New member hello and welcoming adice on the Albastaches

[pis madd]

Hello! First time poster here. I've admired the riv line up for a years now and was inspired to join this group after reading the piece on Mr. Peterson in the New Yorker.

I am 'remodeling' a bike I salvaged from the side of dumpster back in the throws of June 2020 - it isn't anything special, and I've owned some other really fun builds by my SO, but I just keep coming back to this frame. 

Anyway, I recently scored some Albastaches on the cheap and been curious to make them work. Currently have them flipped so there is a rise rather than the intended drop. Length wise - I love the back hand position, and I love the forward position - but the curve of the front makes for some awkward handling while braking, esp downhill. I am thinking of forgoing the road brakes and finding some city ones or mtb ones with the correct diameter. 

Anyone out there rocking these and loving the set up? Any tips or tricks you care to share? 

Thanks for reading and see you on the net. 

P. 

[Steven Aussenberg]

The braking with road levers in the hooks might be better if you flipped the bars.  I'm pretty sure Grant intended the mustache bar to be run that way, and it's how I've run mustache bars in the past.  The way you have it, the levers angle up, which is opposite of how the bar goes.  Might be a bit better as is if you angled the hoods section up, but I still think flipping the bars and running them as intended would probably be the best option.  Seems like you have plenty of rise already with that dirt drop stem.

Nice old Novarra!  Didn't I read somewhere - maybe it was that NYM article, even - that Grant got his start at the Berkeley REI?

Cheers,

Steven A

[Stephen]

I agree with Steven, using road levers on albastache only works well if you mount them in that specific designed way in my experience. An alternate route I've seen done that seems to work well and might be more to your liking is to use bar end brake levers. Puts the braking at the end of the bars and leaves the curves open for your hands to roam.

Welcome to the group!

[Mathias Steiner]

My biggest issue with my 'stache -- which is not of the Alba variety -- was the fact that I could not brake from the ends of the bar, where I have the best control.

As Stephen suggested, bar end levers can be the answer.

I made a bit of a dog's breakfast out of mine, since I didn't have a good way to mount the shifter except the bar-end, but you get the idea. I still prefer drop bars for general riding, but this is very nice for commuting, and I wouldn't mind a 20-miler on it either.

The inline brake lever for the front brake is a nice addition for cruising. I'm thinking of doing up an Albatross this way.

Dia Compe makes these brake levers for mountain and road bar diameters. They're like $24 for the pair, very reasonable.

[Patrick Moore]

Welcome. Novaras were decent bikes back in the day, as I recall. I agree with Steven that you’d be best off flipping the Albastache or else finding an “upright” North Road-style replacement; Rivendell makes many variations on these.

[p madd]

Thank you for the feedback! After getting a tip about some true Albatross bars I decided to swap the Albastache with the Tross on the Novara - and it's perfect! 

But I cant just let go of these Staches, so I put them on a Trek in the intended dropped orientation and I am very happy with it - still trying to figure out where I want the hoods but may just get those bar end brakes as suggested, they only prevent me from using the shifters I had in mind...

progress pics:

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[Kainalu V. -Brooklyn NY]

Albastaches are great! I find them comfortable pushed a little farther out to the edge, plus it makes a good parking brake when leaning on a wall. Probably time to tape these bars…

-Kai

[Nathan Mattia]

LOVE the Albastache on my Miyata 1000LT.  Great fit.