Atlantis Bars: Drop or Moustache?

[ADH]

I have been riding my Atlantis with drop bars since I bought it almost 10 years ago. I ride with my hands either up against the brake hoods or on the flat near the stem when I want to be more upright and almost never drop down any more. I was all set to switch to a moustache bar when I realized that the shape might require me to stretch forward more. Do those of you who ride with moustache bars tend to keep your hands outboard near the bar end shifters or more inboard near the brake levers? Thanks

[iamkeith]

I move my hands around constantly. So "both." It took me a LONG time to dial in moustache bars, finding the right stem, but it sounds like you'd be a good candidate if you can make 'em work. The main thing i'd say is not to shy away from that 'stretched out' position - or at least don't preclude it as an option by using too short of a stem. It's nice to have a way to tuck in a head wind and, for me, a long and flat back position is markedly easier than the bent over and scrunched one achieved with drop bars. Also, compared to a drop bar, it's much easier/instantaneous/intuitive to move your hands to the braking position in an emergency, even if you primarily ride in the more upright, rear grip position.

[Jay Connolly]

I set up my Joe with moustache bars for a while. I really liked them, but the hoods position on a drop bar pushes me a little further forward, which I like. Certainly I could have managed this with a 130 stem on the moustache, but I also find that when the bars are an inch above the seat, the drops become more useful, so for me, the drops give an extra hand position or two. Still, I really like moustache bars, and I'm determined to use the ones I have on another bike, sooner or later. I tried a Soma bar because I bought them cheap, but I think the Nitto moustache and Albastache are much more attractive in their shape.

Jay

[Bill Lindsay]

I ride with drop bars on most of my bikes. If I was going to give Moustache bars another try, I would probably use them on my Hillborne. My Hillborne has a Nitto Pearl 11cmstem and Noodle handlebars. If I switched that bike to Moustache bars I would switch out the stem as well to a 9cm Tallux. Pretty much always use a shorter stem with Moustache bars than you had used with drop bars.

Similarly you typically would run a longer stem with Albatross bars than you used with drops. I'd use a 13cm stem with Albatross on my Hillborne.

Rule of thumb. Your mileage may vary.

Bill Lindsay
El Cerrito Ca

[Patrick Moore]

Rivendell used always to counsel using a shorter stem and higher position for Mustache bars compared to drops. Me, I found Mustaches to be more comfortable is a bit stretched out.

I recently added a 2" extension to the bar "mast" of my Hon Solo, so that the M bar is about the same height but 2" further forward. My hands were hurting before -- holding myself up with arms; but with the more extended position, my torso does more to support itself, and my hands and arms are correspondingly more comfortable. Of course, YMMV.

Even so, the M bar is not as comfortable as drop bars -- I can ride the cruising position on the hoods of a drop bar far longer than any single position on the M bar, and the drops give you the flats for upright and the hooks for wind (I use my hooks all the time). But now, the M bar is better for cruising on the curves, also more comfortable for aero on the hoods, and I can sit up, sort of, by grabbing the ends of the bar.

I've tried M bars on at least 6 bikes, and this is as comfortable as any. Still, I'd install drops on the Dahon if the shape didn't make the folded package bigger and the folding operation a wee bit more complex.

On Thu, Jul 27, 2017 at 7:02 AM, ADH <ahur...@gmail.com> wrote:

I have been riding my Atlantis with drop bars since I bought it almost 10 years ago. I ride with my hands either up against the brake hoods or on the flat near the stem when I want to be more upright and almost never drop down any more. I was all set to switch to a moustache bar when I realized that the shape might require me to stretch forward more. Do those of you who ride with moustache bars tend to keep your hands outboard near the bar end shifters or more inboard near the brake levers? Thanks

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[Clayton]

My problem with Moustache bars is the brake levers. You can only run them flat-ish, in line with the bars, which places the levers too high.  For me, I found them to be too unergonomic and uncomfortable.   

Clay

[Deacon Patrick]

When you say moustache, do you mean original moustache, or new moustache (Albastache)? Either way, I echo most others in saying a shorter stem is in order. Originals are narrower and more aggressive, so an even shorter stem may be in order. I love my new moustache, but I shifted from the Albatross. I use both hand position frequently, with deference to the curves. Unlike Clay, I find them the most ergonomic for all my riding, and the brakes are right where I want them for technical trails with rocky, rooty descents. Whether it's my staple ride of 20-40 miles of mixed terrain or a full day century plus, or a multi-day tour, these are wondrous to ride. Take your time dialing them in (as with everything) and you will be well rewarded.

With abandon,

Patrick

[ADH]

I've been looking at the original moustache bars because you can find them at a few places for under $60. Here's an added consideration for me. I'm in my 60s and I'm fairly short... 5' 6.5" (down from about 5' 8"). I ride a skinny tire 54.5 cm Atlantis which is now as big a frame as I can handle and I don't ride off-road any more. In order to get most comfortable, I recently switched to a 5 cm Nitto stem with my noodle bars, an inch above the seat. (I think it's 5 but might be 6. In any event, really short.) So it's comfortable, but I can't go shorter. The more posts I read, the less inclined I am to switch. I ride mostly on the brake hoods with occasional stints near the stem. I love the look of my Atlantis with drop bars. Plus they're taped and shellacked. So yeah, I just convinced myself to enjoy what I have.

Here's a link to my bike if anyone is interested. Flickr Atlantis Pics

[Patrick Moore]

I have to say that your Atlantis is beautiful; certainly, those are the nicest fender spacers I've seen!

Back to the M bar on my Hon Solo: I ride most with my hands in or at the curves, switching for relief to the hoods; rarely at the ends.

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[Patrick Moore]

FWIW: Your bars look like Noodles. I replaced my 46 cm Noodles with 42s, then those with 42 cm Maes Parallel clones from Velo Orange. Noodles are nice, but man! The Parallels are just dandy! 42s on the "road bike for dirt. I like 38s or so on my Riv Roads. I ride 57s to 60s c-c.)

Parallels must absolutely be set up with the ends of the hooks parallel to a perfectly flat concrete floor. But oh, those sweet ramps!

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[WETH]

Dang, that's a gorgeous bike with some awesome details like the fender spacers. Well done!

[Joe Bernard]

Holy crap that's a nice build! Yes, you're at your shortening limit stem-wise so no Moustache for you, but you have plenty of room for Albatross and such-as if you ever want to try it. I'm about your size and tend to "buy big" as well: I like big, roomy frames that can take a pullback bar without feeling cramped.

[clayton bailey]

Nice Atlantis and it looks uber comfortable! 

Clay

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[ascpgh]

What a great looking built. I can see why you are moving carefully on any changes.

When making bar changes, I get the new one in hand before I decide on a stem. An assessment of where you would have your hands for most riding and the difference of elevation considerations will give you some points of comparison to your built bike and its controls. I tolerated the change better that way compared to when I resorted to just putting it all together on standard recommendations. 

Andy Cheatham

Pittsburgh

[ADH]

Thanks to everyone for the kind comments about my bike. I spent a LOT of time looking at everyone else's Rivendells trying to figure out what I wanted to do. So it's really an amalgamation of everyone else's ideas. Except for the fender spacers. They were my idea. If anyone is interested in trying something like that, I gave a pretty detailed explanation of what I did in the Flickr comments. The key was having a stainless threaded bolt running through the beads and countersinking a nut so it was rigid. It's been 9 years and it still looks great and is structurally sound. 

As for the bars, I'm going to keep Noodle-ing, I think. At least for now.

[Ryan Fleming]

I LOVE those fender spacers !

[Philip Williamson]

The fender spacers make me really happy. Great idea, great execution, and just a beautiful hidden detail. 

I wouldn't change the bars, either. I have moustache bars on two bikes, both with slightly short top tubes (58cm) for my height. Hard to retrofit a new top tube on an Atlantis! I like them, and use the ends quite a bit for leverage and for cruising. I used to use the hoods a lot, but I think I'm just way slower now than I was 10 years ago... 

Philip

www.biketinker.com

[RichS]

Reiterating what others have said about your Atlantis. It's a beauty! Nicely thought out details.

Some food for thought: I recently converted the bars on my Atlantis from drops to Albatross. Gives me enough options to reposition my wandering hands and have my 65+ year old torso at 45 degrees to more upright. So far so good after 100 or so miles.

My Sam still has drops and will likely keep them so if I want that experience I can go there.

Best regards,
Richard

[Kellie]

Choco.Stop.

[Mark in Beacon]

New bike for moustache bar. Stop.

[Clayton]

Sycip singles bar. Go. 

Clay