

Soma “three speed 2” bars are the greatest mustache ever! And they use regular brake levers, so you can toss those road levers in the rubbish. And run regular thumb shifters, and flip them over if you want. They’re great. 

https://www.somafab.com/archives/product/moustache-ii-bar

-Kai

On Thursday, November 16, 2023 at 9:54:02 AM UTC-5 modemm...@gmail.com wrote:

[Steve]

Modemmisuser,   have you looked at the Redshift Cruise Control system for drop bars? I've used the upper pads with a VO Porteur bar, so a slightly different application than a drop bar, but I thought they were well made. They're worth considering - link below.

You might also consider reducing your reach to the bars by going to a shorter stem, which would reduce the pressure on your hands. 

Of course, the most budget friendly approach would be to fall in love with the Albastache. Personally, ever since the B'stone XO-1, I dig the look of mustache style bars with road levers.  My motto is 'comfort first and the rest will follow'.

[Steve]

https://redshiftsports.com/products/cruise-control-drop-bar-grips

[ascpgh]

Most drops now anticipate brake/shift levers with a longer dimension from the bar clamp to the lever pivot. That extension of the lever body triggered a slew of shorter reach bends that cheat those of us who love generous ramps ahead of the hoods. Talk about complicating the field for your choice.  

When STI arrived there was a bit of struggle for those who loved riding the hoods/ramps but could feel how expended they were from previous brake hood positioning. Shorter stems were a quick dimensional solution but closed the distance to the tops, depth of hooks and knee clearance if sticking with a favorite bar with the new brake/shifters. I was and am still a bar-end shifter across my fleet and like the range of handholds for the spectrum of positions from which I address the effort input of riding. Some of the brifter-tailored, widely flared and shallow drop bars significantly limit the number of hand positions and worse, for me, lock those holds by limited wandering from any of them. The Midge bar on the tandem has to go because of this. My body rejects being locked into any position for very long at all as I ride, even if the terrain doesn't vary.

I have Nitto RM-013 bars on both my commuter and Rambouillet and make great use of their generous ramp length (not designed presuming brifters) but on my Coast rando I chose the RH rando bar for the additional contours of the tops for wandering hands and anticipated longer hours on the bike. I imagined that with different steering geometry a different bar would be good for my proprioception and new, distinct muscle memories as I switch back and forth between the others. It took a little bit riding to get accustomed to and make use of the attributes of the new bend after riding the same bars for 20 years before but really does work for me.

Andy Cheatham

Pittsburgh

[Drew Henson]

I've had the RH rando bars and the chaco bars on my Sam, which is from the last run. I like them both a lot. I'm going with the chaco bars now though - plenty of room to roam, I can stretch out if I want, and i feel like the most recent Rivendell's are really well suited for upright bars vs drops (except maybe the Roadini). 

[Elisabeth Sherwood]

Hi Modemmisuser,

Just my $0.02, but as someone who could never figure out the attraction of Nitto Noodles (I have relatively short arms and small hands, so any remotely long-reach handlebar will just never work...), I find Soma's Highway One (Hwy 1) handlebar to be just perfect -- short reach, shallow-ish drop, comfortable bends.  (Absence of pressure on hands in our cases is probably the result of other aspects of the set-up, though.) 

I've had it on my Saluki, and it's currently on a Bianchi Volpe that's done up with silver bits.  My boyfriend uses it on his Sam Hillborne (2008 or so vintage) and his Long Haul Trucker.  I use STI levers with it; boyfriend has bar ends, for the moment, on both of his set-ups.  Super comfortable.

As they say, though, your mileage may vary!  Good luck!

-- Liz

Washington, DC 

On Thursday, November 16, 2023 at 9:54:02 AM UTC-5 modemm...@gmail.com wrote:

[Patrick Moore]

Fwiw, just a few observations in case they help someone find an ideal bar shape.

For a medium+ size American man (ideal level tt size is 60 c-c), I've got relatively short arms and small hands, and yet my favorite bar of all time is a long reach traditional bend Maes Parallel, precisely because of the long ramps. I install my bars with ends parallel to the ground, and that does effectively shorten the ramps somewhat, since I like my brake levers positioned rather higher than the old-fasiohned "ends of lever even with bottom of hooks" standard, but nonetheless it is the long ramps of the MP -- 115 mm, 20 mm longer than the Noodle. The difference is the relatively shallow drop: 125 mm versus 140 mm. I make up for the longer reach with a relatively short stem: 8 cm (typical effective length and not Nitto length). 

I switched from short reach (95 mm) large drop (140 mm) Nitto drop bar with agressive hooks* to the Maes Parallels. I compensated by raising the stem from 7.5  cm below saddle to the current 3-3.5 cm below saddle to accommodate an aging neck, but the longer ramps still allow a comfortable aero position on the hoods and in the hooks because of the longer reach, while the middle of the long ramps allow a more upright cruising position and the flats are closer, thanks to the higher stem, than with the earlier one. Altogether the best of all worlds, imo. 

* Nitto 165? IIRC the Nitto Dream Bar, #176, was a Rivendell modification of the one I have in mind.

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Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum

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[Patrick Moore]

Fwiw, just a few observations in case they help someone find an ideal bar shape.

For a medium+ size American man (ideal level tt size is 60 c-c), I've got relatively short arms and small hands, and yet my favorite bar of all time is a long reach traditional bend Maes Parallel, precisely because of the long ramps. I install my bars with ends parallel to the ground, and that does effectively shorten the ramps somewhat, since I like my brake levers positioned rather higher than the old-fasiohned "ends of lever even with bottom of hooks" standard, but nonetheless it is the long ramps of the MP -- 115 mm, 20 mm longer than the Noodle. The difference is the relatively shallow drop: 125 mm versus 140 mm. I make up for the longer reach with a relatively short stem: 8 cm (typical effective length and not Nitto length).

I switched from short reach (95 mm) large drop (140 mm) Nitto drop bar with agressive hooks* to the Maes Parallels. I compensated by raising the stem from 7.5  cm below saddle to the current 3-3.5 cm below saddle to accommodate an aging neck, but the longer ramps still allow a comfortable aero position on the hoods and in the hooks because of the longer reach, while the middle of the long ramps allow a more upright cruising position and the flats are closer, thanks to the higher stem, than with the earlier one. Altogether the best of all worlds, imo.

* Nitto 165? IIRC the Nitto Dream Bar, #176, was a Rivendell modification of the one I have in mind.

OTOH, if you want what is effectively a no-reach bar: I installed a Specialized Hover bar on the Monocog because even trimmed and adjusted upright bar (MAP/Ahearne) with Ergon grips were not as comfortable as drops; yet I needed a short bar to compensate for the long top tube.

With a 7 cm +30* stem the Hover gives me a riding position rather more upright and relaxed than my already rather relaxed road drop position, though with the Monocog I could probably benefit even further with a miniscule 30 mm or so reach Analog stem, as long as the rise was great enough. The Hover has essentially no ramps between flat and hoods, only enough required by the bends in the tubing. It's pretty comfortable, but even better would be a sufficiently high no-extension stem with -- yep, a wider Maes Parallel. If I replace the Moncog and can't get a custom with short top tube, I'll use an Analog stem and a wide 44 cm Maes Parallel a cm or 2 above saddle.

On Fri, Nov 17, 2023 at 12:46 PM Elisabeth Sherwood <elisabeth...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Coal Bee Rye Anne]

Hi Modemmisuser,

Best of luck on your bar search and congrats to your spouse on her return to cycling!  I certainly endorse bar/stem swapping... both on the bike and off the bike (via trades.)  I have been in your scenario feeling 'meh' with certain set-ups and previously bought some new parts here or there to try when I actually had some disposable income as well as more free time for wrenching.  Since then my available funds and free time have significantly reduced but I've still managed to opportunistically offload and obtain various bars and components through mutually beneficial trades in recent years with the added bonus of simply covering your own shipping, thus avoiding any other exchange of funds in many cases.  They don't all necessarily balance out exactly and some were larger or more complex multi component trade arrangements growing out of a single WTT/WTB or FS post while some had occasional partial fund exchanges to offset value imbalances, etc.  Some just end up lopsided on the shipping end but ultimately it's been a wash in my view even if on the losing end of a shipping disparity as it's helped reduce my own excess while gaining something desired and avoiding managing my own garage sale of spare parts.  That may sound like I'm against selling parts.  I'm NOT!  I just know I don't personally have the capacity right now to manage my own listings and then add some seller remorse from a part here or there so I've kind of hoarded what remains while awaiting an opportune moment to either use, trade, or sell when ready.  Sorry for the digression, that's not even relevant to your query.

With so many drop bars out there I'm sure there may be one that will meet all your needs and may take time to try and identify it.  It may even require a compromise on stem preference or aesthetics if willing to consider other clamp diameters.  I may have missed it but don't think you mentioned what exact size Noodle you have?  I went through several different bars and ultimately found the Nitto RM013 (in 52cm) got me about 90% where I wanted to be with drops once I acquired the wider size.  I was initially very confused on how so many drops are sized differently... even among Nitto made models like the Noodle vs. RM-013 Dirt Drop which are measured completely different for size designation!  Once I got to try the next size up (finding my middle sized 48cm just a little too narrow for me) I found a near goldilocks bar offering most of what I wanted in a varied drop and liked the unique drop only flare with traditional ramps for mixed terrain riding.  Now I'm back to lacking a drop bar build with the dirt drops in reserve again.

I tried RM-016 Moustache as well as a butterfly trekking bar on various builds and these comparisons led me to believe I'd like an Albastache to kind of meet in the middle between the two styles/widths but then I ultimately found some unexpected results with both a Chocomoose as well as a Soma Urban Pursuit bar.  These are now mounted on two different builds but actually have similar characteristics in their long uninterrupted 'ramp' type grip area once I switched to bar end brake levers and a full grip tape wrap from end to stem junction on the Chocomoose.  On the Soma pursuit bar the bar end brake levers are out front kind of like hooded road levers and have nice and looong, flat ramp sections giving lots of room to move.  These are admittedly on single speeds with no concern for shifter placement but with potential for thumb or stem shifters away from the grip areas.  I briefly used the Urban Pursuit bar with a traditional Sturmey Archer three speed trigger shifter mounted on the bottom side of the right corner along the flats with tape over the clamp and that worked pretty well until I went a different direction with the bike.  You obviously lose the drop area when moving to something like the moustache, pursuit, or Choco bar but once I realized I appreciated having a long uninterrupted grip to move around I didn't really miss the drop on those builds that much.

At one point I really liked most things about the widest Salsa Cowbell EXCEPT the reach and short ramp.  Maybe on a geared road bike with big brifters I wouldn't have minded but with the non-brifter Tektro levers I was using I just couldn't find a happy spot along the short ramps and didn't like being limited to the hood itself.  Otherwise the width, flare, drops, flats all felt great (to me) after ruling out various other drops.

Again, best of luck on your bar adventure!

Brian Cole

[Coal Bee Rye Anne]

I couldn't remember offhand while drafting my initial reply exactly which new Crust drop offering I was thinking, but I remembered among their various models there was one with a more classic general shape, 26.0 clamp, and longer ramps than the Noodle and Nitto RM-013.  It's the Bonneville and comes in a 52cm end to end measurement with 46mm hood/ramp spacing similar to both the 52cm RM-013 or 48cm Noodle.  This is on my own shortlist of those I'd eventually like to compare to my RM-013 for the extra reach/ramp length.  Just putting this here before I forget and in case it helps your or anyone on a similar journey and following this discussion.
https://crustbikes.com/collections/handlebars/products/nitto-x-crust-bonneville-bar