Oh, I forgot to mention how it handles with weight in the rear. I really don't know, yet. I just put the rack and the basket on and haven't really loaded it up. Not that I ever do - mainly I carry a fleece vest of windbreaker in a bag, sometimes with a small pair of binoculars - a couple or 3 pounds at most. And I but a relatively small basket back there to discourage carrying big loads. I don't foresee any handling oddities at all.
I will say that moving the basket, and thus the load, from the front to the back of my Clem helped handling tremendously - or at least noticeably. The steering became less nervous. On Tuesday, February 17, 2026 at 1:41:09 PM UTC-7 Gordon Stam wrote: > Well thanks Lawrence. Yeah, I could maybe try an Albatross, or maybe even > a Wavie, but I think you can go a bit crazy trying to find the perfect bar, > not to mention accumulating an expensive stash of slightly scuffed but > otherwise unused bars. For right now I'm going with the Chocos. They > actually feel pretty good and that curve where the grip section transitions > into the relatively straight front section is a really nice place for the > hands. And when sitting up the hands fall nicely onto the back portion. I > think as I put more miles in I'm going to become attached to these Chocos. > They are sporty. > > I do have a plan in mind for bar swaps though. I got another set of levers > - Dia Compe SS6s - and I'm going to put them on the Billie Bars (or > whatever the next bar I end up with is) complete with another set of long > Jones grips, maybe blue, and set them up to easily swap out with the > Chocos. The Faceplater stem makes that easy and as long as the cable pull > is similar between the levers a swap over should take just a few minutes. > Why, I might end up with 2 or 3 (or more!) different handlebars choices. I > think that's called a plethora of riches - or maybe maybe a sign of > personal confusion. I have even thought about putting together a drop bar > setup, but that would mean changing out the brake cables, and a shorter > stem. And changing out the stem would also entail removing the shifters > (stem mounted) which would add to the PITA factor. > > Finally I have to put in another plug for mounting the shifters on the > stem. I'm using the Rivendell Thumb Shifter Clamps and as long as you have > a couple inches of room on the stem they fit in there quite nicely. I like > that it frees up room on the bars, simplifies bar swaps, and allows you to > shift both derailers with either hand - sometimes simultaneously! It's > kinda like having the shifters on the downtube but a lot easier to get at. > > On Tuesday, February 17, 2026 at 12:57:15 PM UTC-7 [email protected] > wrote: > >> Looks beautiful, Gordon! I imagine you’ve considered this, but maybe the >> Albatross would be the ideal bar? More flare than Choco and much less >> backsweep (and potential for knee interference) than Billie. >> >> How do you find it handles with weight on the back? I’m currently >> considering a front or back rack + basket on my own Charlie. >> >> On Feb 17, 2026, at 11:45 AM, Gordon Stam <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> The Charlie is now built out and on the road, thanks to our unusually >> dry winter out here in the West. At first I thought that it was a bit of an >> odd duck - I felt sort of perched on it and my choice of Choco bars at >> first felt like it left something to be desired. They seemed a little too >> narrow but I did like their "tucked in" feel, especially on fast downhills >> where they reminded me of clip-on motorcycle bars. And the curve up front >> felt pretty good. I tried some Billie Bars to get a little more flair but >> being longer they interfered with my knees on tight turns (especially on >> the left where I have a mirror mounted) and the curve in front of the >> brakes was not as friendly as the Chocos. So the Chocos have got the final >> (or at least current) nod, flipped over, and with those long Jones grips. >> I'm liking the setup. I also got some fenders installed and a rack for the >> back and it now feels pretty good, and appropriately functional. I think it >> will do exactly what will do exactly what I wanted it for and that is to >> provide a faster and longer range alternative to the Clem - though the Clem >> rules when things get rough and squirrelly, or for general farting around >> with no particular destination in mind - which describes my best rides. The >> Charlie ought to do that just fine as well, only a bit faster and a bit >> further, and with no mud or snow involved >> >> >> Here's the current iteration: >> >> <Feb 16 2026.jpg> >> >> >> And here is a link to pictures of the evolution of the build, so far: >> >> >> https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1mgicFKOyMn9XFgsYRyrDr036-TS__txs?usp=sharing >> >> -- >> >> You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the >> Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. >> To unsubscribe from this topic, visit >> https://groups.google.com/d/topic/rbw-owners-bunch/0NEP_PxVtP8/unsubscribe >> . >> To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to >> [email protected]. >> >> To view this discussion visit >> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/4140a2b6-2954-400c-921a-35f3f048c4bdn%40googlegroups.com >> >> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/4140a2b6-2954-400c-921a-35f3f048c4bdn%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >> . >> <Feb 16 2026.jpg> >> >> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. 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