*Thanks for all the replies, comments and advice. Those Grand Bois bars are intriguing. If I were buying bars today, those would be on the short list. I’m going to ride the bars I have for now (48cm Noodles) and get a feel for what my drop bar preferences are. Perhaps next time I get fidgety the GBs will get ordered.
After reading everything here I went with the 7cm stem set about an inch above the saddle. It’s funny how when I was in “analytical” mode going back and forth between a 7cm stem and a 9cm stem I was noticing all sorts of little differences. Not that those differences don’t matter, but so often it’s more a case of getting lost in a world of looking for “better” or “worse” when in fact they’re just different and either will work fine. Anyway, I went with the 7cm, quit over analyzing, and went for a ride. I’ve actually gotten out for a couple short rides and like the set-up more each time. It’ll be interesting to try narrower bars after I’m good and used to these. On a sort of related note... I was feeling a bit tinker-y this weekend and in addition to the new bar set-up I hacked a few add-ons to the “Double-Double Homer” as my kids call it. The first is something that I’m sure has been done before, but I’ve never seen it... a light bar for the front of my platrack. The second mod is how I cheated my way into being able to go for a ride today... a kid seat on my rear rack so my 3-year-old could ride on the back of the AHH. * * * Relevant pics here.<https://picasaweb.google.com/113148323994353762329/NewAHHBarsAndKidSeat?authuser=0&feat=directlink> Happy pedaling. --Smitty On Thursday, February 23, 2012 8:29:37 PM UTC-8, Smitty-A-Go-Go wrote: > > I've always had straight or upright bars. Went with mustache bars when I > bought my Hilsen in September. I've been riding the M's for half a year and > don't hate them but haven't fallen in love with them either. I've decided > it's time to try a different handlebar. I suspect I may be on the path to > being an early adopter of the New Bar. In the mean time... I've been > sitting on a 48cm noodle bar bought off the list here. Today I removed the > M's and put on the noodles. I tried them out with 2 stems... 7cm and 9cm. > > My riding style/pace is pretty casual so I imagine most of my riding will > be on the tops or on the hoods. > > With the 7cm stem the tops are kinda too close but not deal-breader bad, > the hoods are fine and the drops are close/comfortable enough that I could > see myself using them. > > With the 9cm stem the tops are in a great place, the hoods seem like a > good aggressive position, but the drops are so far forward that I'm not > sure I would use them hardly ever. > > These are all first impressions from a couple laps around the block by a > guy who's only ever ridden drops a few times on friends' bikes. > > I would love to hear people's opinion's on balancing the aggressive vs > leisurely positions/set-up on a drop bar. This may all be a moot point If > I go with the New Bar next month but it's fun to fiddle with for now. > > --Smitty > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msg/rbw-owners-bunch/-/RyC3bKSf2lEJ. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
