Bullmoose vs. Choco-moose

[Ryan Merrill]

I'm pondering bars for my Appaloosa I ordered and have a choice to make.  I'm thinking about some sort of 'moose bar having already had the Bosco Bullmoose in the past and liked them. My choice for this bike is coming down to the regular Bullmoose bar or the Choco-moose bar but can't figure out if I want a more flattish hand hold like a regular flat mtb bar or one that puts my wrists like they would be on a choco bar...almost like if they were on the drops of a drop bar, I guess.

I'll be using this bike primarily on gravel roads and singletrack mountain bike trails with very little road riding going on, so quick handling, secure gripping, and easy turning is a plus.

any ideas?  Do you think the reach to the bullmoose bars will be a bit too dramatic compared to the choco bars on the Appaloosa?

Next decisions will be what tires, what shifting mechanism, what crankset, ect, ect, ect. (the fun part of buying a bike, IMHO.)

thanks,

btw, I changed my name so no longer RJM

[Jeremy Tavan]

I'm not a huge fan, personally, of fully 90-degree-swept-back hand positions for any sort of rough surface riding. I think rough-terrain bars tend to be 45 degrees or less sweep for a reason probably something to do with differences in strength of different arm muscles. I do enjoy my Bullmoose bar (the long-reach version), but a little more sweep (like a Jones, a Surly Open Bar, or similar) wouldn't be a bad thing either. Even an albatross.

[Joe Bernard]

I agree with Jeremy about pullback bars on singletrack, I don't think the grip position is secure enough for it.

Reach of Bullmoose compared to what you're used to is a tough call. I had that bar for a while..it's on a virtual stem length of 15cm, but sweeps back a good bit. If you can scrounge a 10cm stem and a regular mtb bar to try out, I think that would give you a good idea of how the reach would work.

[adam leibow]

"singletrack mountain bike trails with very little road riding going on, so quick handling, secure gripping, and easy turning is a plus"

based on this quote from the op i'd 100% go regular bullmoose. when you ride super swept back bars, you give up control for comfort IMO. I have had the bullmoose on my hunqapillar and now my cheviot, they're great for MTB. choco moose would be strong enough but the turning is slower and your weight on the bike is wrong for quick zippy singletrack and mountain bike situations in my experience. The standard bullmoose still rise and are still an upright bar compared with drops and modern MTB bar/stems. best of both worlds..

On Thursday, February 8, 2018 at 12:53:20 PM UTC-8, Ryan Merrill wrote:

[Clayton.sf]

So many factors that could make one work better for you than the other that you need to try both for yourself to really know. I would choose almost any bar over the bullmoose. Their upsweep annoys my hands (have no issues with other flat or riser bars). should be easy enough to sell the one you like less.

Clayton Scott
ST, CA

[Joe Bernard]

That's a good point, Clayton, which I'd kinda forgotten about. The upsweep bothered me, too.

[Nate in Oakland]

Why, just the other day, I was trying to keep up with Clayton (on his Jones) on some single track. I had chocos on and kept getting stuck on the switchbacks, where the bars would hit my knees. Between the two, I would definitely go Bullmoose for single track.

Nate

[Eamon Nordquist]

The grip area of chocomoose bars is pretty long. It looks like you could trim the ends down to just enough for grips and controls. You would still have the curves and front for getting more aero, but the controls would be more forward - closer to where they would be on be on bullmoose bars.

[Joe Bernard]

My Chocos are chopped and I still wouldn't want it on singletrack. They're fine for just plonking along on a trail, but you really need that bar in front of your palms when barrelling down roots and rocks. Yes, you can get that position in the curves, but the brake levers won't be there.

[Davey Two Shoes]

Hard to say without knowing your reach

[William R.]

The Chocomooses that came stock on my Appaloosa are bees knees perfect as far as I'm concerned. But I definitely don't ride much single track on mine. Dirt and that other stuff roads plenty. Rough, badly maintained MUPs, yes. The thing that is so great about this set up is how stable it all is. But for single track you will want more fast response maneuverability. I would say maybe standard Bullmooses may be the way for you to go. But then you need to consider that the Appa is designed for bars that sweep back with a longer top tube. Maybe a non-moose bar with the right length stem will enable you to dial in the reach better. I agree with Jeremy and others that are using Jones bars on their Appaloosa's. That might be an avenue for you to explore.

Bill in Westchester, NY

[Ryan Merrill]

Thanks for all the help, everybody. I got some pondering to do on this, but I think in the end I will probably end up with a bullmoose bar setup.

[Deacon Patrick]

Joe said: “They're fine for just plonking along on a trail, but you really need that bar in front of your palms when barrelling down roots and rocks. Yes, you can get that position in the curves, but the brake levers won't be there.”

Exactly my challenge with Albatross and why I love the new Moustache/Albastache, not that anyone asked. Grin.

With abandon,
Patrick

[Clayton.sf]

One more thing regarding the control vs. sweep debate (disclaimer: this is just according to me and I have no "real" 3rd party science to back it up) - more sweep allows me to keep my elbows closer to my body, and my  upper body, shoulders and arms more relaxed. A lot of people seem equate this with less control especially when coming from flat and riser bars. At least that is usually their first response when they ride my bike on singletrack. For me this allows me to ride a rigid bike more comfortably on MTB terrain since my arms can now more easily absorb shocks. The bars may come back a bit more which changes weight distribution when sitting but when things get dicey I don't sit anyway and have no issue moving my body forward to weight the wheel. The bullmoose are better in regards to sweep than most normal mtb bars. I use Jones bars on my MTB with 45 degree sweep. Have also used flat bars too. Both work but the swept bar allows me to ride longer and more easily over rough stuff on a rigid bike. I change step length too. 50mm on flat bars, 80mm on Jones.

Hope this helps.

Clayton

[Chris Birkenmaier]

So funny, the Bullmoose is about perfect for me BUT I don't do singletrack.  I'm a big Jones bar fan too so that general configuration works really well for me.

[tc]

Hey Clayton, I was reading your post about Bullmoose upsweep, and wondered if you could clarify.  It looks to me that the actual bar itself is flat. The Nitto catalog doesn't mention an upsweep, so maybe you're referring to the upward angle of the two braces coming from the stem top to the bar (to form the triangle)?  Or maybe there are other variants still sold?  Thanks!

[Joe Bernard]

TC, the ends of the bars have an upward angle. Imagine if the bar portion was mounted level in a conventional stem, then you grabbed the ends and rotated up a couple degrees..it's like that. They would probably flatten out on an old mountain bike with a really slack headtube.

[tc]

Ah!  Thanks ... they don't even mention this in any writeup/spec I've seen!

Tom

[Eamon Nordquist]

Since they have a fixed attachment to the stem, it all depends on your head tube angle. They are MTB handlebars originally. I think the current versions were meant for Bombadils, which have a 70.5 or 71 degree head tube angle. If your head tube is steeper than that, the ends will point up slightly. By the same token, if you have a more slack angle, they will point down slightly.

Eamon

[Chris Birkenmaier]

Yes mine are angeled down. I find them comfortable

[Joe Bernard]

I had mine mounted on a couple of Bridgestones which both had 72-ish head angles. They might sit a little flatter on an Appaloosa.

[Clayton.sf]

thanks for explaining Joe!

mine swept up on a Quickbeam.

might be that there are different angles as is the case with some other moose variants.

Clayton Scott
ST, CA

[tc]

Gotcha, makes sense.  Clem 59 (and 64) have a 71.5 HT angle.  52 Clem has a 71, so, close to Bombadil.  Not sure if any contributors who've mentioned 'upsweep' are referring to Bullmoose on a Clem or not.