Flipped Choco Bars?

[Shannon Menkveld]

Last week, I was looky-looing around on Craigslist, as I'm wont to do, and I came across an ad for a free frameset. A bit of encouragement from the enablers on the bikeforums.net Classic & Vintage forum was all that it needed to put me on a southbound BART on Wednesday afternoon, enroute to the Berryessa / North San Jose station, where I picked up this:

 

A 1950 Hercules Kestrel Club. 531 mains, hi-ten stays & fork. 70.5 parallel angles, super-long stays (18"), and a raked-out (2-1/2") fork.

21" frame, so the smaller of the two. My '71 Raleigh Competition is a 23-1/2 (~86.5 PBH, I ride ~58 cm road bikes and ~19" MTBs.) Same top tube on both frames, too, even though they're 2.5 inches and 21 years apart.

Anywho, my plan is for a 3-speed, 650B, path-racer-inspired, C&V road & trail bike. And that, combined with the one-size-too-small-ness of the thing, leads me to thinking about flipped curvy bars on a Dirt Drop stem. (I loves me some drops, and the bike came with them, but I'm not feeling the drop-bar-vibe on this one. Plus the band clamps on old S-A trigger shifters are too small.)

And so, I figured I'd come here and see what y'all would recommend, out of the bars that Rivendell Rivensells. I did go out there today, picked up some hub shiners and some film. Will let me ride a few bikes with different bars on 'em, but of course none were upside down. That taken into account, I was diggin' the Chocos quite a bit. I have big hands for my 5'11" self, and I'll be riding on the curves a lot, so the wide radius there was seeming like happiness.

Anybody riding on upside down Rivenbars? And what did you like / dislike?

--Shannon

[Coal Bee Rye Anne]

I have Chocomoose bars which only come in the flipped orientation and really enjoy them with inverse brake levers so I have long uninterrupted grips that offer lots of fore/aft adjustment from ends through curves.  Have not tried an upright non moose version for comparison so more or less use them like a moustache or Albastache substitute.

I previously managed to get the steel band of an old Sturmey 3speed shifter clamped around moustache 23.8 bars but placed it near the bar end rather than up along the curves.  I had to pry it open a bit and took some finagling to get the screw aligned but think it worked out ok once threads were properly engaged but having used the flipped Choco I’d give it a shot.  

I think Soma may also have a 22.2 moustache bar as well but forget which one.

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[Jim Schultz]

I've got some chocos on a XO-5 - they're not *too* different whether they're flipped right side or upside down. I've also run some albastache upside down too with good effect, but that requires road levers which you may not want to do. 

Otherwise, for correcting a too small bike, I'd look at Bosco/Tosco if you want to keep the shorter stem. If you're OK with running a tallux or longer stem, then definitely chocos or billies work. 

[Kainalu V. -Brooklyn NY]

Soma’s wonderful 22.2 mustache bar-

https://www.somafabshop.com/shop/27782-soma-handlebar-3-speed-ii-moustache-silver-3253?category=781&search=soma#attr=

Unfortunately it’s out of stock, fingers crossed that’s not a forever thing, they’re great.

-Kai

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[Patrick Moore]

That looks like a fun project; I like old-frame conversion projects, especially if they involve older hub gears. I’d gear it for cruising in 3rd and have 2nd as an incline, headwind gear and 1st as a climbing gear. I’ve done 70”, 53”, 39”.

Many times I’ve flipped North Road bars for a “cafe racer” type cruiser, tho’ of course you can get the flipped bars as high as you like with the right stem. I find that flipped NR bars are best for a more inclined position, rather mimicking a relaxed hoods position; otherwise, might as well leave them upright.

I’ve probably described the old Schwinn 3-speed I rebuilt this way for off road riding, even hilly jeep track and light singletrack riding, back in about 1990, with flipped NR bar and gearing as described.

Please be sure to post photos when built.

[BTW, if no-one minds: I have 2 very good (refurbished) SA AM hubs, 40 hole, for $200 per; these give very nice ratios for such a bike: 115.5%, 100%, 86%, more pleasant for the flatland and modest incline riding one does on a somewhat sporty club type bike. I geared one for 74”, 64”, 56” but you could also do 70”, 61”, 53”. They use AW shifters. I prefer my SA multispeed fixed hubs. Note that these simpler SA IGH hubs have as little drag as, even a % point or two less, than, derailleur systems, per the 3 tests I’ve seen.]

On Sun, Feb 1, 2026 at 1:36 AM Shannon Menkveld <shannon....@gmail.com> wrote:

Last week, I was looky-looing around on Craigslist, as I'm wont to do, and I came across an ad for a free frameset. A bit of encouragement from the enablers on the bikeforums.net Classic & Vintage forum was all that it needed to put me on a southbound BART on Wednesday afternoon, enroute to the Berryessa / North San Jose station, where I picked up this:

 

...

[Patrick Moore]

I forgot to mention that I managed to get SA triggers onto my Maes Parallel by carefully tweaking the clamp and using a slightly longer bolt. I’ve also had the trigger mounted up outside the curve, but that tended to interfere with my grip while in the hooks.

[Will Boericke]

I have a Lenton Gran Prix path racer that's an AW 3 speed and I'm going to argue for the Sturmey Archer bar end shifter - my favorite solution for 3 speeds and drop bars.

[Shannon Menkveld]

The Chocomoose would look the business on the bike, fo' sho! A bit of research says they're maybe no longer made? Also, they look like being really stiff, and I like my front ends on the flexier, lighter-feeling side of things. (True of most bikey things, actually... I like the way flex feels, right up until I don't.)

Inverse levers would look rad.

--Shannon

[Mackenzy Albright]

I agree with Shannon. Rivendell said they wouldn't make them anymore - so quickly jumped on purchasing a pair from bluelug before they sold out. Though I have seen them come into stock a few times at bluelug since so maybe they will return informally. I think they function exactly how I imaged moustache bars would. They are a great beautiful semi-aggressive but sort up upright hand position with a GREAT aggressive/aero position. The only complaint is they weigh about as much as the frame I installed them on. Right now they're in a parts box waiting for a new build. 

[Patrick Moore]

Note that those don’t work with certain admittedly arcane SA hub gears which have different cable pull requirements. But yes, it will work with the AM.

Patrick Moore, still meaning to get around to hack an S3X BES (AW’s pull too different) to work with an ASC hub with a spring-loaded shifting rod/chain, in ABQ, NM

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Patrick Moore

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

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[Coal Bee Rye Anne]

Fun project and best of luck whichever direction you do go with the build!

Thanks Kai for confirming the specific soma 22.2 bars.

Patrick’s pic shows exactly same thing I did with the moustache bar with three speed shifter before I decided to move it to the 22.2 quill portion of a dirt drop.  I oriented it so it was perpendicular to the stem reach, with cable running downward and the trigger pointed upward just barely protruding above the quill bolt to limit poke potential as much as possible… but enough to still engage by thumb.  Just remembered that build change this morning.  

Same as when I installed on the corner curve of a Soma Urban Pursuit bullhorn bar as well.  This was another 23.8 diameter bar i used after the initial moustache build.  The shifter was installed downward like Patrick’s photo but perpendicular to the frame, cable running toward stem and headtube.  similar to with the stem quill placement I arranged it so the trigger just barely protruded past the outside edge of the forward extension on the right side so I could still engage the trigger with ease and kind of mimicking a bar end on a dropless drop bar!  I than wrapped the full bar covering the shifter band clamp and still getting use of most of the bullhorn grip areas save the widest corner of the flat where the shifter sat.

Haven’t had a three speed build in a few years so the details are just trickling back into memory.

Definitely a bit of weight and stiffness penalty with the moose bars.  I admittedly wanted the complete lack of adjustability having previously suffered occasional bar slipping with back swept bars and bolted stems so began to accrue moose versions when possible.  I currently own/use Chocomoose, quill Bullmoose, and a threadless Bullmoose.  Haven’t yet acquired a Bosco-moose though it was on my wishlist until I felt content with the Bullmoose on my Clem.  The Choco is currently on an old Schwinn turned townie basket bike.  I’ve considered swapping them this year to see how they feel on the different bikes but not until I’m ready for a full rebuild of the Clem with brakes and cables included, which is low priority at the moment.

Brian Cole

On Monday, February 2, 2026, Patrick Moore <bert...@gmail.com> wrote:

Note that those don’t work with certain admittedly arcane SA hub gears which have different cable pull requirements. But yes, it will work with the AM.

Patrick Moore, still meaning to get around to hack an S3X BES (AW’s pull too different) to work with an ASC hub with a spring-loaded shifting rod/chain, in ABQ, NM

On Mon, Feb 2, 2026 at 12:08 PM Will Boericke <wboe...@gmail.com> wrote:

I have a Lenton Gran Prix path racer that's an AW 3 speed and I'm going to argue for the Sturmey Archer bar end shifter - my favorite solution for 3 speeds and drop bars.

On Monday, February 2, 2026 at 2:04:22 PM UTC-5 Patrick Moore wrote:

I forgot to mention that I managed to get SA triggers onto my Maes Parallel by carefully tweaking the clamp and using a slightly longer bolt. I’ve also had the trigger mounted up outside the curve, but that tended to interfere with my grip while in the hooks.

On Sun, Feb 1, 2026 at 7:52 AM Coal Bee Rye Anne <lionsrug...@gmail.com> wrote:

I previously managed to get the steel band of an old Sturmey 3speed shifter clamped around moustache 23.8 bars but placed it near the bar end rather than up along the curves.  I had to pry it open a bit and took some finagling to get the screw aligned but think it worked out ok once threads were properly engaged but having used the flipped Choco I’d give it a shot. 

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Patrick Moore

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

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I endowed thy purposes with words that made them known.

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[Father of Sam]

I seem to always end up with my bars flipped.  Started with the Albatross, then the Choco (which have remained flipped for a decade).  Never flipped the Bosco (perhaps for obvious reasons). I am now running my Losco flipped on my Roaduno and I love it.

-P.

On Tuesday, February 3, 2026 at 6:46:51 AM UTC-8 Coal Bee Rye Anne wrote:

Fun project and best of luck whichever direction you do go with the build!

Thanks Kai for confirming the specific soma 22.2 bars.

Patrick’s pic shows exactly same thing I did with the moustache bar with three speed shifter before I decided to move it to the 22.2 quill portion of a dirt drop.  I oriented it so it was perpendicular to the stem reach, with cable running downward and the trigger pointed upward just barely protruding above the quill bolt to limit poke potential as much as possible… but enough to still engage by thumb.  Just remembered that build change this morning.  

Same as when I installed on the corner curve of a Soma Urban Pursuit bullhorn bar as well.  This was another 23.8 diameter bar i used after the initial moustache build.  The shifter was installed downward like Patrick’s photo but perpendicular to the frame, cable running toward stem and headtube.  similar to with the stem quill placement I arranged it so the trigger just barely protruded past the outside edge of the forward extension on the right side so I could still engage the trigger with ease and kind of mimicking a bar end on a dropless drop bar!  I than wrapped the full bar covering the shifter band clamp and still getting use of most of the bullhorn grip areas save the widest corner of the flat where the shifter sat.

Haven’t had a three speed build in a few years so the details are just trickling back into memory.

Definitely a bit of weight and stiffness penalty with the moose bars.  I admittedly wanted the complete lack of adjustability having previously suffered occasional bar slipping with back swept bars and bolted stems so began to accrue moose versions when possible.  I currently own/use Chocomoose, quill Bullmoose, and a threadless Bullmoose.  Haven’t yet acquired a Bosco-moose though it was on my wishlist until I felt content with the Bullmoose on my Clem.  The Choco is currently on an old Schwinn turned townie basket bike.  I’ve considered swapping them this year to see how they feel on the different bikes but not until I’m ready for a full rebuild of the Clem with brakes and cables included, which is low priority at the moment.

Brian Cole

On Monday, February 2, 2026, Patrick Moore <bert...@gmail.com> wrote:

Note that those don’t work with certain admittedly arcane SA hub gears which have different cable pull requirements. But yes, it will work with the AM.

Patrick Moore, still meaning to get around to hack an S3X BES (AW’s pull too different) to work with an ASC hub with a spring-loaded shifting rod/chain, in ABQ, NM

On Mon, Feb 2, 2026 at 12:08 PM Will Boericke <wboe...@gmail.com> wrote:

I have a Lenton Gran Prix path racer that's an AW 3 speed and I'm going to argue for the Sturmey Archer bar end shifter - my favorite solution for 3 speeds and drop bars.

On Monday, February 2, 2026 at 2:04:22 PM UTC-5 Patrick Moore wrote:

I forgot to mention that I managed to get SA triggers onto my Maes Parallel by carefully tweaking the clamp and using a slightly longer bolt. I’ve also had the trigger mounted up outside the curve, but that tended to interfere with my grip while in the hooks.

On Sun, Feb 1, 2026 at 7:52 AM Coal Bee Rye Anne <lionsrug...@gmail.com> wrote:

I previously managed to get the steel band of an old Sturmey 3speed shifter clamped around moustache 23.8 bars but placed it near the bar end rather than up along the curves.  I had to pry it open a bit and took some finagling to get the screw aligned but think it worked out ok once threads were properly engaged but having used the flipped Choco I’d give it a shot. 

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Patrick Moore

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

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When thou didst not, savage, know thine own meaning,

But wouldst gabble like a thing most brutish,

I endowed thy purposes with words that made them known.

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[Bill Lindsay]

"Never flipped the Bosco (perhaps for obvious reasons)"

Now I've got to see a down-slung Bosco build.  That would be gnarly.  Make it happen!

Bill Lindsay

El Cerrito, CA

[David P]

I have Choco bars on two bike and they are flipped on both.  It creates a better angle for my wrists at the bend.