Dear Riv, please make a wider Noodle

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ctifusion

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Jun 23, 2018, 4:55:10 PM6/23/18
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I'm sure the 666mm Crust bars are way too wide for most, but I love them. And they don't really make them anyway, I was just in the right place when they brought out the one run. I keep waiting for someone to put a wide drop bar into production.

I think a 58 Noodle would be a huge hit for a lot of riders.

Thoughts?

Brynnar
Indy

Joe Bernard

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Jun 23, 2018, 5:29:50 PM6/23/18
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Maybe it would work for the "gravel grinder" market, but I don't think those folks are buying bars from Riv. Sounds like the kind of product lark - remember that D-shaped rack and bag that fit over a Mark's Rack? - that they're trying to avoid these days.
Message has been deleted

Grant @ Rivendell

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Jun 24, 2018, 3:23:38 PM6/24/18
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On Sunday, June 24, 2018 at 12:22:45 PM UTC-7, Grant @ Rivendell wrote:
Nitto tests bars and stems together and wants the bars to break before the stem. The bars are already strong, and they've found that even 51s (we had samples made) impose too much leverage on the stem. The workaround might be to make stronger stems, but then you get into a whole escalating mish-mash where one chases the other, and stems, which have forced dimensions inherited down the line, and then all you can do is make it steel.
One of the drawbacks of working with NITTO is accepting their super-prudence in times like this.  It's like, also, when our 66cm Wavie bars come in---we'll recommend them only with CrMo or other Nitto stems intended for mtn bikes. Some will mount them on Tallux (road) stems, but we will recommend something stronger. When NITTO hears "mountain bike riding" they imagine the worst and stupidest. Personally, I don't think at all that Crust is being IMprudent with the widies. It's a good company and they do neat, good things!

Tony McG

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Jun 24, 2018, 4:56:15 PM6/24/18
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I'd settle for 46 wide Noodles with flared drops like the Salsa Cowchippers on my Fargo.

Drw

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Jun 24, 2018, 5:47:52 PM6/24/18
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46 noodles with some flare and maybe a little less drop is my dream bar.

ctifusion

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Jun 25, 2018, 8:20:14 AM6/25/18
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Thanks for the info Grant. I can understand Nitto's position. I have a lot of miles on those bars in road and "gravel" conditions and I don't get any sense that they are weak or dangerous.

Also, not sure what the deleted message said but I surely didn't intend this to be a controversial post. I'm not a "gravel grinder" guy trying to change Riv, just the opposite, I think if people had a chance to try extra wide drop bars they would see how Riv-like the riding position is. I simply fell out of love with my 48 noodles after riding for a year or so on a bike with albatross bars (and another with the underrated surly open bar"). My point is that Rivendell has been instrumental in advancing smart, safe, and more comfortable ways to ride bikes. I rode tons of road bikes in the 90s and 00s with standard 42-44cm bars. In general the idea was to stretch out forward over the bike (long stem helped with the narrow bars). This put your arms into a more narrow position (and I was also taught to bring my elbows in). I know a lot of people that still ride this way and I'm not asking anyone to change, but I just like the more upright riding position that Rivendell has often supported.

Like I said, I'm not a huge Crust guy. I just happened to see a picture of that magic beard guy with a prototype of the 666mm bars and reached out to them at the right time and got a set of the bars. It took a while to get used to them (and the super short stem set up), and I still think they are a bit too wide, but I have to say I have been really transformed by the ability to ride drop bars while staying more in the position one is usually in with a set of upright bars, and go just a little faster. This has been a big deal for me. This was the reason I sold my Quickbeam and bought a new Atlantis. I thought the Atlantis was stout enough to handle the wide bars, and I love the way the Atlantis rides with the wide bars and huge 55m Compass tires. 

I'll keep an eye on my stem/bar combo, but I can't imagine the 5cm technomic is a risk in road and gravel trail riding. So maybe we need a 55-58 Noodle AND a pretty 5cm cromo stem? :)

Thanks!
Brynnar
Indy

Virgil Staphbeard

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Jun 25, 2018, 8:50:03 AM6/25/18
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They could be moose-style to remove the ability for people to use an "unsafe-by-nitto-standards" stem. 

hugh flynn

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Jun 25, 2018, 8:54:02 AM6/25/18
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OH M G

NooodleMoose would be such an amazing, fantastic, and horrendous thing all at once. 

I want 9 of them. 

Hugh “Noodle Rider” Flynn
Newburyport, MA


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Daniel Jackson

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Jun 25, 2018, 2:15:50 PM6/25/18
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Limited run of the Crust Leather Bar Towel Rack 666mm Satan thingamajig now for sale up on the Crust Bikes site.

Christopher Murray

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Jun 25, 2018, 2:21:10 PM6/25/18
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I will pre-order any noodle-moose bars!!!

Chris

Grant Petersen

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Jun 25, 2018, 2:58:21 PM6/25/18
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On Mon, Jun 25, 2018 at 5:20 AM, ctifusion <brynnar...@gmail.com> wrote:
Thanks for the info Grant. I can understand Nitto's position. I have a lot of miles on those bars in road and "gravel" conditions and I don't get any sense that they are weak or dangerous.

Also, not sure what the deleted message said but I surely didn't intend this to be a controversial post. I'm not a "gravel grinder" guy trying to change Riv, just the opposite,

THe message I deleted, that was up for a minute or two, had a sentence with a few missing words--typo. I just filled in the fix and deleted then funky one, is all.

Nitto's paranoia is well-earned. Nitto has developed a small following here and in Europe in the past eight to ten years or so, and some importers/distributors have made available to the Western market handlebars that were originally developed for city use in Japan. They're made with perfectly good aluminum (they are NITTO, after all), but aren't made to the same strength standards as the hard-core/universal market bars are. But people see them as cool, super inexpensive, under-the-radar Nitto bars, and they use them for gnarly stuff. A few years ago some burly Germans and one or two Americans broke five of those bars, and the ensuing recall (and the management of it, by a US distributor who is not us or Merry Sales) cost NITTO about a m____...and lawsuits were filed even tho nobody was permanently super seriously hurt.
NITTO is a small company, 40 employees, average age pushing 60, and they aren't raking it in, so this kind of stuff messes them up, and that's why they test in-house more rigorously than industry standard tests, and that's why they don't make wide drops. We could ask them to design a bar-stem combo around a widey, but probably we'd be a centimeter and a degree or two or three off for some, and perfect for nobody, and it might be unsatisfying. Drops are mainly for road use, because for trail use you don't want a forward braking position--on a steep descent it makes no sense, don't even argue for it. A short stem can mitigate the weight-shift a little, but also on a drop, your lower hand position makes it harder to weight the rear wheel. Over the years there have been remedial stems--the LD, the DirtDrop to name two, but they evolved with a focus on using drop bars because the straight bars more popular had their own problems.
For me and I think most people, the Goldilox bar for trail riding is a swept-back, come-up bar, which offers the grip positions of a drop without the forward lunge braking position that fights you on a downhill. Visuals and histories come in play in a big way when picking handlebars, though, and there's no use fighting them. Plus, there's always always the pull of the unavailable bar, or the bar that just so combines elements of two or three existing bars but itself doesn't exist.
I rode Ultra Romance's 66wide drop bar Crust and loved it. I don't think I'd put a bar like that on my bike, but if it were on my bike already, I wouldn't be in a hurry to take it off, either. There's a lot of conflicting good ways out there!
 






On Sunday, June 24, 2018 at 3:23:38 PM UTC-4, Grant @ Rivendell wrote:


On Sunday, June 24, 2018 at 12:22:45 PM UTC-7, Grant @ Rivendell wrote:
Nitto tests bars and stems together and wants the bars to break before the stem. The bars are already strong, and they've found that even 51s (we had samples made) impose too much leverage on the stem. The workaround might be to make stronger stems, but then you get into a whole escalating mish-mash where one chases the other, and stems, which have forced dimensions inherited down the line, and then all you can do is make it steel.
One of the drawbacks of working with NITTO is accepting their super-prudence in times like this.  It's like, also, when our 66cm Wavie bars come in---we'll recommend them only with CrMo or other Nitto stems intended for mtn bikes. Some will mount them on Tallux (road) stems, but we will recommend something stronger. When NITTO hears "mountain bike riding" they imagine the worst and stupidest. Personally, I don't think at all that Crust is being IMprudent with the widies. It's a good company and they do neat, good things!

On Saturday, June 23, 2018 at 1:55:10 PM UTC-7, ctifusion wrote:
I'm sure the 666mm Crust bars are way too wide for most, but I love them. And they don't really make them anyway, I was just in the right place when they brought out the one run. I keep waiting for someone to put a wide drop bar into production.

I think a 58 Noodle would be a huge hit for a lot of riders.

Thoughts?

Brynnar
Indy

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Grant Petersen

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Jun 25, 2018, 2:59:20 PM6/25/18
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I want a Noodle-moose too, Chris!

On Mon, Jun 25, 2018 at 11:21 AM, Christopher Murray <chrispm...@gmail.com> wrote:
I will pre-order any noodle-moose bars!!!

Chris

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Eamon Nordquist

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Jun 25, 2018, 3:14:18 PM6/25/18
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How about a MOOSE-stache!

Eamon
Seattle


On Monday, June 25, 2018 at 11:59:20 AM UTC-7, Grant @ Rivendell wrote:
I want a Noodle-moose too, Chris!
On Mon, Jun 25, 2018 at 11:21 AM, Christopher Murray <chrispm...@gmail.com> wrote:
I will pre-order any noodle-moose bars!!!

Chris

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ctifusion

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Jun 25, 2018, 4:03:25 PM6/25/18
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I love Nitto stuff so much that I'd never want to ask them to do anything that puts them at risk, and I agree that even though the Noodle-moose would be the greatest stem/bar ever there would be no way to get the measurements correct for even a few, I bet. 

On to dreaming of other things. Did I mention that I'm crazy in love with my new Atlantis?

Brynnar
Indy
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ctifusion

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Jun 25, 2018, 4:04:52 PM6/25/18
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If they were they are gone now. Both black and silver come up as out of stock when you put them in the shopping cart. Otherwise I'd buy another set. 

Drw

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Jun 25, 2018, 4:41:30 PM6/25/18
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Albastache moose with no forward/center/connection of the triangle so that the handles come out in 2 prongs from the stem please.

Joe Bernard

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Jun 25, 2018, 5:00:06 PM6/25/18
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A Noodle-Moose would be hilarious.

"What's that?"

'Noodle-Moose.'

"Why?"

hugh flynn

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Jun 25, 2018, 5:20:27 PM6/25/18
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Man, if you have to ask...

Hugh

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Mike Packard

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Jun 25, 2018, 6:10:59 PM6/25/18
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A flipped 58 Bosco on a long stem would pretty closely approximate a wide Noodle, just sayin. :)

Also: I will happily buy any thing called Noodlemoose, whether it's a handlebar, Nitto heat treated aluminum gimbaled cup holder with MKS bearings, or novelty ruminant-shaped pasta for S24Os.

Mike

DarinM

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Jun 25, 2018, 11:02:57 PM6/25/18
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RM-13's in the 52cm width are pretty close to what you're describing here. They don't have the Noodle's back sweep on the flats (this would really make them my favorite bar), but do have the flat ramps. They have outward flare in the drops and a little less drop, too. 

Supposedly these are the bars that came on the drop-bar'd MB-1? Or at least I think I read that somewhere.

Darin

Jeff Lesperance

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Jun 26, 2018, 10:31:23 AM6/26/18
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Tony, I’ve been going through a journey that I’ve written up a bit on the iBob list, looking for a 46cm bar as you’ve described. I’m not sure if you’re a member of that group - I can provide more detail if you’re not, but the short story is that I’ve not found anything with the same reach and drop as a 46cm noodle, with flared drops. Trade-off is shorter reach and/or drop - I’m currently trying out:

46cm Salsa Cowchipper
46cm Ritchey Venturemax
44cm Origin8 Gary Sweep OS

The Salsa has the shortest reach of the bunch - it was pretty comfortable but lacks the extra hand position behind the hoods with such a short reach. I’m now trying out the Venturemax.

I put together a google spreadsheet with a bunch of data on handlebars I wanted to compare, it’s filtered at the moment for some specific bars, but if you remove the filter you can compare a number of bar measurements;

-Jeff
Silver Spring, MD

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Conway Bennett

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Jun 26, 2018, 12:16:50 PM6/26/18
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I'd put up R&D money for a Noodle Moose.

Jim S.

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Jun 26, 2018, 1:42:19 PM6/26/18
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Does any crust bar owner want to sell theirs? I'd like to buy one, but they're hard to come by.


On Saturday, June 23, 2018 at 3:55:10 PM UTC-5, ctifusion wrote:

Tony McG

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Jun 26, 2018, 10:26:36 PM6/26/18
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Jeff,

Thanks for posting the spreadsheet; that looks like a lot of work. Have you looked at the Soma Highway 1 Bar? It doesn't flare, but it does have a short reach and drop. I replaced the original Nitto bars on my old Santana Noventa with Hwy 1 because of their short reach, 26mm clamp, and silver finish.

Tony
 

Jeff Lesperance

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Jun 27, 2018, 5:13:12 PM6/27/18
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My search began with a quest, essentially, for a flared Noodle - and the feature I like the most about the Noodle is probably the reach - I use the long-ish ramp as my standard hand position, it's where I'm most comfortable, and it allows me to stretch out further onto the hoods when I need to stretch out, and sit upright on the flats. I've been out of town for a few days, but I expect to put some miles on the Ritchey Venturemax in the next few days. If it doesn't work out, I'll try the Gary Sweep OS bars, which claim to be 44cm, but they seem just similar in width to the other bars. If those don't work, I guess I'm going to buy a new Noodle.

Here's a somewhat top-down pic of the bars I'm working through next to a 46cm Noodle:
Gary Sweep OS 44cm
Salsa Cowchipper 46cm
Ritchey Venturmax 46 cm
Nitto Noodle 46cm

IMG_0531.HEIC
 

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Grant Petersen

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Jun 27, 2018, 7:08:24 PM6/27/18
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The Noodle flares 4 degrees, but close up photos with phone or small cameras play some photo-voodoo on them and make them appear to actually tilt inward.

On Wed, Jun 27, 2018 at 2:12 PM, Jeff Lesperance <jeff.le...@gmail.com> wrote:
My search began with a quest, essentially, for a flared Noodle - and the feature I like the most about the Noodle is probably the reach - I use the long-ish ramp as my standard hand position, it's where I'm most comfortable, and it allows me to stretch out further onto the hoods when I need to stretch out, and sit upright on the flats. I've been out of town for a few days, but I expect to put some miles on the Ritchey Venturemax in the next few days. If it doesn't work out, I'll try the Gary Sweep OS bars, which claim to be 44cm, but they seem just similar in width to the other bars. If those don't work, I guess I'm going to buy a new Noodle.

Here's a somewhat top-down pic of the bars I'm working through next to a 46cm Noodle:
Gary Sweep OS 44cm
Salsa Cowchipper 46cm
Ritchey Venturmax 46 cm
Nitto Noodle 46cm

IMG_0531.HEIC
 

On Tue, Jun 26, 2018 at 10:26 PM 'Tony McG' via RBW Owners Bunch <rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com> wrote:
Jeff,

Thanks for posting the spreadsheet; that looks like a lot of work. Have you looked at the Soma Highway 1 Bar? It doesn't flare, but it does have a short reach and drop. I replaced the original Nitto bars on my old Santana Noventa with Hwy 1 because of their short reach, 26mm clamp, and silver finish.

Tony
 

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DarinM

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Jun 27, 2018, 7:20:08 PM6/27/18
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Jeff,

You say that your favorite feature of the Noodles is the reach (mine, too), but none of those bars have anything resembling the Noodle's. I tried Salsa Cowbells sometime last year but gave up on them because they had nothing to hold onto behind the levers, that made me realize how much I like that position. 

Have you seen this page from Bike Touring News comparing Nitto's flared bars? Since you seem to be flexible on clamp diameter, you could add those to your list. I have the RM-13's and love em'. The 14's look nice and I may those on a more dirt-oriented bike that will have a 31.8mm stem.

Darin

Eric Daume

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Jun 27, 2018, 7:53:29 PM6/27/18
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That picture makes me want to try the Venturemax. I currently have a Cowchipper. I like the flare, but do miss the ramps. 

I have an old copy of Rob Van der Plas’s Mountain Bike Book which shows a picture of a guy flaring a drop bar by pulling it against his foot. I’ve never tried this. Might be something to try. Might be difficult with heat treated bars. 

Eric


On Wednesday, June 27, 2018, Jeff Lesperance <jeff.le...@gmail.com> wrote:
My search began with a quest, essentially, for a flared Noodle - and the feature I like the most about the Noodle is probably the reach - I use the long-ish ramp as my standard hand position, it's where I'm most comfortable, and it allows me to stretch out further onto the hoods when I need to stretch out, and sit upright on the flats. I've been out of town for a few days, but I expect to put some miles on the Ritchey Venturemax in the next few days. If it doesn't work out, I'll try the Gary Sweep OS bars, which claim to be 44cm, but they seem just similar in width to the other bars. If those don't work, I guess I'm going to buy a new Noodle.

Here's a somewhat top-down pic of the bars I'm working through next to a 46cm Noodle:
Gary Sweep OS 44cm
Salsa Cowchipper 46cm
Ritchey Venturmax 46 cm
Nitto Noodle 46cm

IMG_0531.HEIC
 

On Tue, Jun 26, 2018 at 10:26 PM 'Tony McG' via RBW Owners Bunch <rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com> wrote:
Jeff,

Thanks for posting the spreadsheet; that looks like a lot of work. Have you looked at the Soma Highway 1 Bar? It doesn't flare, but it does have a short reach and drop. I replaced the original Nitto bars on my old Santana Noventa with Hwy 1 because of their short reach, 26mm clamp, and silver finish.

Tony
 

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Jeff Lesperance

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Jun 27, 2018, 7:55:12 PM6/27/18
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Darin - thanks for the link - I hadn't seen that particular write-up but I had looked at Nitto dirt drops in the past and my impression was they they were all too narrow at the ramps or where the brake levers would be. Looks like I might have been wrong as the widest RM-013 looks like it could be close to 46 at the brake levers - I just found a picture here with a measuring tape:


Regarding the shorter ramps on the bars that I'm trying - I knew it would be a trade-off, and I wanted to see if it would work - had I factored in the Nitto I might have come to a solution sooner. Thus far, I've tried the bar with the shortest ramp of the 3 I picked out, the Cowchipper, and it was close to working, but not quite. I expect the Ritchey may have just enough, though not a lot of real estate to move around on, and the Origin8 bar is the longest of the three but also the widest flare that I'm unsure about. I really loved the feel of the drops on the Cowchipper. 

I've tried a lot of different things on my bikes over the years, but I've been pretty locked into Noodles - I've actually enjoyed the research and the shuffling of the cockpit recently, and I'll be happy to practice catch n' release of the bars that don't work for me so someone else can maybe try something different.

-Jeff
Silver Spring, MD

Clayton.sf

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Jun 27, 2018, 8:46:50 PM6/27/18
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I have Nitto RM-013-HT Dirt Drop Handlebars Heat Treated Silver (Width: 52cm) for sale of anyone is interested. Very noodle-esque. I installed them but did not ride them more than a few feet b4 deciding they were not for me. I am a fan of the cowchippers though. there is no spot behind the lever be the drops and hoods to me are very comfy even for long rides.

Clayton Scott
SF, CA

Drw

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Jun 27, 2018, 11:26:55 PM6/27/18
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I’m semi hopeful that VO’s upcoming drops will Gil this tiny void in handlebar designs, but this is based only on a few random photos and no description

phil k

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Jun 27, 2018, 11:40:36 PM6/27/18
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Could you provide a link to pictures?

I just wish there was a noodle with shorter drops

Philip Williamson

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Jun 27, 2018, 11:47:10 PM6/27/18
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The RM-13s are good bars.
However, I don’t like Noodles, so that might not be helpful.

Philip
Santa Rosa, CA

Drw

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Jun 28, 2018, 3:46:16 AM6/28/18
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I believe this is the new Velo Orange bar
https://instagram.com/p/BiwzRw5hMW-/

phil k

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Jun 28, 2018, 9:24:42 AM6/28/18
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Thanks Drew,

These look great. I'll be waiting for when they become available.

v/r,

Phil

Clayton

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Jun 28, 2018, 11:28:30 AM6/28/18
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The VO post says 31.8 only. I have yet to find a high rise, 1" quill that fit 31.8 bars, that isn't sinfully ugly. 

Clayton
DirtDance

iamkeith

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Jun 28, 2018, 11:37:37 AM6/28/18
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On Tuesday, June 26, 2018 at 8:31:23 AM UTC-6, Jeff wrote:
Tony, I’ve been going through a journey that I’ve written up a bit on the iBob list, looking for a 46cm bar as you’ve described. I’m not sure if you’re a member of that group - I can provide more detail if you’re not, but the short story is that I’ve not found anything with the same reach and drop as a 46cm noodle, with flared drops. .....
 
...Darin - thanks for the link - I hadn't seen that particular write-up but I had looked at Nitto dirt drops in the past and my impression was they they were all too narrow at the ramps or where the brake levers would be. Looks like I might have been wrong as the widest RM-013 looks like it could be close to 46 at the brake levers  

Apologies, as I hadn't been reading this thread or the one on ibob that you reference, Jeff    I might have been able to help.  I recently replaced the 46 noodles on my Ram with the Nitto/Grant dirt drop bar off of my Quickbeam.  ( I think RM13 is correct.  These are the ones that Riv used to sell.  And I think the same as the '87 MB-1?.)  

It looks like you figured it out, but  I don't perceive any meaningful change in reach or drop or number of hand positions.   (Remember that there are at least two versions of nitto dirt drops.)  The other differences are very nuanced, and I think someone would have to be a totally obsessive, idiosyncratic nit-picker to even care which one they had .   Unfortunately, I'm that kind of guy.  

I like the straighter top section because I actually use it on occasion, as you can see by the fact that i retained the cross top levers.  Gripping the noodle, where it angled back, kind of forced me to put my elbows in toward each other, for lack of a better way to describe it.  I can be a little more elbows-out on the dirt drop.  The brake levers/hoods position is basically identical - maybe  a tiny bit narrower but, again, not perceptibly.  Also, the levers do NOT angle inward or tip sideways like they do on a lot of newer dirt drop bars with the shallow drop.  The big thing, of course, is the extra flare and wrist clearance in the drop position, and that's the part I really like.

Hard to show anything meaningful in pictures as Grant noted - especially since one bar is installed - but I just took some snapshots for what they're worth:




Two other things that you can't see in the attached pictures, that helped me but may or may not be helpful for others, were necessitated by the Kelly take-off shifter mounts:  

-  The way the pod mounts under the brake lever body causes the lever to tip upwards, making it very difficult to grab the lever from the drop position.   I wrapped a lot of cloth bar tape under the top edge of the lever body in order to cant it back the other way.  (I hadn't figured this out on my noodles, and i think that was the main thing I hated and that prompted me to do this swap.)  

-  Without bar end shifters, the lower grip felt way too short.  So I added Control Tech Terminator extenders, which add a full 1" length.  That was a HUGE improvement and, again, something I should have tried with the Noodles.  Can't even begin to explain how much more comfortable and relaxed it is to ride now. Yes there's more room to move around, but the main difference is that, when I move to grab the drop during a quick maneuver, I always grab bar instead of sometimes grabbing air.

And  couple of other thoughts while I'm at it:   

-  The tektro brake levers (https://www.rivbike.com/collections/braking/products/tektro-trp-rrl-brake-levers-dark-grey-alloy-black-hoods-15179), also new to this bike/bar, are great.  As noted, I  rotated them further forward/down than most might, in order to be even MORE accessible from the drops.  (the lever shape is better than most for this) But this effectively lengthened the ramps too, for even more upper grip area.  The pronounced bump at the end of the body still keeps  you from feeling like you're going to slide off.

 -  Even a tiny bit of extra drop bar width seems to make a big difference in my limited experience.  My Ram originally had 44 noodles, while the 46 noodles were formerly on my XO-1.  Being used to the later, the Ram felt absolutely claustrophobic...  like i couldn't breath.   The extra 2cm was a HUGE difference - in control, comfort everything.  So while I like the idea of a wider bar, I'm guessing 666mm is probably overkill.  (Which doesn't mean I too haven't tried to get some.)

-  Nonetheless, count me in on a wider noodle moose- or, better yet, a dirt drop moose.  Summary of above is that I probably could have fixed all of my subtle noodle complaints with the other adjustments I made - but I suspect that a little bit wider would be even better.




Joe Bernard

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Jun 28, 2018, 11:45:37 AM6/28/18
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That looks exactly like the Easton EA70ax on my Crust. It even has the same tape! Short flat ramp, a little flare, shallow drop. It took me a few weeks to get back into the drops vibe, but now I'm really happy with it. Great bar.

https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zXY0LuqwoF8/Wvj_vh6UWUI/AAAAAAAAUiU/oy0ai_4DXvwju21r10vbP-oQTBi2EFOUACLcBGAs/s1600/export-3.jpg

IMG_20180427_141328_1.jpg

iamkeith

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Jun 28, 2018, 12:08:30 PM6/28/18
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Oops - in my above commentary, I referenced the wrong bar sizes.   The noodle bar in the pictures, and the one I replaced with the dirt drop, was 48cm, not 46.  The even older one that made me feel claustrophobic (not shown) was a 46. 

Coal Bee Rye Anne

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Jun 28, 2018, 12:57:25 PM6/28/18
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I had previously been caught up in the sizing differences between Nitto Noodles vs. RM-013 end ended up with the 48cm RM-013 thinking it would be as wide as the widest Noodle but actually has narrower ramp spacing than a 48cm Noodle simply because they are measured differently (center of bar end to end after flare for RM-013 vs center to center of ramp before flare for the Noodles.)

I later found the same biketouringnews article which does show how the 48cm Noodle and 52cm RM-013 are a very close match in ramp to ramp width.  I'm still using the 48cm RM-013 but like Keith I also found the drops a little more comfortable when extended a bit with a barend shifter installed, or when not using barend shifters I'll plug with a champagne style cork with thicker top that better matches outer bar diameter and adds another few cm to the ends.

Brian Cole
Lawrenceville NJ

Alex Wirth- Owner, Yellow Haus Bicycles

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Jul 2, 2018, 11:51:51 AM7/2/18
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Holy moose noodles batman.

+1 on the shallow drop

I am putting some Whiskey No.7 46cm bars on my Hilsen to experiment after getting a taste of some shallow drop/flared bars on a friend's bike.

I'll share thoughts if I stick with them.

There are some people that ride 666's at the shop and they flex quite a bit.  Most report that as a nice attribute (I can see that), but I think of the fatigue resistance of aluminum and it would make me a little nervous.

A steel moose stem with removable faceplates and huge swaged section on an ultra wide noodle with shallow drop?  Dreamy. Niche on niche on niche on niche and probably wildly expensive.



Alex Wirth
Rochester, NY

Takashi

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Jul 2, 2018, 4:06:17 PM7/2/18
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Alex Wirth- Owner, Yellow Haus Bicycles wrote:
A steel moose stem with removable faceplates

You mean something like this? (Requires a threadless converter)

Takashi

Bill Lindsay

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Jul 2, 2018, 4:17:22 PM7/2/18
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A steel moose stem with a removable face plate that comes in 25.4mm and 26.0mm and 31.8mm clamp diameters would be cool.  Some bars have such a narrow bulge/sleeve section that it may be beneficial to have a 23,8mm clamp diameter as well.  

ctifusion

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Jul 4, 2018, 12:48:39 AM7/4/18
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Alex,

That's it. I'd break the bank for that bar.

Brynnar
Indy

Justin, Oakland

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Jul 4, 2018, 2:26:21 AM7/4/18
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Phil K-
Have you tried the Fairweather All road bars?
-J

ian m

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Jul 4, 2018, 9:05:54 AM7/4/18
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Very cool!

ctifusion

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Jul 4, 2018, 10:00:39 AM7/4/18
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Super cool!!

iamkeith

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Jul 4, 2018, 11:25:11 AM7/4/18
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I got som billie bars with the intention of cutting the sleeve off and clamping this oln nitto slingshot stem to the 22.2 straight section. Turns out the had both a bulge and a sleeve so it didn't work. I suppose this could be bored out by a good machinist to work with a road bar though.
20180702_142326.jpg

iamkeith

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Jul 4, 2018, 12:00:23 PM7/4/18
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(Damn. I'm all thumbs trying to type with my thumbs.)

jandrews

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Feb 26, 2019, 9:16:17 PM2/26/19
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Indy, Is this the bar you were requesting?
seems like a wider Noodle (50mm) with maybe a little less flare at the ends?

Mark Schneider

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Feb 26, 2019, 11:00:14 PM2/26/19
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I see Analog cycles has a dirt drop Nitto bar tha's 52mm wide, and in black (hubba hubba). I've come close to buying it several times recently. Wonder if anyone tried them.

Mark
Loma Mar

On Saturday, June 23, 2018 at 1:55:10 PM UTC-7, ctifusion wrote:
I'm sure the 666mm Crust bars are way too wide for most, but I love them. And they don't really make them anyway, I was just in the right place when they brought out the one run. I keep waiting for someone to put a wide drop bar into production.

I think a 58 Noodle would be a huge hit for a lot of riders.

Thoughts?

Brynnar
Indy

Eamon Nordquist

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Feb 26, 2019, 11:32:36 PM2/26/19
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If you mean the Nitto RM-013 Dirt Drops, the listed size is measured at the ends, where the Noodle sizes reflect the width at the hoods. The RM-013 flares at the ends of the drops a little more. I think a 48cm Noodle is actually 48cm at the hoods, where the 52 RM-013 is closer to 46cm at the hoods.

Eamon
Seattle

Erik Wright

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May 19, 2019, 4:47:11 PM5/19/19
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I'm guessing many of y'all have seen this: https://crustbikes.com/products/nitto-x-crust-2/

Lots of folks were mentioning the Towel Rack bar in this thread (26.0 clamp, very wide, not made by Nitto), and this new Crust/Nitto collab looks to be a middle ground between a Noodle and the Towel Rack. These bars have a 31.8 clamp, and maybe that's how they're able to meet the rigorous requirements that Grant outlined.

Erik, Philly

Grant Petersen

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May 19, 2019, 10:55:33 PM5/19/19
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NITTO sez the wider bars mean the stem wll brake first, and they'd rather the bar breaks first. We asked. We lead the way w ith 46cm, then 48cm. We asked for (and got a prototype of) a 51cm, but that turned out to be a stem-braker. It's cool that other makers do it, but we're sticking with ultra-conservative NITTO. THere is probably a combo that "works"--31.8 clamp? CrMo stem? But we're not gonna be the ones to beg NITTO to lower its standards, and please, no need to turn that around and say Grant says the wider bars are dangerous or irresponsible. That's not what's going on, I'm just saying why NItto, at this point, won't. THanks.
G

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John Phillips

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May 20, 2019, 2:53:38 PM5/20/19
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Grant, I probably have my head up my butt, but I don't think that last post meant what you think it meant.

Erik was writing about a new NITTO-made drop bar, and was not criticizing or distorting what you had previously said about wide non-NITTO-made drop bars. On the other hand, it would be more-than-very-helpful if Crust & NITTO specified what kind of stems should be, and what stems should NOT be, used with this new NITTO-Crust collaboration drop bar, especially if the rider is running a bike bag on single track.

But then again, I probably have my head up my butt: it is awfully dark & lonely in here.

John

On Sunday, May 19, 2019 at 7:55:33 PM UTC-7, Grant @ Rivendell wrote:
NITTO sez the wider bars mean the stem wll brake first, and they'd rather the bar breaks first. We asked. We lead the way w ith 46cm, then 48cm. We asked for (and got a prototype of) a 51cm, but that turned out to be a stem-braker. It's cool that other makers do it, but we're sticking with ultra-conservative NITTO. THere is probably a combo that "works"--31.8 clamp? CrMo stem? But we're not gonna be the ones to beg NITTO to lower its standards, and please, no need to turn that around and say Grant says the wider bars are dangerous or irresponsible. That's not what's going on, I'm just saying why NItto, at this point, won't. THanks.
G

On Sun, May 19, 2019 at 1:47 PM Erik Wright <erik....@gmail.com> wrote:
I'm guessing many of y'all have seen this: https://crustbikes.com/products/nitto-x-crust-2/

Lots of folks were mentioning the Towel Rack bar in this thread (26.0 clamp, very wide, not made by Nitto), and this new Crust/Nitto collab looks to be a middle ground between a Noodle and the Towel Rack. These bars have a 31.8 clamp, and maybe that's how they're able to meet the rigorous requirements that Grant outlined.

Erik, Philly

On Saturday, June 23, 2018 at 4:55:10 PM UTC-4, ctifusion wrote:
I'm sure the 666mm Crust bars are way too wide for most, but I love them. And they don't really make them anyway, I was just in the right place when they brought out the one run. I keep waiting for someone to put a wide drop bar into production.

I think a 58 Noodle would be a huge hit for a lot of riders.

Thoughts?

Brynnar
Indy

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Grant Petersen

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May 20, 2019, 3:23:09 PM5/20/19
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I hope every time I say something ambiguous it doesn't make somebody shove his or her head up there. I'd feel even worse. I'm not NITTO spokesman, just a customer, but I've been there 20 times or more (usually when I worked at Bstone) and I know the deal there, and before NITTO'd come up with a list, they'd have to test all those stems, and it would be exhausting and 'thpenthive and -- I can't see that happening. Their point is just that as bars get wider they impose more leverage on the stem, and == like that.

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Mackenzy Albright

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May 27, 2019, 7:33:27 PM5/27/19
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As well as the newly released NittoXCrust Shaka handlebar, Simworks also has the 50cm Sobar which looks very close to the noodle and produced by nitto. http://sim-works.com/en/news/ramen-nope-i-take-so-bar

Crust has been making a lot of brazed stems, which I assume is in part related to what Grant is referring to making a stronger shorter/taller stem more available for wider bars.

Riding 615 towel racks and a 50mm nitto stem I notice very little flex. On 70mm stem I start to notice a little bit more when really pulling on the bar. I'd be hesitant to run it on anything aluminum much longer than 70mm, but for the most part seems wider (drop) bars are meant to be run with much shorter stems.
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