Moustache Bar

It seemed like a great idea, that curvy Nitto-made handlebar that Rivendell sells as the "Moustache Bar". It was upright, it offered lots of hand positions including a leaning-forward aero position, and it was nice and wide for better control. So I tried it.

Installing it on my jacked-up stem of my too-small Trek 620 was no small endeavor, since the bar-end shifters were raised beyond the scope of their cable housing (and cables, for that matter). So I needed new cables and housings. And, of course, since buying one thing always requires buying three more things, I needed to get something to cut the housing. A Dremel with a cutting disk works like a charm, and it costs about as much as a good cable cutter. So I bought one. (Actually, once I had the Dremel, I was able to trim my fender stays, which had been sticking out ridiculously. So it was a sensible purchase.)

True to Rivendell's promise, the Nitto bar was a beauty, with a perfect satiny finish. Naturally, I managed to mangle it as I worked it into the Nitto Technomic stem. It seems the moustache bar has a wide mounting section, which increases its diameter. So the stem, which had been tightened on my regular diameter bar, was too small for the new Nitto. Once I realized this, the bar was already half in the stem; by then it was too late to get it in or out without (a) expanding the opening on the stem with a lever of some kind, or (b) tearing the hell out of the bar. I chose (b). I nearly cried when I saw the carnage.

So anyway, first impressions were good. Fun bar to ride short distances with. Easy to get at the brakes, lots of control, quite upright.

When I took it out for longer rides, problems became apparent.

First, it's not possible to get low on it. Forward, yes. Low, no. When I'm riding into the wind, I like to bend over my bar so that my weight is still centered, not flatten out with all my weight on my arms. (I realize that flat and forward is the way Lance would do it. I'm not Lance.) With a nice high drop bar, I can ride aerodynamically on the drops all day and not suffer.

Second, it's not possible to get upright enough with it. With a nice high drop bar, holding onto the cross bar sits me up enough that I can rest my neck and shoulders. Not possible with the moustache.

Finally, I didn't really like the super-wide grip when holding the moustache bar near the ends. I felt like I was forming a parachute-like wind catcher. It also made my bad shoulder hurt.

So I reversed the process, taking the moustache off and putting my old 41 cm drop bar back on. I was able to reuse the bar tape, so all was not lost.

As a mountain bike bar, the moustache would be fantastic. As a road bar, it doesn't offer enough levels for my comfort. (If I start using this bike as a commuting bike, I'll put the it back on.)

I'm done buying bars for now. But I'd love to try a 46 cm Nitto Noodle drop bar. Maybe on my new Rivendell.

Much later: Since writing this post, I have moved the moustache bar to my winter bike, a tricked-out early-90s Trek mountain bike. On that bike, which I use for commuting 10 miles/day in snow, ice, and slush, the moustache bar is perfect. Lots of control, comfortable position for 30 minutes; much better than the typical straight-across mountain bar. I almost always hold on to the bars at the curves, where the brakes are easily accessible. I'll occasionally pull back to the bar ends, but not often.