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Mustache bars

Old 02-07-19, 11:23 AM
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Mustache bars

Hello - I just picked up a Bridgestone X0-3 and wanted to try mustache bars, but I've never used them. I would appreciate some info about positives and negatives. Thanks in advance!
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Old 02-07-19, 11:30 AM
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I like mine


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Old 02-07-19, 11:33 AM
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i had them on a TREK 420 sport tourer for a while. I switched back to drop bars to make it my official road bike.
i liked them OK, but the way I set it up with areo levers i had to go pretty far forward to reach the brakes.

they are currently hanging in my garage for a bike. or maybe a new home......

oh - i flipped them to "priest" bars to get more up & a bit higher.


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Old 02-07-19, 12:01 PM
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I’ve got a set of Rivendells albastache bars on my Cannondale commuter. I love them. I had drops on there but I never used the drops the mustaches are great. Lots of hand positions you can get semi upright on the ends or drop down aero in the curves or up on the hoods. Brakes look a little weird, but work great. All pros, I don’t see any cons.

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Old 02-07-19, 12:42 PM
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I had some Nitto ones and liked them OK on my Stumpjumper, but eventually switched to Midge drop bars. What I liked was pretty much covered by the previous poster. One negative is I like to use a bar mounted light and there was basically no straight part on the bar to mount one.
I have seen some people set them up with saddle-bar drop, but most say you want them level or higher. Also you will typically need a shorter than usual stem.
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Old 02-07-19, 12:49 PM
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Depending on the frame top tube length and converting from a drop bar, you might consider changing the stem as well. Possibly to a shorter length.

I like them but only for the less occasionally used riders. One is a fixed gear and other is a single speed. Only get two hand positions. Prefer the setup with a slope down, easier and more natural for the wrist.

Bargain brand is Origin 8. Have both in aluminum and steel. The only negative is the sparkle metallic coating on the steel and the aluminum bar has a fine bead blast type of finishing. Neither had the look to match my builds. I sanded both and then polished up to the desired sheen.
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Old 02-07-19, 02:09 PM
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I tried a set, but found them to be uncomfortable on the wrists and palm of the hand. Gave them to my friend Tim and he complained of the same thing. He gave them to Dave and they have been on his bike ever since. Not for everyone, but they do work for someone!
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Old 02-07-19, 02:17 PM
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My Albastache bars are slightly different than the traditional mustache. They’re a mix between albatross(north roads) and the original mustache. I have them on a slightly higher, slightly shorter stem. I say if you don’t use the drop position very much you’ll probably like them. I have just enough room for my light next to the stem.
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Old 02-07-19, 02:20 PM
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Originally Posted by Force
Hello - I just picked up a Bridgestone X0-3 and wanted to try mustache bars, but I've never used them. I would appreciate some info about positives and negatives. Thanks in advance!
You won't know until you try them, as I did.

Hate is a strong word but...
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Old 02-07-19, 02:35 PM
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I'm tempted to try the Soma Condors ~--~
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Old 02-07-19, 02:45 PM
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I've had Nitto Mustache bars on my town bike for years.
They work very well for that and allowed the re-use of a pair of old Campag non-aero levers and ST barcon that were just sitting in a box.

-Bandera
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Old 02-07-19, 02:49 PM
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Originally Posted by crank_addict
Depending on the frame top tube length and converting from a drop bar, you might consider changing the stem as well. Possibly to a shorter length.
This is good advice. Along with possibly raising the stem a bit for less saddle to bar drop.

I have em on my fixed gear which is set up as crank addict has advised putting me in a slightly more upright position. I find it comfortable enough (even though there are fewer hand positions than a drop bar) for long distances (for example, the one day STP double century and 150 mile RAMROD).
The only negative I've experienced personally is the lack of a true aero position when dealing with headwinds. Putting your hands one the brake hoods and bending your elbows only goes so far and is tiring for my skinny tyrannosaurus like arms..

IMG_1195 by NBend, on Flickr
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Old 02-07-19, 03:14 PM
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Originally Posted by northbend
This is good advice. Along with possibly raising the stem a bit for less saddle to bar drop.

I have em on my fixed gear which is set up as crank addict has advised putting me in a slightly more upright position. I find it comfortable enough (even though there are fewer hand positions than a drop bar) for long distances (for example, the one day STP double century and 150 mile RAMROD).
The only negative I've experienced personally is the lack of a true aero position when dealing with headwinds. Putting your hands one the brake hoods and bending your elbows only goes so far and is tiring for my skinny tyrannosaurus like arms..

IMG_1195 by NBend, on Flickr
Ramrod on a fixed gear...I have respect.
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Old 02-07-19, 03:20 PM
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I've got Soma Mountain sized Moustache bars on a Bridgestone CB-1. I've got dummy stoker levers up front and feel relatively aero. I'm still messing with the fit, and realy only have 2 positions, but i kind of "get it" about the bars. I realy want to try a set with road levers and bar end shifters so my hands can roam around more.
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Old 02-07-19, 03:40 PM
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Main drawback to mustache bars appears to be the weird brake position and reach. Most folks I've met locally who tried mustache bars eventually switched back to some form of drop bars, usually wider compact drops.

Best I can tell from conversations, they liked the mustache bars until they participated in large event rides, especially gravel. Then the drawbacks became apparent. It's easier to ride the hoods on conventional drop bars and reach the brakes more quickly. Wide compact drops solved the problem. Still plenty of width for barrel chested folks to breathe freely. Brakes in conventional position.

I use Nitto albatross bars on my old Univega Via Carisma. Very comfortable, brakes within easy reach from the swept back grip position, which is where I'd be in traffic or group rides. On solo rides I can lean forward into the forward arched portion of the bar to get a little more aero and improve hip adductor efficiency. If I had better neck and back flexibility I'd flip the albatross or other swept bars upside down, path racer style.
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Old 02-07-19, 03:42 PM
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My thoughts are the same as @northbend's. Maybe because I also have skinny and weak arms. My commuter bike has mustache bars. I used a tall and short-extension stem. The bars allow me to vary the reach of my position but not the height, and that's good. I rarely use the drops of drop bars. But yes, there really aren't that many positions. They look like they would have as many as drops, but they don't. Some claim they can grab the hoods in the same way as on drops, but I can't figure that out.

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Old 02-07-19, 07:48 PM
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I tried them and hated them. The only positive for me is that they look cool. The lack of a straight section next to the stem means that you've eliminated that "on the tops" position that drop bars have. Also, the handgrip location makes me twist my wrists into an awkward unergonomic position useless for riding any great distance.
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Old 02-07-19, 09:21 PM
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I tried them and Nitto North Road bars, but didn't really care much for either. They had a pretty wide variety of positions, but all seemed mediocre. Then on a lark, I tried Nitto Porteur bars (on my porteur bike, which originally came with galdarn beach-cruiser bars) and with a slightly longer stem, they are the bee's-knees and the dog's-bollocks! Only two real positions (four if you don't mind going asymetric) and all options seem good.
Handlebars are like saddles: it might take a few before you find the apple of your ass' eye.





Edit: It might sound silly to see the tops as the aero position, and the "drops" as the relaxed/upright position, but with a slightly longer stem, you can bend at the arms while bringing them in and really get down there. I always remembered Andrea Tafi looked lower on the tops than the riders he was dropping who were all down in the drops.

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Old 02-07-19, 09:51 PM
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I tried mustache bars a couple of times on different bikes and could never get comfortable with them as they were too wide for my shoulders, and led to hand and wrist pain when used offroad. Unlike Tom @noglider, I did find the 'over the ends of the brake levers' comfortable as I stretched out in a position sort of like aerobars, just wider, but I couldn't spend time enough there to justify putting up with the other drawbacks. Note that I think the secret to making such a position tenable is that you have the have the levers point straight ahead so that there's enough area available to grip... lever shape matters too.

Like @calamarichris I have experimented with a variety of bars, and I do have one bike set up with some very narrow old cruiser/3-speed bars installed upside-down, and those work well for me because they're a perfect match for my narrow shoulder width. I still prefer drop bars for almost everything, but on a commuting bike where I want to be semi-upright they're just the thing - plus I can still use the ends of my brake levers (I use STI levers mounted horizontally) as aero bars when riding into a headwind.

(thumbnails link to larger originals)
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Old 02-07-19, 10:58 PM
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Wow - what great feedback! Thanks to everyone who responded. I think i will give them a try, but will be sure to take advantage of the tips offered. We will see how it plays out. Thanks again!
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Old 02-08-19, 11:41 AM
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They vary a lot. Different widths, different curves, different amounts of drop.

Many years ago I trash picked a bike frame that was too small for me. I took it because it was clearly a really nice frame -- Columbus tubing, chromed lugs; made in Argentina. I built it up for my father. He didn't want a drop bar; so he picked up a Philippe brand mustache bar. Dunno where he got it, I'd never seen one before, and I've never seen another one. It was perfectly flat-- if you put it on a table, it touched the table at all points except the clamp area. Weinmann brake levers, the ones made for drop bars, out front; I think I put a stem shifter on the bike. Anyway, I used to borrow that bike now and then, raise the seat an inch or two, and... it was great. The combination of the mustache bar and the slightly too small frame made for a magical fit. It was a really zippy little bike, and I always wanted to set up another bike the same way.

Maybe ten years ago I got another mustache bar, but I was never able to get the setup where I wanted it. Probably didn't try it on the right bike.

Anyway, my takeaway is that it can be great... or not.
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Old 02-08-19, 12:08 PM
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Yup. I have a Nashbar mustache bar, and it didn't work for me at all. The Nitto one does. They look similar but the difference is in the subtle details.
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Old 02-08-19, 01:09 PM
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Bridge stones Lesser Models had a different 'mustache' bar .. for 22.2 levers MTB bits, ,

As opposed to the Nitto 23.8 bar for road components , brakes and bar end shifters
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Old 02-08-19, 02:13 PM
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I have tried them but I find they eliminate the positions I actually use (hoods, ramps, tops, in that order), and I also find them too wide generally. I feel like my arms are way splayed out. They didn't work for me.
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Old 02-12-19, 08:14 PM
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[QUOTE=lasauge;20784524]I tried mustache bars a couple of times on different bikes and could never get comfortable with them as they were too wide for my shoulders, and led to hand and wrist pain when used offroad. Unlike Tom @noglider, I did find the 'over the ends of the brake levers' comfortable as I stretched out in a position sort of like aerobars, just wider, but I couldn't spend time enough there to justify putting up with the other drawbacks. Note that I think the secret to making such a position tenable is that you have the have the levers point straight ahead so that there's enough area available to grip... lever shape matters too.


Do you mind explaining how brake lever shape matters in your experience? I'm in the process of buying some levers to go with the mustache bars and would appreciate your input. Thanks!
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