I like the noodle, but it's predecessor - the RM 13 dirt drop - is my favorite. I had the former on my Rambouillet until this summer, and the later on my Quickbeam. Every time I got on the Quickbeam, I was struck by the contrast of how comfortable the bars were, and regretful that I didn't spend more time on it. So I finally just moved the bars over.
Both were designed by Grant as far as I know, and Riv used to sell the dirt drop before they designed the Noodle. The drop and reach are similar between the two. Both are nice and wide, so I feel like my chest cage can open up and allow me to breath. The dirt drop is straighter across the top, so both that grip position and the one at the hoods feel like more of a natural angle (less elbows-in / less twisted wrists). The dirt drop feels more rigid and direct. The two things I *really* like though, are: 1) The flare at the drops of the RM-13 allows me to sprint and climb without bumping my wrists. 2) Something about the downward curve of the Noodle made it really hard for me to ever mount the brake levers in a position where I could reach them comfortably from the drop position, and still have the hoods high enough to feel correct too. I always had to lean way over and contort my wrists uncomfortably upward in order to brake. One thing that I HAD to do with the dirt drop, that I SHOULD have done with the Noodle, was to add bar end extenders. Both bars seem to be intended for use with bar end shifters and, without them, the grip is too short. I'd suggest them to anybody for either bar, if you're not using bar ends. It's so much more secure and confident when moving from top to bottom quickly, and it gives you some space to move around a bit. I should add that, as with most of my preferences, this all comes from the fact that I have a mountain biking background and am really inelegant and clunky on any road bike. So YMMV. -- 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.
