Billie Bar initial review

[adam leibow]

in case anyone's curious. i bought some billie bars, and already have some miles on them. i didn't know these were coming out but i was checking the site periodically for the wavie bar and found these. i'm still gonna get the wavie bar for my hunqapillar but was happy to see these imho improved albatross. i had swapped out drop bars for albatross on my new canti-sam, but have always had mixed feelings about the albatross bar. i dont like how they come seemingly directly almost straight backwards towards you, and how narrow they feel. the billie's are better imho because they have more flair (a bit less gnarly sweep backwards) and are noticeably wider. they also have a way longer grippable real estate, and you can mount the brake levers forward or backward for a longer section of that grippable portion=more options/versatility. i chose to mount the brake levers pretty far forward, as the billies don't curve forward before turning backward quite as much as the alba's do, and i like my reach to be pretty stretched out. this allows a nice, more aggressive (though still technically very upright) descending position with brake levers in reach. and, if i'm chilling out, i can sit back and place my hands more towards the ends of the bars, a very upright sensation. most importantly, with the alba's i felt slightly out of control and endured a "a-second-too-late" sensation to steer to keep up with twisty singletrack or even road descents. the billie's width and added flair mitigate this to a degree that makes riding offroad quite a bit more enjoyable, while still being relaxed. so, im summary, billie=albatross+more flair outward/wider and longer grip portion. i am a fan for sure. here's some pics:

[Eric Daume]

I'm thinking about these. I have the same complaints about the original Alba--too narrow and too straight back--so this looks like a good direction.

Eric

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com.
Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

[Lester Lammers]

Great write up Adam. I may try them flipped to see if my 'forearms on the bars' power cruising theory has merit.

[adam leibow]

thanks - yeah these bars are a nice happy medium between the albatross and something like the map ahearne bars (or how i expect the wavie bars will be). i got some more miles in on them yesterday and confirm they're still good. 

[Brett Callahan]

Ive received mine and will add my first impressions. I've only mounted and ridden around the block, so hardly a detailed review.

First, I'll need a longer stem. These are way longer than the albatross. A good trade considering there seems to be a full hand's worth of real estate in front of the levers now.

I like the flare. It's noticeable coming from the albatross, but these are still nice and swept back. I mounted mine upside down for a slight drop. They'll go rightside up eventually, but this was a fun experiment.

FLEX. There's a noticeable amount of flex to these that I never experienced with albatross bars. It's similar to what you get with a wide drop bar. Could be good, could be bad, but for now it's just a little surprising.

[Diego J. Garza]

For those of you who have tried this bar, would you say it's reach back is a little longer than Boscos? 

Inquiring minds would like to know,

Diego

pre-june gloom, los angeles, ca 

[Eric Daume]

What's the actual rise/drop on the Billie? The site only says it's less than the Albatross.

Eric

--

[Zed Martinez]

Eric, the catalog says it's a 1" rise/drop, so, I'll believe them on that. 

Diego, laying my old Boscos as close to on top over the clamp as I can manage, I'd say the Boscos come back about an inch more. Measuring, the Billies are 8.5" straight before they bend as advertised. The Boscos are closer to 7.5" before the bend, but then go closer to 9" before the clamp. So, Boscos more literal back reach, Billies more grip area?

On Tuesday, May 22, 2018 at 7:38:41 PM UTC-4, Eric Daume wrote:

What's the actual rise/drop on the Billie? The site only says it's less than the Albatross.

Eric

On Tue, May 22, 2018 at 12:34 PM, Diego J. Garza <diego...@gmail.com> wrote:

For those of you who have tried this bar, would you say it's reach back is a little longer than Boscos? 

Inquiring minds would like to know,

Diego

pre-june gloom, los angeles, ca 

On Monday, May 21, 2018 at 9:32:44 PM UTC-7, Brett Callahan wrote:

Ive received mine and will add my first impressions. I've only mounted and ridden around the block, so hardly a detailed review.

First, I'll need a longer stem.  These are way longer than the albatross. A good trade considering there seems to be a full hand's worth of real estate in front of the levers now.    

I like the flare.  It's noticeable coming from the albatross, but these are still nice and swept back.  I mounted mine upside down for a slight drop.   They'll go rightside up eventually, but this was a fun experiment.  

FLEX. There's a noticeable amount of flex to these that I never experienced with albatross bars.  It's similar to what you get with a wide drop bar.  Could be good, could be bad, but for now it's just a little surprising.  

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group.

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com.

[Diego J. Garza]

Zed, thanks for the detailed response and measurements. Just what I needed!
Diego
Los Angeles

[Garth]

Well crimey .... if they go back that far and they recommend a 2 cm longer stem than an Alba, which already required a longer stem .... heck .... that put's me back in the 80's mtb dayze ..... "hey ... you got any 150mm stems cuz my frame doesn't have enough reach ?"    Ahahahaha !   

Alright ... then we need frames with more reach !