MTB Hunqapillar questions

[maxcr]

I've been slowly working towards setting a new-to-me 58cm Hunqapillar that I picked up off ebay last fall as a mountain bike. 

James at Analog Cycles is building some cliffhanger wheels, setup tubeless with 2.1 Thunderburts for me. I'm also upgrading the brakes to new Paul touring cantis. 

Needless to say, I'm very excited about getting this bike ready for the warm months!

The big question right now is whether to swap the cockpit or not - the bike is set up with Soma Portola handlebars which aren't the most comfortable for me. I feel stretched even though they are set up level with the saddle on a (w)right 0 stem. (I'm 5'11" with a 90.5 pbh, long arms, but short torso)

So I'm asking for the collective wisdom of the RBW group to help me decide whether to go for a Wavie bar (why isn't there more chatter about these here?) or a more upright swept back position like this last-chance Boscomoose or something similar?   

What will be the best option to hit some single track and fire trails? 

FYI I'm just getting started with mountain biking, so I'll probably start with the easy stuff, but want a machine that can grow with me.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

*This is the ebay photo from when I bought it.

[Deacon Patrick]

I love my Hunqapillar with Bullmoose bars, and set up my prototype Gus Boots Willsen similarly with the Wavy bars and love them also. Dial it in with stem length and you'll be delighted with the Wavy bars for whatever type of riding you do! By the way, great looking Hunq! Same generation as mine.

With abandon,
Patrick

[maxcr]

Thanks Deacon Patrick!

What shifters are you using with the wavie bar?

Max

PS. I still have to figure out how to get out to CO to visit and ride!

[Joe Bernard]

I concur with Patrick the Deacon about bars with a Wavie-ish sweep for singletracking, I don't think the 'straight back at you' style of Boscos works well there. A Jones Loop is another alternative.

[maxcr]

Yes, I've been looking closely at the jones bar (my wife is getting a Jones Spaceframe so we can start exploring more trails together). The adapter requirement seems ugly and complicated though. I think wavie is the way to go.

Thanks

[Chris L]

For the kind of mountain biking a Hunqapillar can handle, the Jones Bar is hard to beat.  The angle is perfect and the 710 mm version has a ton of hand positions you can use, depending on riding conditions.  Also, the Jones bar is the most confidence inspiring bar I've ridden.  My Hunqapillar felt good with a regular MTB bar but it feels much better with a Jones Bar.  

[Joe Bernard]

I think the Wavie would look great on that gorgeous Hunqapillar, but just to be clear you can get a quill stem that works with Jones bars.

[ted]

I really like the bullmoose I’ve got on my bombadil, and think it would be great on a hunqapillar mtb too.

[Chris L]

Velo Orange also makes a very nice looking 31.8 mm compatible quill stem.  It's what I plan to buy if I stick with a 31.8 mm bar. 

[Deacon Patrick]

No shifters on the bullmoose bars on the Hunqabeam as it's fixed gear. The shifters on GBW are Shimano 1x11 indexed XT monstrosities that work really well, mount like a thumbie, and take up way too much space.

With abandon,
Patrick

[Coal Bee Rye Anne]

I went from stock Bosco to Chocomoose to Jones 2.5 riser loop on my 65cm Clem and greatly prefer the shape/width of the Jones for most of my riding (which is non-technical multiple use paths with road and some technical single track sprinkled in.). This is with the 66cm wide Jones and leads me to believe that I’d be just as happy with the Riv Bullmoose should I decide to try and eliminate the VO quill adapter and threadless 31.8 stem from the equation.

The Chocomoose just felt a bit too narrow with too much backsweep for the few technical sections but otherwise feel great on the nontechnical stuff.

Brian Cole
Lawrenceville NJ

[Reid Echols]

I use the fairweather bullmoose bars with an adapter on my Appaloosa, and find that slightly less sweep/rise and more width compared to the Riv version is ideal for trail riding for me. Just another data point, I'm sure all of the options described above would work well, too. 

Here's a photo of the setup I ran a while back (transitioning to Crust drops now): https://www.instagram.com/p/BipPGR_hJwV/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Reid in Austin 

[hugh flynn]

The bullmoose is a stunningly bad idea that works out so very well. Paying extra to get a stem and handlebar you can't adjust is baffling, but I've done it twice and love them.

I went with the Riv version both times, but that's because the bikes I put them on needed the rise they offer. The Faiweather, as Reid points out, has less sweep back, and significantly less rise. I will admit to wishing I had 1 or 2 cm more reach on the Riv ones, but I also love the angle that the sweep provides, so I'm good.

If you don't need the rise offered by the Riv bullmoose or anticipate that the sweep back could be an issue, give 'em a try!

Hugh "bullish" Flynn

Newburyport, MA

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Hugh Flynn
Newburyport, MA

[tc]

I’ve done singletrack with a Wavie, Bullmoose, and Jones on a Clem and Toyo Atlantis. All are great.

Assuming any of those bars, of more importance is your rear derailleur shifter. Depending on the terrain, and how quickly you’ll need to shift (...like a quick steep uphill into roots/rocks after a tight turn kinda situation) you will at the very least want rear derailleur indexing dialed in perfectly, not friction. If this is to be a dedicated or mostly singletrack bike with those twisty rocky footy sections, then I’d seriously consider an ugly click shifter for your RD or your gonna miss a lot of shifts.

Tom

[Marc Irwin]

All I can say is that I love the Bullmoose Boscos on my 54CM Hunq.  They provide a huge range of positions and are plenty strong to take an off road beating.

[Mat Grewe]

If you want, I have a set of Jones Loop bars and a Nitto quill stem adapter I was going to be posting for sale soon (don't have pictures yet).  PM me off list if you are interested.  The adapter wasn't as ugly as I was expecting, plus it allowed me to dial in fit with the plethora of used threadless stems my LBS had.

The Jones bars provided great control, I just have ultra sensitive hands and the only bar I've tried that has not caused me pain is the Maes Parallel shaped drop bar, even off road...

Mat

Driftless, Wisconsin

[Adam Leibow]

if you really want to mountain bike it, i'd go with paul motolite instead of cantilevers, and +1 for the bullmoose bars or wavie bars the nitto UI-12 stem opens up the world of 31.8 ie Jones bars, Sycip JJJ, etc. 

[Philip Williamson]

That's a good looking bike. 

My preference is for the Portola-style drops on mountain bikes, so I'd probably spend some time setting the roll of the bars and the height of the levers. Otherwise, you'll probably be happy with the Jones bars. 

Philip

Santa Rosa, CA

On Sunday, April 28, 2019 at 6:14:33 PM UTC-7, maxcr wrote:

[maxcr]

Wow, there's so much to digest here! 

I'm thinking I want to give the Jones bar a try - everyone raves about them. Mat I sent you a PM.

If I do, I might end up getting that VO stem later, it would solve the 'looks' issue for me.

As for brakes, the cantis are a done deal, so I'll have to stick with those for now. On the shifters, indexed shifting for the rear derailleur, that's definitely something to consider after I decide on the bar, but I hear what you're saying TC.

Thanks everyone! I'll report back soon.

Reid, your bike looks great!

[Chris L]

If you go the Jones Bar route, be sure to set them up the way Jeff Jones recommends*, at least at first.  

*Controls all the way forward

Grips that stretch from controls to tip of bar

bar at saddle height or higher

bar angled down about 10 degrees.

[Bill Rhea]

+1 to the "Bosco Bullmoose Believers" list. Best damn handlebar I've ever had!  Got one of the first fillet brazed ones, and it's a freaking work of art, IMHO.

I like it so much I run an extra cable through it when I lock it up in the secure-entry bike garage at work!  #paranoid

My Hunqa is a 62 cm cousin to Marc's (grey/red, 1st gen). 

Though these days it is built in full commute/ / load hauling mode, I love swept-back bars for fire-trail bombing.  Only downside would be if you ride lots of super-steep, technical,  butt-over-the-seat, slow-mo downhill sections, in which case a more traditional MTB handlebar makes total sense. I encountered some slight slippage issues when riding  Albatrosses offroad with a 26.0 stem and shims, so the security of one piece stem/bars is a big plus to me.

Cheers,

-br

[Deacon Patrick]

I second the Bosco love. GBW arrived with Bosco Bars and I was very surprised how much I liked them, with the singular exception (a BIG one for me) of technical descents. Two issue here: hand slippage (no way around that with parallel bars) and no brake access at the point where hand slippage isn't an issue (where the bars start to drop, though I never rode this as much as I wanted on descents to find out how well they worked because ... no brake access).

I am equally impressed with the wavy bars' meeting all the comfort of the Boscos (for me, obviously) and being brilliantly technical descent capable. The Jones 2.5 is the next bar on my list to try if needed, but so far, no need. And the look of the wavy is so much more pleasing to the eye, that I hesitate to add more industrial monstrosity to my index shifter. Sardonic grin.

With abandon,
Patrick

[maxcr]

Here's the report on my hill-ready woolly mammoth build.

After many months of delays because of some medical issues in my family, I finally got to ride the 'finished' Hunqapillar this past weekend.

James and Candice at Analog Cycles did a fantastic job helping select parts and re-build the bike. They are knowledgeable and patient, I love working with them even if I have to spend 8 hours in the car to get there and back. They have all sorts of parts tucked in their bike shop and their attention to detail is impeccable.

I splurged on a SON dyno and a Sinewave light, I'm hoping that just like the Hunqa, those will last a lifetime.

On the cockpit, I ended up going for the Jones bar. I initially spec'd the SG 2.5 riser bars, but with the curved VO Cigne stem, the bars were way too high, so we switched to a regular Jones Loop and now it's super comfortable. I'm quite upright with this setup, but that's what I wanted given that I have a lot of joint issues in my elbows and wrists.

I only did a short ride along the old railway track in Poultney, VT but the tubeless Thunderburts felt amazing and the new brakes have more stopping power than I'll ever need. The bike felt solid but alive, the bars give me a ton of hand positions, control and maneuverability. All of this paired with Hunqa geo and the lower stand-over (as compared to my other bikes), I think this is my best fitting bike so far. We'll see how longer rides with more obstacles feel like, I can't wait to go ride.

One final note, the bar tape is Peruvian cotton, something James and Candice had tucked away in their shop. To be honest, I might swap it for dark grey newbaum's, because I didn't realize how much the red popped until the bars were fully wrapped, maybe it's too much... we'll see. Other than that, I got a custom Jeff 'n Joan's bag paired with their Bartender Plus, both beautiful and super functional.

Cheers!

Max

PS. If anyone is looking for Compass / Rene Herse tires, hit James at Analog Cycles up, he's got a great deal on a bunch of 650's and at least a couple 700C

[David Bivins]

I love the bar tape! Great looking bike!

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[Jennings]

I have the boscos on my 58 too. They are great.