Garth and Dan, Thank you so much for these perspectives. Looking at my photos, it all seems so obvious to me now. As soon as my Atlantis and I are reunited I'm going to play with lower bars, longer stem, and even swapping the Billies for something less swept back. I've had to dial in my position on all my bikes, I'm not sure why I suddenly thought the Atlantis would feel great with an initial stab-in-the-dark setup. Thanks!
On Thursday, January 29, 2026 at 12:18:41 PM UTC+1 Garth wrote: > Looking at your bike photos Taylor it appears that your favored bikes all > place your hands over and in front of the steering axis, while the Billies > place you well behind. Plus the stem is set soooo high. This in turn allows > the body to naturally lean forward. The Billies place your hands well > behind the steering axis, and are set very high, not allowing you the same > natural lean-forward-and-into the pedals. Certainly if you used and placed > any of your other bars/stems onto the Atlantis it will feel like the other > bikes you ride. I doubt the longer stem is worth investing in as the > Billies extend so far back. Even if you chopped off a few inches, it then > becomes notably more narrow. I could only use 56cm Albatross bars with a > 130mm stem, bar end brake levers, and padded bar tape over the curve to get > my hands as far forward as possible. Even then, compared to now using drop > bars on the Bombadil, it's a completely different feeling bike. A swept > back bar like a Billie or Albatross is never going to offer a feel like a > bar that places the hands over/in front of the steering axis, no matter how > long the stem is. I think they used to make 160's, hah hah, but even that's > like putting a dress on pig and pretending it's not a pig. 'Ya just can't > make something into what it isn't. > > On Thursday, January 29, 2026 at 4:46:25 AM UTC-5 Dan wrote: > >> [image: IMG_0270.jpeg]Changing the bar position may do the trick. >> Have you seen how Ultraromance runs his Ortho bars? Which are very >> similar to Billie Bars. >> He recommends a long stem (120-130mm), bars tilted slightly downwards, >> and bar ends at or just below saddle height. Doing it this way lets you get >> your weight more forward for a more spirited ride, especially in corners. >> >> This is the approach to bar setup I use on my Appaloosa and I can confirm >> it works well. >> >> >> >> On Thursday, 29 January 2026 at 19:36:30 UTC+10:30 [email protected] >> wrote: >> >>> Yeah, the tires and wheels are currently being shared between the Susie >>> and Atlantis. I sure do love the Rene Herse 700x55 Fleecer Ridges. That, >>> plus the bar swap may help a bunch. I'm probably just not digging the super >>> upright stance the Billies provide. Another simple change I may try is just >>> throwing on a longer stem to see if that feels a tad more sportive than my >>> current setup. Currently running a 100mm and have a 120mm in the bin. >>> Sweptback seat post already on there. >>> >>> On Tuesday, January 27, 2026 at 5:56:38 PM UTC+1 Dorothy C wrote: >>> >>>> I don’t care for the Kenda tires. If it were me I would try a pair of >>>> the Poteau Ridge Rene Herse 48mm tires. Even in Endurance Plus casing, the >>>> sturdiest, those would be almost 90g lighter per tire. The Billies have >>>> the >>>> most backsweep, maybe try a Choco or the new bar Riv are coming out with >>>> >>>> On Tuesday, January 27, 2026 at 8:00:46 AM UTC-8 Teague wrote: >>>> >>>>> Sure Loscos, Billies, n Boscos work for full off-road, but it's gonna >>>>> be a different ride than with get arounds, wide wavies, etc. If you're >>>>> looking for a different feel, a bar swap is probably the fastest way to >>>>> make that happen. If you don't have any others hanging around, perhaps >>>>> you >>>>> can borrow susie's bars and try em out on the Atlantis. Will's susie was >>>>> inspiration for mine. Somewhere along the line he wrote about going for >>>>> lower rise, less swept bars to get that "sportier" (probably not the term >>>>> he used) feel. >>>>> >>>>> Tires totally change the ride too - perhaps those kenda tires are >>>>> making the atlantis feel a little redundant to the susie. >>>>> >>>>> On Tuesday, January 27, 2026 at 8:31:18 AM UTC-7 [email protected] >>>>> wrote: >>>>> >>>>>> Taylor, regarding the feeling of "sitting on the bike not in it", >>>>>> I've been having the same sort of feeling with my new Charlie Gallop. >>>>>> What >>>>>> may have made the difference is getting a Velo Orange Grand Cru long >>>>>> setback seatpost. I haven't had it out for a ride yet but test sitting >>>>>> in >>>>>> the garage feels like I'm more down "in" the bike. This is with Billie >>>>>> Bars. >>>>>> >>>>>> Somewhere else someone mentioned the Ahearne +Map bars. Maybe take a >>>>>> look at those. >>>>>> >>>>>> At any rate I think it sometimes takes a while to get a bike dialed >>>>>> in. It did with my Clem. And sometimes it's just a serendipitous change >>>>>> that does the trick, as with my Clem when I put some really wide bars on >>>>>> it. >>>>>> >>>>>> On Tue, Jan 27, 2026, 7:22 AM Drew Fitchette <[email protected]> >>>>>> wrote: >>>>>> >>>>>>> Hey Taylor, >>>>>>> >>>>>>> I have had a hard time with Billies except for on my Clem, which had >>>>>>> by far the longest reach of all the bikes I've owned. I switched my >>>>>>> Atlantis to Moth bars to widen my grip which has me leaning a little >>>>>>> further forward. I like them quite a bit more than the Billies for >>>>>>> feeling >>>>>>> more "in" the bike, rather than on it. Of all the swept back bars I've >>>>>>> tried I like the Bosco/Tosco/Losco most... but I've only ridden the >>>>>>> widest >>>>>>> of each variation. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> I'm interested in the new bars too, and might put those on the >>>>>>> Atlantis and move the Moth bars over to a bigger/longer frame. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> On Tuesday, January 27, 2026 at 8:12:44 AM UTC-5 >>>>>>> [email protected] wrote: >>>>>>> >>>>>>>> Thanks for the ideas so far. I realize this is not a bad problem to >>>>>>>> have. I have a set of fenders to throw on the Homer as it's my >>>>>>>> all-rounder >>>>>>>> and I don't want to shy away from it in the rain. The Susie is >>>>>>>> definitely >>>>>>>> my mountain bike, and I dig it so much for what it is. Agree with >>>>>>>> Brian >>>>>>>> that it shouldn't be laden down with racks and such. What I'm probably >>>>>>>> reacting to the most is the cockpit of the Atlantis. The Billies just >>>>>>>> feel >>>>>>>> super chill and cruiser, but I don't really connect with this kind of >>>>>>>> riding. I like to feel connected to the bike and in control. I bet if >>>>>>>> I >>>>>>>> swapped the Billies out for those new slightly swept-back Riv/Nitto >>>>>>>> bars >>>>>>>> coming out, or some Wavie bars, or even something more in the Jones >>>>>>>> Bar >>>>>>>> type of vibe, the bike would feel better to me. Probably the simplest >>>>>>>> thing >>>>>>>> to do is just throw a less chill bar on there to see how she feels, >>>>>>>> though >>>>>>>> there'd then be some overlap with the Susie. I really liked the idea >>>>>>>> of >>>>>>>> symmetry of the full gamut of bar types: drop, Albastache, flat/riser, >>>>>>>> swept back to cover the full spectrum. I see all the Riv guys going >>>>>>>> full >>>>>>>> off-road with Loscos, Chocos, Toscos, Billies... Those bars don't seem >>>>>>>> to >>>>>>>> be lacking in capability for many of you. I wonder what I'm missing? >>>>>>>> Can >>>>>>>> anyone comment on it feeling like I'm on top of the Atlantis more than >>>>>>>> in >>>>>>>> the bike with some of my other steeds? >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> On Monday, January 26, 2026 at 5:40:46 PM UTC+1 [email protected] >>>>>>>> wrote: >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> If this were my stable, here's what I would do: >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> Keep the fast bike as-is. Keep the Susie light and nimble as a >>>>>>>>> fun, laid-back trail bike (after all, the Susie is the one Riv that >>>>>>>>> Grant >>>>>>>>> and Co. seemed to put the most weight restrictions on). Give the >>>>>>>>> Homer >>>>>>>>> fenders and a basket. Keep the fatter tires on the Atlantis and have >>>>>>>>> it be >>>>>>>>> more of an all-rounder / all-terrain / gravel / tourer. >>>>>>>>> This way, each bike has it's own niche, but you can still easily >>>>>>>>> pull double-duty with any of the Rivs with just some slight easy >>>>>>>>> modifications on the fly. >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> Brian >>>>>>>>> Lexington KY >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> -- >>>>>>> >>>>>> 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 [email protected]. >>>>>>> >>>>>> To view this discussion visit >>>>>>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/3d24c50a-d898-41eb-bd6e-d20041e68b77n%40googlegroups.com >>>>>>> >>>>>>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/3d24c50a-d898-41eb-bd6e-d20041e68b77n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >>>>>>> . >>>>>>> >>>>>> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. 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