And the winner of best handlebar is....

[Johnny Alien]

Albastache.  Seriously. I have tried the Nitto Moustache in the past and liked it but it needed to sit a bit high to be useful to me. I love drops but at the same time never actually spend much time IN the drops.  These bars are perfect. 

[Eric Marth]

Looks like a rad setup, I'd be eager to try someone else's albastache rig before taking the plunge. 

What do you think of the Velo Orange skewers? I've been eying a set myself. 

[Berkeleyan]

Agree. I have Albastache bars on my new Riv-ish Custom, and they're really good. I had Moustache bars and then Noodles on my actual Riv custom over the past 22 years, and think these are the right bars for at least the next decade.

- Andrew, Berkeley

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-kTnjBCS/0/L/i-kTnjBCS-L.jpg

[mrb]

The 'stache is nice but NOODLE IS BEST!

#teamnoodle

[Joe Bernard]

Billie Bars for the win! 🏆

#teambillie

[Johnny Alien]

@Eric the Velo Orange skewers are really nice.  Will the Shimano style clamp a little better? Probably....but these do a really nice job, look great and are light.

@Michael if I am going with drops I am for sure going with the Noodle. That is actually what I had on the Saluki before the Albastache. 

@Joe Billie's are a very close second and what I currently have on my Gallop prototype.  A marked improvement over the Albatross in my opinion. I haven't tried the choco bars yet and I do want to do that.

[Johnny Alien]

In addition, LOVE ergon grips and quad lock phone mounts!

[Joe Bernard]

That's the good stuff, Johnny! My tender wrists looooove Ergons, and my expensive phone loves not being shaken to death by cheap phone mounts anymore. 

[Brian Campbell]

Agreed. #teamnoodle

[Paul G]

I'm primarily a road rider on a Roadeo. I started with a Dream Bar, switched to a Mark's Bar, then a Noodle. Then I tried a Compass Maes Parallel. Now I'm back to the Noodle and have determined it's the best for me for now. #teamnoodle

[Johnny Alien]

The only thing I could see would improve on the albastache is if it tapered in a way that would allow either road levers (like it uses now) and the bends and mountain levers on the ends allowing the user to decide what setup they wanted. I saw a moustache variant that was made that way. I would stick with the road levers but it would be interesting to have options.

[Ben Mihovk]

I love my Choco bar and I'll say it's the best for me right now...but I'm going through the "should I try drops" phase of my life. I spend more than half my saddle time with my hands like so...

Anyone who wants to talk me out of (or into?) drops, I'm all ears.

[Hugh Smitham]

I love my Choco bars. Perfect for me because it just is.

Hugh

[peec...@yahoo.com]

I find the albatross bar to be very comfortable, partly because of the greater rise than say, the billie.  I notice there is a 4 degree difference in sweep between those 2 bars.  Is that a substantial difference?  and if so, how?  I've not tried the billie so I'm curious if anyone has directly compared the 2 bars.

[Bicycle Belle Ding Ding!]

I had Albatross on my Betty Foy. Loved them but wanted them to come back towards me a little bit. The Billie Bar on My Platypus (my #1 absolute eternal favorite bar and bike) does exactly that, and it flares in the most ergonomic way imaginable. When I’m climbing, I slide my hands forward and have the best place to grip. As far as rise, I have the Nitto extra tall stem (280 mm, found on Soma’s site) so I can get them pretty high.

Oh, the Billie is drop-dead gorgeous - but so is the Albatross. The Albatross looks like a bird in flight and the Billie looks like a woman holding her petticoats aloft as she glides across the room. Both wonderful bars.

[Yankeebird]

Yes the Albatross. I love that bar. It not only looks gorgeous, it just feels right. I replaced my noodles with it on my Cross Check and never looked back. Agree with Leah about "bird in flight" that's a very apt description. 

I have Bosco on my Cheviot, and it's great bar for that bike, sometimes I think it's almost too much, my hands are often forward on the ramps, but when I slow down and I'm sightseeing or maneuvering in tight spaces I'm all the way back on the grips again... so it works out really nice on this frame, but Bosco is not adaptable to ever bike... The Albatross works on almost anything, it's very mission flexible. 

[RichS]

Johnny,

Your Saluki is a great looking, well put together bike. I won't jump into handlebar preferences (been using Noodles for years).

Eric asked about your VO skewers.

I purchased a set in silver when they were first offered - based solely on their appearance. I think they tighten adequately but are somewhat fiddly to get there. My disappointment with them is the edges of the lever are not rounded; they're flat and consequently sharp. Not the most comfortable on one's hand. VO could have charged a bit more and had the thin lever fattened just a bit and more finely finished.

I remedied it by filing and smoothing down the edges. Not a lot of material to work with but the result is more comfortable.

Best,

Rich in ATL

[Eric Marth]

I've got Albatross, Billies and 48cm Noodles currently installed on three bikes. Love them all, I do see the Billie as an improvement over the Albatross and love the forward grip position which I used quite a lot. I wouldn't mind a wider Noodle. Will mentioned a prototype 54cm Noodle in an email update sometime in the last year. I'd probably pick one up if offered. 

Thanks for the feedback, Rich! Don't mean to highjack and get all into skewers. Looking for some simple silver skewers and I'm nuts about brass so they do check a few boxes for me. Not afraid to file or shape things, might give them a shot. 

[Damien]

I had Albas on the Sam and switched over to 48 Noodles. For that bike the Noodles feel right, but I think it's because I'm so used to drops. That said, I've always been a bit Choco-curious, and am fascinated by the proposition of a Wavie on the Sam...

[Eric Marth]

"Choco-curious" just made my day. Thank you!

[John Johnson]

For me, depends on what kind of riding you do. I have/have had noodles, moustache, bullmoose, albatross, and albastache (all riv models - though I stopped using the noodles and moustaches because they felt a bit too compact after a while). I love the albatrosses for cruising around and some light trail riding. The bullmooses obvs for offroading. For road and long distance (and some trails), the albastache are a great all around choice. They're comfortable, the brakes are on the right spot, and you've got plenty of hand placement choices. 

john