I'm currently riding Billies on my Clem. I've run them on two, actually, I recently just swapped down to a 45cm Clem after admitting to myself the 52cm was too big, and I've tried the Billies on both. I like them best flipped upside down, but my wrists are still pretty fussy after a couple years of being just a little too stretched out too often, so, I'm riding them the upright way for the moment. They feel notably narrower to me than the Boscos did (I had the 58cm also). More aggressive, in both positions.Maybe it's just because as you creep up the Billies they really do get narrower fast, while the Boscos run more or less straight through the bends. The by-the-stem flats of the Boscos were a little better for dipping out of the wind, but the on-the-bends hooks of the Billie are less stress on my wrists and I can stay in them longer. The Billies come back a little farther for the same stem length, so, if you're already banging knees they won't help much with that. You could chop'em, but part of the appeal is they have enough length for two full hands before the bends, so, you can have one position behind the brake lever and one in front. I do like that about them a lot. For me the Billie has the more comfortable flare angle of the two.
On Wednesday, September 5, 2018 at 4:51:21 PM UTC-4, Jim Bronson wrote: > > The good news about my Clem is that I've been riding it a lot more since I > moved. I now live on a busy 4 lane highway with no shoulders, so I was > having to either brave the traffic to get to a side street or trail, or put > the bike on the car, which I hate to do if I'm just going out for a fun > ride. I found a gravel path behind my condo complex that goes about a > quarter mile to the next cross street to the highway. From there I can > cross the highway and access the regional mixed terrain trail system. > > The shortcut I found has got pretty rough big-ish rocks so I am loath to > ride my more roadish Rivendells with their relatively fragile Compass > tires. The Clem though tackles this section with aplumb so I find myself > wheeling it out for rides more than my other bikes. I also find the > traction just a little bit better on the pea gravel sections of the > regional trails, where the slick Compass tires might kick out a bit going > around a corner, the Clem and it's big Kendas track straight and true where > I point my wheels. It just feels a little less squirrely, so to say. > > Which is a good segue into what I don't like. I bought my 65 ClemH > complete and one of the things that it came with that I am not super > enamored of is the Bosco bars. This may sound odd since they are 58cm wide > (I think) but they feel too narrow and too far back for me. I feel like I > might hit them with my knees when I'm out riding. I feel I would prefer a > bar with less intrusion into my midsection. I'd also prefer something a > little less upright, which I think having a bar that's not so far into my > midsection will take care of itself. It just doesn't feel dialed in the > way it is now. > > Looking around on Rivendell's website, I like the look of the Billie > bars. I'm just not sure if 58 will be wide enough for my preference. I'm > thinking maybe because they flare out a lot more and much less back than > the Boscos, that the 58 might be fine in this form factor. Truth is my > drop bar bikes are only 48cm so having a bar not so far back like the > Billie would work I think > > Or there is the Aherne+MAP handlebar which is 61.5 cm wide in the wider > version. > https://www.ahearnecycles.com/shop/ahearnemap-handlebar if you're not > familar. I still have some store credit at Rivendell though so this route > would cost me more out of pocket. > > Anyone tried either of these bars on their Clem? > > The other thing I don't like is friction shifting. Does Microshift or > SunRace make an indexed 8 speed thumbie? I was hoping to re-use the thumb > pod and just get the shifter part of it, but I can only find 8 speed in > friction. I could switch to Shimano 8 which would require a different > thumb pod or go 9 speed indexed T09 Microshift thumbies which would require > a 9 speed cassette and potentially a different derailer. > > Any thoughts? > > -Jim > > > > -- > ------------------------------------------------------------------ > signature goes here > -- 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.
