Wolbis with drop bar

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Patrick Moore

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Feb 7, 2025, 3:27:46 PM2/7/25
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This pic showed up in the comments to BSNYC’s post today. I like it. (Tho’ don’t care for the probably ironical girl’s cruiser bike color scheme; reminds me of my daughter’s 24” wheel Electra Townie 3i in pink with white accessories.)

Will others post photos of Clems or Platys or Wolbis’s with drop bars?

image.png

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Patrick Moore
Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum
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Brian Turner

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Feb 7, 2025, 3:38:31 PM2/7/25
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Every time I see certain Riv models with drop bars, I can’t help but think it’s just a matter of time before they realize that frame just wasn’t meant to be a drop bar bike and they either sell it, or find a sweptback / upright cockpit they can live with.

Brian
Lex KY

On Feb 7, 2025, at 3:27 PM, Patrick Moore <bert...@gmail.com> wrote:


This pic showed up in the comments to BSNYC’s post today. I like it. (Tho’ don’t care for the probably ironical girl’s cruiser bike color scheme; reminds me of my daughter’s 24” wheel Electra Townie 3i in pink with white accessories.)

Will others post photos of Clems or Platys or Wolbis’s with drop bars?

<image.png>


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Bill Lindsay

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Feb 7, 2025, 4:58:45 PM2/7/25
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Haha Brian,  I totally agree.  Anybody (absolutely anybody) in the market for a full-rigid steel drop bar mountain bike should be buying a Black Mountain La Cabra, in my opinion.  Especially since they are available and on sale at the moment.  

Bill Lindsay
El Cerrito, CA

Brian Turner

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Feb 7, 2025, 7:46:36 PM2/7/25
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I was going to make a likely controversial statement and say that along with certain current drop-tube models such as Clem, Susie, Platy, etc. I would also lump the MIT Atlantis, Joe A., and even Charlie as Riv models that simply aren’t conducive for drop bars. Although I know there are some here who will probably say they have made them work just fine. But then the latest Riv email comes out and Will has a whole piece on his attempt at drop bars on his Joe, which to me, just further supports my position.

To each their own, though! Sometimes you just don’t know until you try.

Brian
Lex KY

esoterica etc

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Feb 8, 2025, 3:03:18 AM2/8/25
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Since the MIT Atlantis was lumped together with the list of models that are simply non-conducive to drop bars, I call poppycock.

My 650b MIT Atlantis was wonderful with Nitto Noodle bars. It came to me originally with Choco bars which were also wonderful, but at the time I already had another bike with a similar bar and no other geared bike with drop bars in my stable. So I put the Noodles on just out of curiosity thinking that it probably wouldn't stay on for long, but I ended up liking it better than the Chocos and kept it on until I ultimately sold the Atlantis.

You'll never know until you try, and I encourage y'all to experiment with your bikes just like Will is doing. Tinkering is half the fun!

~Mark
Kailua, HI
image0.jpeg
image1.jpeg

Conway Bennett

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Feb 8, 2025, 5:25:55 PM2/8/25
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I have a hunqapillar with a discord/analog fingerling stem and ritchey Corralitos short and shallow drop bar, and it's my favorite iteration of cockpits on this bike.  I feel the Corralitos are a total dark horse and should be in the conversation for Riv cockpits.  I love riv, but I'm more comfortable on drops, and I have never liked the single hand position found on most upright or alt bars.

Jay

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Feb 8, 2025, 8:11:36 PM2/8/25
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Past week or so I have been dreaming of a new Riv, like the Appaloosa or upcoming Atlantis, with drop bars.  Then I see the newsletter yesterday, and this thread today lol.  Will's bike didn't look very good, but Mark's Atlantis above looks perfect to me.  The proportions look really good.  If I went with an Atlantis with drop bars I would likely go down two sizes.  The top tube is so long!  I'm 5'11 and can't recall my PBH but when I sized my Roadini it was highly recommended I choose the 57, which I did, and while all is good and I love the bike, I have the Brooks C17 pushed all the way forward on a 0 offset seat post, a 70mm stem -17D, as low as the quill adaptor can go, and short reach bars.  I could have easily went down a size and had more space to move things around.  So, with an Atlantis, would make sense to go down a couple of sizes if using drop bars.  I don't think I'll pull the trigger though.  If I could visit Mark in Hawaii and test out his Atlantis, well that could change my mind! 

Garth

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Feb 9, 2025, 8:24:06 AM2/9/25
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The colors in the photo of the Wolbis are quite complimentary and I rather like it. It reminds of the 80's when many bike colors were rather art deco themed. The bars look like Soma Gator or close to it. 

Drop bars with fat tire mountain bikes have been around since mountain bikes as I knew them came about. I recall in the 80's the Team Specialzed mtb racing team were racing on drop bar Stumpies. Jacquie Phelan and John Tomac rode them famously. Think of the endless vintage mtb's now serving as drop bar commuting bikes. 

I have 44cm Ritchey Skyline drop bars on my Bombadil. The Ergon SM Comp saddle all the way forward on the rails. 130mm -25d Profile stem, with the bars as low as they can go. The stem and quill adapter could only go lower if I removed the cable stop from the headset stack and cut the steerring tube. It seems low enough though for this particular frame, thankfully ! The fit is ballpark spot-on for me and I find the overall handling of it more intuitive/natural than I ever did with much higher Albatross bars. I tried them level with the bars too. I also tried the Albastache but didn't like them at all. That's when I felt drawn to a drop bar. I find a real drop bar is infinitely more functional and comfortable. Plus, I find the narrower bars offer stability and steering more to my sensibilities than a 56cm wide higher sweptback bar did. I was curious to see if low drops would have any practical influence in regards to the wheelbarrow-like-steering and how it feels standing in the drops uphill), but no, it didn't. While it doesn't feel intuitive to me, it's not that it's so bad I won't/can't ride it. 

I can see any of the longer reach Rivs working as long as the rider is inspired to venture outside any sort or prescribed bike fitting. I've found that "upright" positioning isn't necessarily "good" as every bodily form and function is unique, no cookie cutouts !  

Here's my bike right now. I've been riding it on rollers for the winter and fine tuning the bar angle, saddle position and such. The camo tape I bought on a whim and looks better outdoors from a distance than it does indoors. I don't know if I'll keep it on or put on some other color like white, orange, lemon or lime. The frame has no markings on it. It was repainted in 2011 to this Imron Light Frost Green Metallic. I place functionality over appearances, hence the mix of black and silver parts. Every part chose is very purposefully chosen for it's function and fit !  




IMG_20250208_111914645.jpg

Bill Lindsay

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Feb 9, 2025, 9:42:33 AM2/9/25
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"I call poppycock"

There's not really a good way to talk about eras of Atlantis Geometry, but there are three distinct eras and they are three completely different bikes in my book.  There was "Era 1"  the long period of pre-MIT Atlantis, then the exceptionally brief "Era 2" when the first MIT Atlantis bikes came out, and there's "Era 3" which is now.  It looks to me like you've got an Era 2 Atlantis, and I've had both an Era 1 and Era 2 Atlantis meander through my stable.  I agree with you that an Era 2 Atlantis is well-suited for drop bars, and I'd agree with the earlier characterization that the current Era 3 Atlantis has a much much longer Reach, and that makes it less-well-suited for drop bars.  

Those three Eras of Atlantis are sufficiently different that I think having one of each would be a perfectly smart thing to do.  

A 2025 Atlantis with drop bars would probably end up looking like Will's Appaloosa experiment.  The easiest thing to see at a glance on the Geo-Chart is to compare Hilsen with 2025 Atlantis.  For a given size, the Atlantis has a Reach fully 4cm longer.  I would wager that your "Era 2" MIT Atlantis has a geometry a lot closer to a Hilsen than a 2025 Atlantis.  

Bill Lindsay
El Cerrito, CA

esoterica etc

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Feb 9, 2025, 4:08:26 PM2/9/25
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Jay,

Thanks for the compliment on the Atlantis, but I'm afraid you might be disappointed with your visit to Hawaii- I sold the Atlantis a while back to a nice fella in California. But you're more than welcome to try out my 90's Specialized Crossroads, my Ritchey Breakaway Cross, or my wife's Clem H. 

And Bill is correct- mine was the 2018 v2 56cm 650b Atlantis. Like Bill, I also owned a v1 58cm 700c Atlantis and agree that they're quite different animals. 

Looking at geometry charts, my 56cm Atlantis had a 59cm effective top tube. The current 55cm 2025 Atlantis has an effective top tube of 61cm, so it's much more predisposed for running upright handlebars. 

~Mark
Kailua, HI


On Feb 8, 2025, at 3:11 PM, Jay <jason....@gmail.com> wrote:

Past week or so I have been dreaming of a new Riv, like the Appaloosa or upcoming Atlantis, with drop bars.  Then I see the newsletter yesterday, and this thread today lol.  Will's bike didn't look very good, but Mark's Atlantis above looks perfect to me.  The proportions look really good.  If I went with an Atlantis with drop bars I would likely go down two sizes.  The top tube is so long!  I'm 5'11 and can't recall my PBH but when I sized my Roadini it was highly recommended I choose the 57, which I did, and while all is good and I love the bike, I have the Brooks C17 pushed all the way forward on a 0 offset seat post, a 70mm stem -17D, as low as the quill adaptor can go, and short reach bars.  I could have easily went down a size and had more space to move things around.  So, with an Atlantis, would make sense to go down a couple of sizes if using drop bars.  I don't think I'll pull the trigger though.  If I could visit Mark in Hawaii and test out his Atlantis, well that could change my mind! 
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Brian Turner

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Feb 9, 2025, 5:18:43 PM2/9/25
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See... not 100% poppycock.

The Rivendell pyramid of drop bar bikes to upright / sweptback bar bikes has definitely inverted in the past 30 years.

Brian
Lex KY

J G

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Feb 9, 2025, 6:31:32 PM2/9/25
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I have a different take on the setup in the first picture.

That looks more like a dirt drop than a drop bar setup and those are 2 very different things.  Dirt drops have the drops as primary position and function not so different from a normal sweep back bar except that you get to hook into it.  The tops on that setup look unusable as they should when a dirt drop is setup properly.

Just my take, but I could rail singletrack with a setup like that for hours, whereas traditional drop setups and mountain biking would have my wrists screaming in minutes.

-Justus
Mpls, MN

Patrick Moore

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Feb 10, 2025, 1:31:31 AM2/10/25
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I seem to recall a thread or series of threads a year or 2 or 4 ago when Analog was active on the list, about their very short stems designed precisely for getting a drop bar up close on a long-top-tube Rivendell. At any rate, I am very definitely interested in a Clem, tho’ I’ll procrastinate as usual while talking about it for a few years, but my left palm does not do well with non-drop bars, and I’ve tested this since at least 1985.

I might well buy a Clem even with a sweep-back bar, but it would be nice to have the opportunity to use some sort of drop bar.

Aside, the faut-de-mieux Clem substitute right now is the returned Monocog 29er. The tt is a few cm longer than my normal 56-57 for road bikes, but I found an upjutter 6 cm stem to hold the Specialized Hover bar with, what, 1.5 cm of rise from the clamp? So I think I can make this work. An Analog stem would be even better, but the Monocog will be a “steal me” beater and I don’t want to put any expensive parts on it.

One day, God willing, I’ll replace it with a Clem, drop or upright bar, for casual riding with the dog and for locking up outside the library.

For the record, I do not want to force a bike into a build that it’s not suited for — have spent far, far too much time and money trying that route — but if others have succesfully drop-bar-ified Clems, I’d like to hear about them and see photos.

Patrick Moore, 38 cm RH Maes Parallels on the 2 road bikes, 42 cm RH Maes Parallel on the dirt road bike, who just had a delightful meandering Spring-like ride on the IGH (ASC hub) Matthews to see his brother and wife, return via grocery store.

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Patrick Moore

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Feb 10, 2025, 1:31:31 AM2/10/25
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Well, at least one other rider disagrees. I’ve seen others’ Clems, etc. with drop bars and I’d like to see more of them. And, I’d like to hear others’ takes on whether drop bars are appropriate for such long-stayed, long-top-tube Riv models.

My interest is largely but not solely academic. I’ve thought for a while about getting a Clem, but after decades of trying I’ve never been able to get comfortable for more than 10 miles on a non-drop bar. So let the opinions accumulate.

Laing Conley

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Feb 10, 2025, 11:06:55 AM2/10/25
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It all depends on your body proportions. I am 6’ tall with the legs of someone who is 5’8” and the body of someone who is 6’4”.  My Rivendell Custom has a top tube about 8 cm longer than the seat tube if I remember correctly. I don’t fit anything that Crust makes, which is unfortunate because I kind of like some of their designs, but they all have short top tubes. One of the reasons that I like Rivendells is that they tend to have longish top tubes. 

I run long stems and setback seat posts on everything. My bars are either drops or waives or VO Clunkers (kind of Wavies with a rise). I feel cramped on any bike with pullback bars. I am however working on a possible solution. I am almost complete with my Rosco Baby that has an extremely long effective top tube. The bars are filleted Boscomoose. Last items are setting up the cantilever brakes and seeing if the ancient NOS Sturmey Archer 3 speed works. 

Laing
Delray Beach FL


Bill Lindsay

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Feb 12, 2025, 6:12:40 PM2/12/25
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If Patrick Moore was actively looking to buy a drop bar wide-tire bike to replace his much maligned steal-me monocog, I'd advise him to give an open-minded look at the Crust Scapegoat.  

Bill Lindsay
El Cerrito, CA

Brian Turner

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Feb 13, 2025, 8:55:38 AM2/13/25
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Agreed. Evasion is a nice choice too. I would also suggest the Tanglefoot Moonshiner, since it already has that nice, swoopy top tube. The Moonshiner was up for consideration when I was looking into getting a Gus, but I realized that riding singletrack with drop bars is not that enjoyable for me personally, so I got a Gus.

Brian
Lex KY

John Johnson

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Feb 13, 2025, 9:16:46 AM2/13/25
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I'm not trying to derail the thread, but maybe this is on topic (if the topic is drop-bar mountain bikes).
I'm getting a BMC La Cabra, which is touted as a drop-bar off-road bike. They are currently on sale and I couldn't resist. 
I'd really be curious about other's thoughts on riding drop bars on mountain/all terrain/off-road bikes. 
Brian from Lex KY doesn't like riding singletrack with drops. I know that Bill Lindsay has a La Cabra that he rides on fire roads (presumably with drops).
I like swept back and alt bars. I HATE flat bars. But I'm not sure if I'll get along with drops on the La Cabra or if I should do an alt-bar build.
(and forgive me for the non RBW but RBW adjacent question)

John 
in France

Bill Lindsay

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Feb 13, 2025, 10:15:13 AM2/13/25
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Confirmed that my 18" La Cabra has Salsa Woodchippers.  

BL in EC

Laing Conley

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Feb 13, 2025, 10:17:17 AM2/13/25
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I have a 1st generation Crust Scapegoat for sale.  135mm 26” quick release wheels F&R. 2x2 single speed gearing. 

Laing Conley 


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J G

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Feb 13, 2025, 12:44:07 PM2/13/25
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I will reiterate my point on drop bars vs. dirt drops since Woodchippers and the La Cabra are being discussed.

While people certainly setup Woodchippers as drop bars, I have not found them to be a good bar as a traditional drop, however they are an Excellent and by far my favorite dirt drop bar for mountain biking.  The difference is setup.  Woodchippers for off road need to be setup with the drops at a height where a flat swept back bar would be.  This means your primary and really only good functional position is the drops, but the long flat ramp of the Woodchippers set at 20 degrees south of level (my preferred angle) creates a nice flat ramp for you to hook into and be able to grip the bars very lightly while never being knocked out of them. 

Proper setup dirt drops like the Woodchippers will provide endless hours of comfort for as technical of tight and twisty singletrack as you can handle, whereas again unless you are Tomac, standard drops are simply painful.  I have done multiiple 100K mountain races on Woodchippers and they are amazing bars when setup properly.

Note that I am also an alt bar guy and am a big fan of the Jones sweep at 45 degrees so anything that I setup for offroading that is not a Woodchipper, is generally a Jones, with a couple of exceptions.

-Justus
Mpls, MN

J G

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Feb 13, 2025, 1:08:18 PM2/13/25
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Pics always help.

Here are Woodchippers setup properly for aggressive mountain biking.  For older mountain bikes an LD stem or in this case an Igleheart threadless replica of the Salsa P10 stem gets the bars to where they should be:

IMG_0272 (1).JPG

Paul M

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Feb 13, 2025, 2:00:04 PM2/13/25
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My preferred hand position is on the top of the handlebar on either side of the stem and the ramps before the brake hoods. In order to get the Woodchipper to have a level top I needed to rotate the bars so that the bottom flats point to the rear axle. This also opens up the hooks for allowing your hands to fit seat better into that position.  Back in the day Salsa recommended that the flared bar ends angle should line up with the rear dropouts. This gives the handlebar 5 hand positions.

DSCN4447.JPG

J G

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Feb 13, 2025, 2:13:43 PM2/13/25
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That's similar to how a lot of the Fargos went out the door and does provide use of both tops and drops, but is not as suited for aggressive off road riding, although if you are flexible enough, it can certainly work.  Your setup works for a lot of people who want to use this bar and still retain multiple positions, but for a setup like this where a bike is seemingly not tackling a lot of singletrack, I prefer something closer to a traditional drop like the Cowbells.  YMMV.

Nick Payne

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Feb 14, 2025, 5:12:54 AM2/14/25
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On Monday, 10 February 2025 at 5:31:31 pm UTC+11 Patrick Moore wrote:
Well, at least one other rider disagrees. I’ve seen others’ Clems, etc. with drop bars and I’d like to see more of them. And, I’d like to hear others’ takes on whether drop bars are appropriate for such long-stayed, long-top-tube Riv models.

My interest is largely but not solely academic. I’ve thought for a while about getting a Clem, but after decades of trying I’ve never been able to get comfortable for more than 10 miles on a non-drop bar. So let the opinions accumulate.

My experience is the same - I've never met a non-drop bar that I found comfortable for anything other than shortish rides. My Appaloosa sports drop bars (Nitto mod. 176), and the position is as comfortable as on any other drop bar bike I've ridden. The long top tube means that I use a short 70mm stem on that bike to get the same reach to the handlebars as on other bikes I have with shorter top tubes.
PXL_20250214_095137329.jpg

NIck Payne

Garth

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Feb 14, 2025, 7:30:14 AM2/14/25
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When comparing frames even stack and reach aren't enough to estimate the actual reach from saddle to bar. Seat tube angles can commonly vary from 70d to 74d. So say I'm comparing a frame that has a STA of 71.5d to one of 73d, both the same listed reach figure. Depending on where I place my saddle fore-aft, the actual reaches will be different. Saddle and bar height also would affect that. That's not even taking into account the head tube angle, which if lower than the STA will draw nearer to the seat tube when raised, if more it will move away from the seat tube when raised. I know Grant had a article about that a long time ago. He likes give things like that names, calling it a "something-I-can't-remember factor". Another way to think of it is a horizontal backward reach from where the forward reach is measured, which is the vertical center of the BB. Two contact points, the bum and the hands with the vertical center-BB the dividing point of measurement.

Whether all this matters or not and to what extent really depends on the rider of course !

John Johnson

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Feb 14, 2025, 8:27:24 AM2/14/25
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Thanks for weighing in, Paul, Bill, and Justus... Sounds like the Woodchippers are a classic choice for offroad drops... I'll check them out!

cheers,

John 
in France (waiting for the frame to clear customs)

Paul M

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Feb 14, 2025, 9:14:16 AM2/14/25
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The Woodchipper handlebar set-up with the flats angled toward the rear dropouts does put them into an extreme almost vertical position and not very comfortable. I was mostly enamored with the extreme width and flare. This bar definitely has trade-offs. I think that the Salsa Cowchipper would be my choice for an all-arounder drop handlebar.

Patrick Moore

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Feb 14, 2025, 11:53:07 AM2/14/25
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So much depends on what sort of off-road riding you do. For dirt roads and flat singletrack I’ve found road drop bars the most comfortable. For very steep and technical singletrack? Recall some years ago driving with my brother to the White Ridge singletrack trails — trails on the tippy-tip of ridgelines. He had a NORBA 26er without suspension but with either straight bar or flared drops very high, I had my Fargo with Noodle just a bit higher than on my road bikes. Guess who did more walking? 30 years ago when I actually rode some technical singletrack, it was with the usual early 1990s flat bars.

But I prefer dirt roads and paths and flat singletrack to really technical stuff, and my Matthews with mm Maes Parallels 4 cm wider and about 2 cm higher and 2 cm further out than on my road bikes is perfect. Of course, YMMV.

If I were to ever try real singletrack, I’d try Justus’s kind of setup; again, my hands don’t like non-drop bars.



On Thu, Feb 13, 2025 at 7:16 AM John Johnson <johnemer...@gmail.com> wrote:
… I’d really be curious about other's thoughts on riding drop bars on mountain/all terrain/off-road bikes. 

Bill Lindsay

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Feb 14, 2025, 12:01:30 PM2/14/25
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Patrick Moore made drops work with a stubby stem on his steal-me mono cog because the top tube was just a couple cm longer than ideal.  
Nick made drops work with a stubby stem on his Appaloosa because (I'm guessing) the top tube was just a few cm longer than his other bikes

The 59cm Clem has an effective top tube length TWELVE (3/5 score, dozen, XII, aka 12) centimeters longer than Patrick Moore claims is ideal.  If 9cm is Patrick Moore's normal stem length, we're talking about a 3cm reverse stem?  EPIC!  If there is anybody on earth running a Clem, with drop bars, and a backwards stem, I also would love to see photos of that set up, and words on how it works for you.  Rivendell has done that build at least once, and said it was fine.  A little weird but fine.  If Patrick Moore builds a Clem with a backwards stem, I'll pay for the handlebar tape.  

Bill Lindsay
El Cerrito, CA

J G

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Feb 14, 2025, 3:31:58 PM2/14/25
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Hey Paul.  I will say as someone who designed a custom mountain bike around Cowchippers, that they are all Cowbell, little Woodchipper.  Note I say this as someone who also runs Cowbells on pretty much every drop bar road, touring and gravel bike I own.  Cowbells just work for me, but I have fitted bikes for riders I know and they love their Cowchippers for touring and gravel.  Narrower top and wider drop than the Cowbells but similar feel, just more access to the drops if you need it, I do not.  It is ultimately a middler for me so I am firmly in the Cowbell or Woodchipper camps with no crossover on use cases.

Patrick, your first 3 words covers it all "So much depends"

Good stuff here.  Always like to help clear the lines on these setups because it can mean the difference between embracing and ignoring or worse bashing based on a bad use case.

Bill, subscribed to see who is ready to run a -3cm drop setup.  Maximize that front center and let it rip!

-Justus
Mpls, MN

larson....@gmail.com

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Feb 14, 2025, 6:37:47 PM2/14/25
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I have used all three Salsa bars - Cowbell, Cowchipper, Woodchipper. I like riding drop bars and liked all three of these bars, but ultimately found the Cowchipper to work best for me. I have them on my Black Mountain Cycles Monstercross and my Fargo. They work well for me on road, gravel and dirt with most rides being mixed terrain. The Fargo has been used for mountain biking and forest road touring. I like the flare and do ride about 40% of the time (or more) in the drops. Here in the Midwest my mountain biking is limited and not super technical, for which the Cowchippers work great. 
Randy in WI

Jay

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Feb 17, 2025, 10:07:19 AM2/17/25
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For those using Cowchippers, Woodchippers, and similar bars from other companies, how do you have yours set up in terms of the following:
  • Handlebar to saddle 'drop' (are the bars above, below or level with the saddle), specifically the hoods
  • Are you using Brifters?
  • Brifter position on the bars (high up towards the tops, deep in the drops, like the Serotta pick above)
  • Angle of the drops (level to the ground, sloped down...how much approx)
  • Anything else I've missed re: setup?
I ask because on my Fargo I have Cowbells, and I like them (have them on my other bike, love them on that bike)), but the bars are above the saddle because of the high stack/head tube, and this makes using the brifters (Sram Apex) unnatural for me, as I feel like I'm raising my shoulders to place my hands on the hoods at a comfortable angle for my wrist/hand/arm, which sometimes causes discomfort in my neck/shoulder area.  So I'm wondering if a different bar and brifter position may solve this for me on this bike.  Problem is it's an expensive experiment!  Thanks

Bill Lindsay

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Feb 17, 2025, 10:52:46 AM2/17/25
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My Cowchipper bike has maybe 2 or 3cm of drop.  It's a 1x11 with an indexed barcon shifter.  The brake levers are positioned to extend the ramps, which points up a little bit.  The drops are parallel to the sloped top tube

My Woodchipper bike has the brake levers essentially level with the saddle.  It's a 1x12 with an indexed trigger shifter clamped to the 31.8 bulge near the stem.  The brake levers are positioned to make a bit of a platform, but primarily to make them reachable in the hooks.  The drops are parallel to the sloped top tube

Bill Lindsay
El Cerrito, CA

Bill Lindsay

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Feb 17, 2025, 11:09:02 AM2/17/25
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Cowchipper-->Black Mountain Model Zero:


Woodchipper-->Black Mountain La Cabra:


BL in EC

Jay

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Feb 17, 2025, 12:24:27 PM2/17/25
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Bill - Thanks for the info and photos.  When you say "indexed trigger shifter clamped to the 31.8 bulge near the stem", any chance you have a close up of that set up?  In addition to my Sram Apex brifters I have an Apex flat bar shifter on hand (I tried it in a flat/alt bar set up and didn't like it), and now I'm wondering if I could simply use it with my Cowbell bars and then get some TRP RRL brake levers (that I have on my Roadini and quite like).

Cheers,
Jason

Bill Lindsay

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Feb 17, 2025, 5:08:26 PM2/17/25
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Here is a photo of the shifter.  It's the Paul clamp and GX Eagle shifter.


BL in EC

Patrick Moore

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Feb 20, 2025, 2:50:05 AM2/20/25
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Would getting your Cowbell* lower make the brifters more comfortable? If that is the case, perhaps a stem with a more negative angle might help? I think of this because I like the drop bar on my off road drop bar Matthews with Fargo-like stack just about level with saddle and about 2 cm further forward than on the lower drops on my road bikes. I played around with an expensive number of stems with different reaches and rises/drops before I settled on a 10 cm with  30* angle installed downward, which got it about 5 mm below saddle which is perfect; with the usual 17* stems I could not get that sweet spot.

Fortunately, the Ritchy cyclocross stems I bought have logos designed for symmetry whether they are flipped up or down.

One disadvantage of the clamp-on type of stem is that it can cost you to find the right length and angle; OTOH, one great advantage is that it’s easier to find stems in different angles.

* Aside: Curious: why is a single handlebar spoken of in the plural? I understand that pants is a plural noun because they have two legs and because “I put on my heather gray and lavender with orange stripe tweed pant this morning” sounds odd. But doesn’t one install one handlebar on on bike? Or do we consider the two halves on either side of the stem clamp as deserving name recognition like the two legs on a pant?

Patrick Moore, who sometimes snags his bars on the pockets of his pant, in ABQ, NM.

HTA is 71.5*.
image.png

Ian Wilder

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Feb 24, 2025, 2:03:56 AM2/24/25
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This thread may have gone a different direction, but here's this for your consideration:

IMG_1608.jpeg

Nicholas Fox

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Feb 24, 2025, 4:30:29 AM2/24/25
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Oh nice, Ian! I am totally here for a drop-bar Platy. How do you like that setup?

This thread got me more seriously considering taking on a project that’s been floating around in my head for a bit: putting drops on my Cheviot. 

On Feb 24, 2025, at 08:03, Ian Wilder <iandougl...@gmail.com> wrote:

This thread may have gone a different direction, but here's this for your consideration:
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