RLHawk

I have a Gunnar CrossHairs frame that is just a little too big for me to use for cyclocross, but is perfect to use for a commuter/city bike setup with moustache / all-rounder bars. In an effort to reuse parts I have, I would like to setup this commuter using the sram rival levers I have.

The bars I’m considering are:
NITTO Jitensha
NITTO RM-016 Moustache Handlebar (I’m a little concerned that the reach may be to long.)
VeloOrange Postino
VeloOrange Proteour
I may have to ship the grip for these bars to work.

Does anyone out there have experience with such a setup? Pictures would be greatly appreciated.

cwk132

In my opinion, drop bars are pretty damn good all-rounder bars, they even are designed to work perfectly with brifters. Get some shallow drops and set it up so you're actually comfortable using them, and you have 3 hand positions of varying reach and drop.

RLHawk

The frame is to big. Only way I could get comfortable on the frame with a drop bar is with a 70 mm stem, or possibly shorter. Instead of doing that, I'm would like to try a bar that sweeps back. Ideal solution would be a different frame, but I have not been able to sell this one, so I'm trying to get things to work with what I have on hand.

cwk132

Another option would maybe be indexed bar-end shifters (time trial shifters), and some brakes set up wherever is most comfortable with whatever bar you choose. Would probably be cheaper than brifters, and would give you a little more flexibility as to how you set it up. I would probably do that before trying to get brifters to work on a set of mustache bars.




^^^ Like that for the shifters, then just throw the brakes wherever is most comfortable for ya.

abstractform20

road trigger shifters

https://www.sram.com/sram/road/produc...speed-shifters

Fiery

Nothing wrong with a short stem - I have a beater bike with a 60 mm stem and drop bars, no problems whatsoever.

Also keep in mind that going to a bar that sweeps back has the same net effect as a shorter stem as far as handling goes. It's all about where your hands are, not where the stem ends.

RLHawk

The attached pic is very much what I'm thinking. Bar-end shifters probably would be a better fit for this application, BUT... I already have a brifters. Instead of buying bar-end shifters and break levers, I want to try to use what I have.

RLHawk

Really? (no sarcasm intended)

So a 'city bike' like this example from mapcyles https://www.flickr.com/photos/mapcycl...n/photostream/ is compromising the handling by using a swept back bar?

Maybe it's really just aesthetics, but in my mind a bike setup like mapcycles above would be more comfortable and better handling than a same bike with shorter stem and drop bars. To me it looks like both setups would place hands in similar position, assuming most time is spent on the tops of a drop bar. A further swept back bar, like a true mustache bar, or northroad bar, would allow hands to come back more.

I’m also looking at Bridgestone XO-1's for inspiration: https://www.flickr.com/photos/8911974...57594510405255

rebel1916

This makes a lot more sense than the OPs plan.

Violet

I would not want to use drop bars off road - flared "dirt drop" style notwithstanding.

Velo Dog

YMMV, but I think the effect of stem length on handling is way exaggerated. I commute on an old Bridgestone MB that was my main mountain bike from about 1985-88, then has done a lot of different jobs since then, including a century just to see if I could do it. It's had stems from 60cm to 150cm, and the adjustment to the allegedly different handling takes literally zero time. it's barely noticeable.

MikeWMass

I could not agree more. Even riding with hands off the bars, in which case stem length is obviously not an issue, touring frames are stable and racing frames are twitchy. I have even seen someone on a hybrid with the quill stem turned backwards, and she had no trouble with it.