What drop bar do you use on your Riv?

[Josh Lubben]

Hi All!

I currently have an Albatross bar on my Homer, which I love. I also love doing bar swaps from time to time on my bikes as it can make the bike feel like a completely different bike. 

I'm curious to hear what drop bars folks are running on whatever Rivendell you happen to own? I've considered the Crust Towel Rack bar for my Homer, so if you happen to be using one of those I'd love to hear your thoughts on that bar/see any pictures you might have. But as the post title suggests, I'd love to hear about any other drop bars y'all like to use. 

Also, if you've switched from a swept back bar to a drop bar on your Riv, what adjustments to stem length did you need to make? I know this can be impacted by the bar of choice, but just wanting to get a sense of how much of change you experience in stem length.

Thanks! 

Josh 

[Tim Bantham]

I'm using the Crust X Nitto Shaka bar on my 62cm Sam Hillborne. So far this is a great set up. I've had Albatross bars, Albastache bars, Noodles, Salsa Wood Chipper bars and not the Shaka's. I had a super long stem on the Albatross bars. 13 cm to be exact when I switched to drop bars I shortened up the stem quite a bit. I've had a 5 cm stem when I had the Wood Chipper bar and now a 6cm Nitto Faceplater with the Shaka's. Keep in mind the 62 Sam has a long top tube!

I mostly wanted the Shaka bars to have the wide enough to fit a small Ron's Bikes chest bag. I like this set up so far!

Tim

[Patrick Moore]

I've tried several varieties of Moustache bar, ever so many wide and flared drop bars starting with the original WTB bar, any number of "tourist" bars, straightish and sweepback, all sorts of straight mtb bars with and without bar ends, and various anatomical road bars (uck, agh, yuck, ptooey, gag, hack, pffft, sptuey), and I always, always, always go back to a 38 cm to 42 cm old-fashioned round-bend, long-ish reach, med to shallow-drop drop bar -- Nitto 185s to Noodles to, now, Maes Parallels. For drop bars, it's wide and anatomical that hurt my hands and annoy my shoulders more than flare.

I've just cut my bikes to 3, and all of them have the Maes Parallel. The MPs on the 2 road bikes (that 1999 Joe Starck Riv Road custom and the 2020 Matthews clone of the 2003 Curt Goodrich Riv Road custom) have 38 cm bars (at hoods) while my fat tire Matthews road bike has a wide 42 cm Maes Parallel. Note that I don't ride small frames: I was professionally fitted long ago for a 60 c-c.

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[Patrick Moore]

Oh, after the Maes Parallel, the Noodle and the Nitto B135 rando bars were next in comfort.

I used to use Nitto 185s 3" below saddle. I switched to longer reach bars -- Noodle, B 135, Maes Parallel and VO clone -- 3 centimeters below saddle. I kept the same 8 cm stems; the reach is about the same and the comfort is much greater with the latter arrangement.

With Moustache bars I tried closer in and high but (on my road bikes) found it "tippy" and awkward, so always used M-bars with the same 8 cm stem more or less the same 3 cm below saddle. But even this hurt my palms as did all other non-drop bars. The best non-drop bar was the shorter model of the MAP/Ahearne with 4" cut off each end and cut-down Ergon grips. But even with this on the Monocog 29er I switched to a drop bar.

[Patrick Moore]

Maes Parallels, wide 42 cm, on my Matthews "road bike for dirt." God decreed that the bottoms of the hooks must be parallel to terra firma.

[Bernard Duhon]

Tried several including Rene Hearse Randonner & found the bends in the bar left little room for the hands.

Have Settled on the Nitto “noodle” that Riv sells Nitto number is 177.  I find the bends & drop just right and the Tops & ramps roomy.    

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[Mathias Steiner]

>> the Nitto “noodle” that Riv sells Nitto number is 177.  I find the bends & drop just right and the Tops & ramps roomy.    

What Bernard said.

I've got five of these in service, they're just so good. They let me move my hands back and forth in a horizontal plane, which adjusts how my back is angled.

The reach is relatively short, which avoids a stubby stem, and the forward bend is just right; not so much radius that you can't grab from the sides, yet not so abrupt that it's uncomfortable.

The 46 cm width is perfect for an all-road bike, the 48 is maybe better with inline cyclocross levers, and for road riding, the 44 cm is cheaper (not heat treated) and just as good.

This is the only decent picture I have handy that shows a top view.
It's the setup of my 87 Cannondale ST600, my go-to bike for long day rides (44 cm).

Here's a good side view from another bike. The setup is even more comfortable with Shimano aero levers, but then one loses the Mirrycle.

If I had a RIv, it would have a Noodle, and I'd show it here.

[Josh Lubben]

Tim, the Nitto x Crust Shaka bar was one that had caught my attention. Wide but not overly wide. Not too much flare. Glad to hear you like it.

Patrick, that is a lovely Matthews above. The Maes Parallels looks interesting, I wish it were offered in a slightly wider size than the 46cm. 

The last drop bar I used consistently for a few years (on a Surly Cross Check) was a 50 cm Curve Walmer bar. This was after many roadie years on 44 cm bars. I quite like the wider Walmer bar, but thought the flare of the drops was too much. I'm thinking toward something around 48-50 cm width would be nice.

On Wednesday, February 7, 2024 at 9:33:43 PM UTC-5 ber...@bernardduhon.com wrote:

[Patrick Moore]

Thanks re the Matthews. I'm glad Chauncey built me a couple of frames before he quit the business. I hope to get a second wheelset for RH Fleecer Ridge tires, ~60 mm on similar 27 mm IW rims.

Just had a very nice road ride on another bike with Maes Parallels and as always they felt good in the hooks, on the ramps, on the hoods.

Does VO still make a Maes Parallel clone? They used to; I don't know how wide they made them, though.

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[saintruggler]

I don't presently own a Riv (gasp!) but since others have responded about non-Riv frames I'll presume I am still welcome to respond.

I recently swapped from a 46cm Nitto 177 (Noodle) on one bike, which I sold, to a 52cm Nitto M137 on my new touring bike. The M137 appears to be similar (or the same?) as the Crust x Shaka, but in a slightly narrower width. The 52cm measures out to around 47cm at the hoods, but to me it feels pretty darn similar to the width of my old Noodle. The difference is definitely in the backsweep (less) and flare (more) of the M137. 

Happy to share this non-scientific comparison!

-Eric

[Kainalu V. -Brooklyn NY]

I just put towel racks on my Rosco. I had been using Soma Three Speed 2 bars before and they’re a wonderful, not back swoopy mustache bar for use with mtb levers. So I had to change my levers for the drops. The towel racks are fun bars, and I find myself using the drops much more than I ever did with noodle bars of yore. I wish there were more options for long pull levers out there, as the ramps are very brief on the Crust bars, making wish for a longer/flatter ramp up the lever back than these Tektros have…

-Kai

On Wednesday, February 7, 2024 at 4:23:50 PM UTC-5 jtlu...@gmail.com wrote:

[Kelvin Ang]

I recently swapped out inverted billies (13cm stem) on my Hillborne to towel racks (7cm stem). Before the billie bars, I tried the albatross, 60cm tosco and 58cm bosco bullmoose. They weren't bad but I yearned for something where I could stretch out a bit more as well as have a different cockpit compared to my Gus which has 65cm Toscos. The towel racks weren't my first choice, I was waiting for noodles to be restocked in the width I wanted but it's been over a year so decided to take my chances with the smallest towel rack and I'm real glad i did. It's very comfortable and the width is perfect. Before this, I had the Rene Herse Randonneur bars but at 46cm I was never truly comfortable (43cm on the hoods). I did run 48cm noodles (47cm on the hoods) on an old mtb for some time and it worked great. Included two pics of the current setup and when I was running a flipped albatross on it.

  

[Steven Sweedler]

Kevin, I have used the same 48 Noodle bars as you mentioned on many bikes since Grant started selling them and they are now on all my bikes.

Steven Sweedler
Plymouth, New Hampshire

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