"I've previously owned the Nittos and currently have the Nashbars and I may actually perfer the Nashbars."

CBBaron How are they better? Why do you prefer them?

1) depends on an individual basis I guess. my dad's got some on his 1980's Mercian, which has really wide bars (44s I guess). He's a Clydesdale, so he added them for posture purposes. he's got plenty of room to mount an average sized light toward the stem clamp. as long as you don't have too much stuff in the cockpit, you'll probably be ok.

2) These levers work by pushing on the cable housing. You need to make 1 cut in the housing for each brake, then drop the lever in the cut (add some little metal fittings if you've got them, though they'll work adequately without). The cable threads back through the whole thing like before, except now you've got an extra brake lever.

Brian: I think I understand the concept. But I wrote a message to Paul Components (makers of pretty expensive cross levers) and Paul himself responded. He told me that their levers work only with aero brakes. You think this is the case with all of these? Kind of a drag, because I was starting to think that this was my solution.

Interesting. We did that as kids. I use North Roads upright on both my T520 and T830.

The Nashbars are wider, extend further forward and have a longer straight section of bar in the "drop" position. The Nittos have nicer curve and a little wider flat section near the stem.
The main reason I think I pefer the Nashbars is the longer drop section. I have large hands and I didn't have much room on the Nittos. However I did not have both handlebars on the same bike or even at the same time. The bike with the Nittos was stolen from my garage and I bought the Nashbars as replacement on a budget.
I spend most of my time on the flat sections at the ends of the bar or on the curve just behind the brake levers. I find it quick and easy to get the the brakes from either position with the curve being the best position to use the brakes. The curve on the moustache bars is a a similar reach but a little wider than the hoods on a drop bar but it is much easier to use the brakes from that position. In addition it is much easier to get from the "drops" to the brakes on a moustache than it is to get from the top to the hoods on a drop bar. Also the hand positions on the moustache are all wider than the tops of a drop so it gives you better control.
If you are spending all of your time on the tops then you probably need to raise your handlebars. Your current stem probably doesn't have much adjustment so you might want to look at a new stem. I found some Kalloy in the QBP catalog (you can order them from you favorite LBS) that are inexpensive and have a position angle to allow you to raise your bars up. You may want to do this no matter which bar you go with.
I just know I am never going back to a flat/riser bar. Even my MTB is getting an H-bar or a Mary.
Craig

Yes this is true.
Cross levers (there are much less expensive ones than Paul) work in-line with aero brake levers. On aero levers the brake cable runs along the handlebar. Cross levers require you to cut the cable housing and then run the cable through the cross lever. The lever works by lengthening the cable housing instead of pulling the cable. It is a simple and effective mechanism. However old style levers run the cable away from the handlebars so you can't run them through the cross lever.
Craig

I used the Nashbar moustach bars but I flipped them over to
use the rise instead of the drops. Kinda like North Roads but
not as steep on the rise.

so what kind of brake levers are you using? and where?

North Roads on a Trek 520. Levers are Avid SD-7 mtb
https://i2.tinypic.com/sowtc7.jpg
https://i2.tinypic.com/sowu3a.jpg

Not to be a smart pants but I just bought some NOS MTB levers Off e-bay to use.
I use whatever fits and works most all of the time.

stop worrying about stupid handlebars and RIDE your bike. my track bike is has a 53-16 gear ratio, track bars and really really tight geometry.and i ride 45 minutes to and from my first job,then another hour ride to my second job after that.everyday.if you ride it, it will become great.do it

Well, that was a fairly safe entry to the site here, dredge up a post from 2 years and 5 months ago and slam one for the gipper

Welcome to the site, now post a pic of your bike please.

In the mean time I'll go home tonight and fret about which bars to put on the converted MTB commuter/tourer/urban-basher-bike.

Wrong wrong wrong.

"Uncomfortable" will not mysteriously transmogrify into "great" just by spending time riding it. If your initial setup is horrible, all you're going to do is damage yourself trying to adapt to it. Handlebars are one of the 5 contact points you should concentrate on the most when settling in on bike configuration.

I tried the mustache bar on one of my bikes, after a year long recommendation from my wrench. I am in love with them. I have a bad back and riding with the mustache bar has saved my back. I now put them on all of my bikes.

How far is the commute? I still tend to like road bars for longer distance but for 5 miles i put something similar to these on my utilty/commuter/japanese 8 spd https://www.benscycle.net/index.php?m...9&currency=USD

You do need new brake levers, because of the clearance, but you can get them pretty cheap

For what it's worth, this post is more than two years old, and I've since abandoned the mustache bars. What people say about drop bars, it turns out, is true: they are completely versatile and offer myriad hand positions. The mustache bars extended the cockpit of the bike too far, although they were not bad for climbing hills. They do look neat, though, and I've got a pair of the old Nashbar mustaches just clanging around my basement if anybody wants them....

No they wouldn't, the handlebar diameter is different.

Another option is to go with a randonneaur bar like this one from Velo Orange. Has the multiple hand placement option of a drop bar with a wider design and a more upright hand position.

bikinpolitico, I really like the look of that raddoneaur bar from velo orange!


here's another option to consider...

Track bullhorns work just fine with road levers on my tourer/commuter. These levers are from Dia-compe, they are specifically designed to work with v-brakes.

PM sent

have you thought of trekking bars? they give you the same advantages as a moustache bar and more...

What about Trekking or Butterfly bars?

Pretty much my exact experience with them, as well. I was way too stretched out, even with an 80mm stem. And with the drop, I had to raise the stem much higher than I normally would to be comfortable. I could have flipped them over, but that caused the levers I was using to stick up at a weird angle. Finally gave up on them (actually so did my brother, so we have two M-bars not being used)

With drop bars, you should get that by riding on the hoods. If you don't like braking from the hoods, mustache bars might give a feel closer to flat bars/braking from the drops.

If the problem is that you can't reach the hoods comfortably, you may need a shorter/taller stem. I don't think mustache bars would make a difference, as your reach to the brakes will be about the same as with drop bars.

The problem with mustache bars is that most people don't change to a taller and shorter length stem. You have to get them up higher for them to work right unless you have unusually long arms and torso. My mustache bar bike is fine for shorter rides under 30 miles. I can grip the handle section, the curves, or on top of the bar by the brake hoods. These bars are great for blasting around in the city. They give me a heads up position and I have quick access to powerful braking but I still get a near handshake position on the curve for wrist/hand comfort. The only reason I like drops better is for the headwind position on the drops and I like riding on the hoods. Its nice to own more than one bike.