Hey Eric, I love fast(ish) road bikes and upright bars as well. I've spent a good deal of time on Alba's and recently configured a new ride with new choco-normal -- primarily because I liked the flatter look of the choco to the Alba. However, having been on narrow drops for so long (I took a 3 year break from Alba's) my only complaint is similar to yours --- I just wish they were narrower. So I thought the same thing: I should have just snagged a pair of V/O Porteurs because for once, I can since I'm not using bar end shifters and won't have to compromise with those not-so-great looking 23.8 road bar diameter "city" levers.
Anyway -- that's long way around to let you know (if you didn't) that the V/O bars aren't as well thought-out as the Alba's and Choco's in that they can't run 22.2 mtb levers and bar ends ... that bit of brilliant forethought seems only attributable to GP and Co. designed bars. On Tuesday, April 26, 2016 at 11:46:49 PM UTC-4, Eric Karnes wrote: > > Hi all- > > > Long time lurker. > > > I came upon Rivendell’s bikes (and Grant’s writings) about two years ago > and have wanted one ever since. After selling two of my existing bikes, I > took the plunge and ordered the demo 61” Roadeo (pre-beausaged!) that was > for sale on the Riv website. This weekend, I took it out for a short maiden > voyage up the Schuylkill River Trail here in Philly. > > > > https://www.flickr.com/photos/35128198@N02/26641946766/in/dateposted-public/ > > > Needless to say, it performed admirably! It’s the first non-mountain bike > I’ve ever owned with a proper seat tube angle for me. I finally felt like I > didn’t have all of my weight on the handlebars! It was already comfortable. > After the photo was snapped, I lowered the seat about a cm and will > probably lower the handlebars a hair. > > > As you can see, I’ve swapped out the original handlebars (I have long legs > and a shortish torso and have never been entirely comfortable with drop > bars on any bike that fits me). I like the albatross bars (they sure are > pert-ty), but I’m not completely sold yet. I have narrow shoulders and they > feel a tad wide to me…but I may just need to get used to them. Or I may > equip them with VO Porteur bars. I love them on on my single speed and have > always admired the setup I’ve seen on Brian Hanson’s blog. If anyone has > any recommendations for bars, that would be great. And if anyone knows of > non-race-oriented riding groups here in Philly, let me know. I’d love to > take my new Roadeo on one. > > > Thanks to all the posters here! The group has been super helpful in the > research leading up to my purchase. Best, > > > Eric > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
