Clem Smith Jr with Alternate Handlebars? - Choco-moose

[mike smith]

Has anyone changed handlebars on the CSJ?  I like the current bars but I'm too upright? 59cm Frame.

[Joe Bernard]

My 45 Clem was right on the edge of being too small for me..the reach was too close with Choco-Moose. I was happier with Albas on a 12cm stem.

[Kai Vierstra]

I'm liking the choco-moose bars on my 65, but that's coupled with a lay back seatpost to get more reach and better wheelies. It's a 27.2 Nitto lugged post with a shim, shimming due to the difficulty in finding a lay back post in Clem's somewhat odd 29.8 seatpost size.

-Kai Vierstra (who's kidding about wheelies, but serious about shims)
Brooklyn NY

[iamkeith]

I have non bullmoose boscos on my 59. I used a 130mm, negative-rise stem in order to get them low enough. Didn't try the bullmoose, but similar (90degree,120mm stem) Did feel too upright. So there's another option. I can't imagine liking another bar as much on that bike, though i do wish they were less flexy.

A more drastic but viable solution would be to cut the steerer tube so you could insert the quill further.

[mike smith]

Have you thought about Albatross bars?  I called into Riv and they said some custom builds go out with Albatross.

[iamkeith]

I actually did try albatross. I didn't like them on the clem or any other of the 4 bikes I've tried them on so far. (Putting them on my quickbeam now, with more promising outlook). The albatross is too narrow for my taste, but ESPECIALLY compared to the bosco. And it only has one hand position. I actually posted comparison photos of the two bars when i was building up the clem. Ill see if i can remember thread.

[Bill M.]

I'm currently using Alba's on my 52 cm Clem, but have also used On-One Mary's for a little more forward position.  I like the Alba's in town, but would probably use the Mary's if I spent more miles on fire roads or unpaved trails.  I have only test-ridden the Boscos at Riv, as I bought mine as a frameset, but they were a bit too high and close for me.  

Bill

Stockton, CA

[Jeremy Tavan]

I'm fairly delighted with the long-reach bullmoose bars on my 52cm Clem - super comfy. I'm not riding that bike very might these days and need to re-imagine its role, though, so a handlebar change might be part of the process. Maybe it needs to be less upright - some short-reach drops perhaps?

/Jeremy

[iamkeith]

I think what's interesting here, regarding the varying responses and levels satisfaction with the Boscos, is that it probably has much less to do with individual preferences for riding position (how "upright" someone likes to be) than it does individual body types and proportions.    I think this is the case more often than people realize, but the effect is very exagerated on the Clem because of the limited number of frame sizes, and the huge range of rider heights they have to accommodate.  I'd guess that MOST people probably don't have an ideally sized Clem, but rather the one that is "closest" to fitting.

For someone like me, who is at the smallest end of the rider height range for a given frame, the bars are going to start out really high relative to the saddle height to begin with.  For someone at the taller end of the fit spectrum for a given frame, not only are the bars lower, but they also quickly get further away as the seat post is extended upward and rearward, due to the relatively slack seat tube angle.    But even for those for whom the bike happens to be sized appropriately, a bar like the Bosco is going to highlight body differences.  Someone with a short torso, relative to their leg length/saddle height, is going to feel like the bars are higher than someone with a long torso who's shoulders and arm sockets are way up in the sky, and the huge backward reach of the bar doesn't allow you as much ability to adjust your forward "lean" to compensate for those differences.

My point of all this is:  

Knowing I was at a disadvantage but also having determined that I wanted to use Boscos, I consciously made some compromises in order to make it all work.   And now, I don't even see them as compromises.   In addition to the longer and lower stem that I mentioned above, I also slid my saddle back further than I'm normally used to, and angled the grip ends downward a bit more so they were effectively lower.   In regards to the former, this is something I've started experimenting with more often lately and I wish I'd done more of earlier.   It makes no sense that my saddles should be located the exact same way, relative to the cranks, on every bike I own, when they are all set up differently and are used for different types of riding.  In regards to the later, I feel like the angle is what made the third hand position, on the curve forward of the brake levers, viable.

[Nels Sorenson]

Soma Oxford on a 52 frame for me. I also found the original Boscos a little too long and trimmed them a half inch. Needed more room especially with bar end shifters. The Somas work well, no more thigh strike. I have a pair of used Albatross bars coming to see how they compare as they are slightly wider than the Somas. I have wide shoulders so more width would be welcome.

[masmojo]

I test rode a Clem Jr. In Walnut Creek with Alba's & I enjoyed it immensely; I built my Clementine with Boscos, but even after going from an 80mm stem to a 100mm one they were too long.
On a whim I swapped in a set of 80's aluminum cruiser bars (Laguna?) and I have been happy ever since. I would recommend them, but they are long out of production and impossible to find. Last set I saw on ebay was going for $200!!!!
Still, I think there could be something better so I am keeping my eyes open!

[masmojo]

http://smg.photobucket.com/user/masmojo/media/20160513_080716_zpsjvxvvvwo.jpg.html

[RichS]

I have a Clem (still in the build stage) courtesy of list member Joe. My initial thought was to use Albatross bars since my previous experience with Albas was fairly positive. I think I might be happier though if I cut off approximately 1" - 1.5" from the ends. Has anyone here tried this?

Thanks very much,

Richard 

[Coconutbill]

Ive been wanting to try the chocomooose or choconorm, if any body is interested in making a sale or a trade.

Im leaning towards Choconorm for my 47 AHH. 

On Tuesday, November 1, 2016 at 6:48:02 PM UTC-7, mike smith wrote:

[Jim Bronson]

Anyone tried Noodles?  If so how did that work out?

On Thu, Oct 27, 2016 at 1:34 PM, mike smith <mike.sm...@gmail.com> wrote:

Has anyone changed handlebars on the CSJ?  I like the current bars but I'm too upright? 59cm Frame.

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[Les Lammers]

On Tuesday, November 1, 2016 at 9:48:02 PM UTC-4, mike smith wrote:

Has anyone changed handlebars on the CSJ?  I like the current bars but I'm too upright? 59cm Frame.

I'm building a 55cm Chevoit and tried the Choco norm bars. Did not like the hand position so I have some silver 52cm SOMA Sparrow bars coming. 2 inch rise and I'm going to try them flipped with Ergon grips. They also come in 49 and 56 CM.

Here is a link to a Bosco users take: http://simplecycle-marc.blogspot.com/2012/06/rivendells-bosco-bars.html I have a pair of the Dia Compe nubbies coming too..\ 

[Les Lammers]

On Tuesday, November 1, 2016 at 9:48:02 PM UTC-4, mike smith wrote:

Has anyone changed handlebars on the CSJ?  I like the current bars but I'm too upright? 59cm Frame.

Flipped Albatross/North Road Bars  https://www.google.com/search?q=flipped+albatross+bars&biw=1920&bih=1043&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjLnJ2ggtTQAhWDPiYKHbKiAssQsAQIGg#imgrc=omWCunQwYyQ2yM%3A

[BenG]

Daughter's little black Clementine has a slingshot quill stem from an early mtb with its original riser bar. Combo gives high bar and little retreat to fit her, and looks cool.

[Timothy Hurley]

I know this is an old thread, but does anyone have experience with bullmoose bars on a Clem? Those new silver ones are rad and I'm sorting out if I have enough parts on hand to build up a frame. Thanks!

[David Bivins]

Hi, I was wondering about this, too. I have the standard build Clem H (w/55cm Bosco bars), which I do love, but I feel, dare I say, a little too upright. Also, I feel like the cockpit can get cramped on tight turns when I'm having to walk the bike between traffic (I'm in NYC). I did an image search and found someone with a bullmoose/Clem build and it looked pretty good. I just know it's a big investment of time for me to swap them out, and I don't want to sacrifice my beautiful cork grips unless I'm pretty confident about the switch. 

Come to think of it, maybe I could demo that setup at 718 Cyclery...

[Kainalu V.]

I had chocomooses early in this thread, but I'm currently running albastaches in NYC traffic on a Clem, happily. Might be switching it around again soon, maybe bullmoose, maybe noodles (could keep my cockpit controls from the albastache that way)
Definitely putting the ice spiker pros on sooner than later.
-Kai
BKNY

[tc]

Bullmoose gives a nice compromise between upright and drops. I love mine on my 59 Clem. Jones bar is nice too.

Tom

[Bob Ehrenbeck]

I recently swapped out my Bosco Bullmoose bar to a Sycip JJJ on my 52 Clem. While I enjoyed being more upright in traffic with the Bosco, I felt that my riding position wasn't the most efficient to put out power. But also, I wanted something that would be better suited for singletrack descents. So far, I'm loving the new setup!

The JJJs do have a 31.8-mm diameter at the stem (but then, I needed to buy a stem anyway), so I added a Paul Boxcar stem with the help of a threadless stem adapter.

Bob E

Cranford, NJ

[David Bivins]

Thanks for all the insight! I'm strongly considering trying out the Bullmoose someday soon.

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[Adam Leibow]

i have the sycip JJJ mountain bar on my CSJ-L. I love this bar. It's similar looking to the long-awaited wavie bar, but has a 31.8mm clamp diameter, so you'd need a special stem like the nitto ui-12. I found the bullmooses to be a little long for this bike with its extra long top tube, so I opted for an 80mm ui-12.

On Tuesday, November 1, 2016 at 6:48:02 PM UTC-7, mike smith wrote:

[ian m]

Until recently I was using the traditional Bullmoose bar on my Clem

I liked it for it's width, especially with a larger front load, and control off road. Alas, since moving away from the large park in my city that I used to cut through every day, I generally only Clem on pavement. I too started to find the 'moose a bit too forward for the Clem's long top tube, started to experience some wrist ache (I think from the reach), and generally just wanted a bit of a change. Recently I changed to Albatross bars and have been having a hard time adjusting to the wrist angle, but otherwise am pretty happy with them.