[RBW] Re: Notes on a new Sam Hillborne, Albastache handlebars, and on being "fast enough"

[Surlyprof]

Jonathan,

Love the choices you made building up your Hillborne.  I’ve always had a soft 
spot for that combination of blue frame with tan bars and seat.  And, I’ve 
always loved when someone can successfully work in a touch of purple like you 
did on the chainstay.

I’m flattered that you “cyber stalked” my Hillborne on flickr.  Of course mine 
was inspired by builds by Bill Lindsay, Deacon Patrick and Manny Acosta (every 
bike should have a touch of Manny inspiration!).  Like you and Chris, I evolved 
to the albastached Riv.  My last drop bar bike was a Bianchi Veloce.  I had 
that and a Soma Groove mtb that I had tried to make Riv-like.  Since we are 
short on bike storage space, part of the deal of buying the Sam was that I’d 
sell the Bianchi or the Soma.  I sold the Bianchi since it could only fit 23 
tires and I was starting feel some neck and back pain after long rides on the 
drops. 

I evolved to the albastache because the albatross bars seemed too huge a leap 
from drops.  I didn’t like the angle of the forward hand position and the 
upright position was too much of a change from drops.  I bought the albastache 
to get a little more aggressive position I didn’t get from the albatross.  I 
immediately loved the ride and feel of the Hillborne with albastache bars.  So 
much so that I eventually sold off the Groove because I never rode it.  It 
lacked the feel of a Riv.  I do miss having a dedicated mtb for gnarlier trails 
and will probably get another eventually to make my Sam the dedicated go 
fast-ish bike.  In the meantime, I’m still amazed at the versatility of the Sam.

John

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[RBW] Re: Notes on a new Sam Hillborne, Albastache handlebars, and on being "fast enough"

[Jonathan K.]

Chris, have you posted pictures of your Roadini anywhere? I don't recall 
seeing any Roadini builds with Albastaches. I would love to see it. (And 
the Pinarello for that matter!)

On Saturday, June 16, 2018 at 10:56:02 AM UTC-5, Chris Birkenmaier wrote:
>
> My story unfolded much like yours. Drop bars are something I don’t intend 
> to return to. I have the Albastache bars on my Roadini and love them!  I 
> also put them on my 1986 Pinarello Montello and transformed that bike   
> Seems to be a perfect marriage of comfort and good riding position 

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[RBW] Re: Notes on a new Sam Hillborne, Albastache handlebars, and on being "fast enough"

[Chris Birkenmaier]

My story unfolded much like yours. Drop bars are something I don’t intend to 
return to. I have the Albastache bars on my Roadini and love them!  I also put 
them on my 1986 Pinarello Montello and transformed that bike   Seems to be a 
perfect marriage of comfort and good riding position 

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[RBW] Re: Notes on a new Sam Hillborne, Albastache handlebars, and on being "fast enough"

[Jonathan K.]

Thanks for the kind words everyone. I always enjoy reading about people's 
different setups and the how/why they went with the bike/bars/whatever that 
they did, so that's why I posted mine.

Austin: I saw the pictures of your blue  Sam in a thread a while back, and 
it was definitely one of the bikes I used for inspiration when I was trying 
to get an idea of how my bike would look with the new bars. There aren't a 
lot of people using them (at least of the people who post lots of pictures 
of their bikes.) I also spent an unhealthy amount of time staring at 
Surlyprof's orange Albastached Sam on Flickr, and of course Deacon 
Patrick's two Albastached rivs, as well as countless others. Albastache 
bars seem to be fairly polarizing. Based on what I've read, people seem to 
love them or hate them. Not a lot of in between.

Ron MC: Your bikes are awesome, and certainly a testament to the 
usefullness of non-drops for nice bikes as well.

John: I don't have toe overlap on the Sam. On the Appaloosa, I do 
occasionally, but not enough to be bothered about. I guess it's because of 
the large tires (Schwalbe Big Ben 700x50c) and fenders. As far as deciding, 
Sam is more of the recreational ride that I use when I have free time and 
want to just take off. Joe is my everyday commuter, and load hauler. They 
are both such amazing bikes.

Tim: I look forward to seeing pictures of the new build. Your comment here, 
and on my instagram picture about your ego allowing you to give up on drops 
really speaks to me. I love going out for long solo rides, but I have been 
fighting discomfort on drops on different road bikes for years. Right now, 
I only have one bike with drops, and I honestly don't see myself riding it 
much now that I have the Sam. I should probably sell it, but it's like 
there is some psychological hold on me saying "you need a drop bar bike." 
We've been conditioned over the years to believe that "real" or "good" 
bikes have drop bars. I'm becoming convinced that while tons of people are 
happy and comfortable with drop bars, I am not one of those people. There 
was a great quote from Grant in the Sam Hillborne catalog from a few years 
ago: "We're not against drops, just the idea that good bikes warrant them 
on principle." Like always, Grant was/is right.

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[RBW] Re: Notes on a new Sam Hillborne, Albastache handlebars, and on being "fast enough"

[Tim Bantham]

Your story is very similar to my story. When I first started riding as an 
adult I was influenced by racing. I emulated what I saw on TV and pretty 
soon began the slippery slope of racing, group rides and always trying to 
beat the guy in the pack or be the person who doesn't get dropped. After 
seeing the light and buying a Rivendell my first bike was a drop bar Sam 
because that was the closest to my previously owned carbon fiber racing 
bike. After riding that the first year I never really felt as comfortable 
as I thought I should so I eventually went to upright bars with the 
Albatross bars. This was a big improvement and I eventually added racks and 
bags to my Sam and started to do some overnight camping trips with it. 
After that I decided that I wanted a full blown touring bike so I bought an 
Appaloosa frame. All the parts from the Sam went to the Joe. 

Once I decided that I'd like to reinvent the Sam I had been enamored with 
some of the drop bar "rando" bikes that I saw on the internet. I added 
metal fenders and I once again had a drop bar Sam. Now I have reached the 
conclusion that drop bars are just not for me anymore and my ego is finally 
allowing myself to let go of them. A friend has loaned me the Albastache 
bars and dirt drop stem so I am now building up the fourth version of my 
Sam with Albastache bars. I have it set up with 40mm Clement MSO's without 
fenders. It has a front rack and Wald basket but I am trying to keep it to 
a minimum since the Joe does most of my heavy lifting. The Appaloosa is 
great but I am really excited about my latest version of the Sam. I too am 
no longer concerned with how fast I go. I just want to ride a good, 
reliable, practical bike. This is the essence of the Sam Hillborne. I'll 
post photos once I get passed the experimental stage with the new bars. 

On Thursday, June 14, 2018 at 5:34:44 PM UTC-4, Jonathan K. wrote:
>
> I just became a Rivendell owner last fall when I bought a new Appaloosa. I 
> was so impressed with that bike, and loved riding it so much, that I wanted 
> to replicate that super comfortable, smooth ride on my long-distance road 
> bike. I wanted to try a more road-ish Riv, and when the pre-sale for the 
> new canti-Sams opened up, I couldn't resist. I had intended Sam to be a 
> straight up replacement for my current drop bar road bike that I really do 
> like, but that I had struggled to get comfortable on. Sam had other ideas, 
> though...
>
>
> I first built it with 44cm Noodles that I had on hand, but even with the 
> Riv-recommended 8cm stem (that I worried would be too short), I felt way 
> too stretched out and uncomfortable. The first few rides I took on this 
> setup were not fun. I thought the bike handled weird - the front end felt 
> sort of squirrely. To be honest, I was pretty disappointed. After a quick 
> mock up with some old Nitto moustache bars I had, I decided to order a set 
> of Albastache bars from Riv. 
>
> Sam Hillborne with Albastache bars is the most comfortable, fun bike I 
> have ever ridden. (Right next to my Appaloosa, of course.) I love the more 
> upright position, the sweep, the angles, the width, everything. The curves 
> are great to sit and grind out the miles, but the ends offer a very 
> comfortable upright position to alternate with as well. I was nervous that 
> my enthusiasm would be squashed once the rides got longer, but I've done 
> enough long rides in the last few weeks to be confident that these are the 
> bars for this bike. I have no desire to go back to drops. These bars 
> changed the bike, and my whole outlook on bikes in general. I realize that 
> I don't have to have drop bars to ride long distances, or to be a "serious" 
> cyclist (whatever that means). This is such a big deal to me, because my 
> biggest struggle since I started riding has been fit/comfort on longer 
> rides. 
>
> This bike was originally intended to be just another road bike. I feel 
> like what I have is so much more. At first I was worried, because I was not 
> as fast on the Sam as my lighter drop bar bike, but who cares? Now, I only 
> want to ride the Hillborne. When I ride this bike, I find myself not caring 
> how fast I'm going, or about anything except enjoying the ride. When I'm on 
> it, I just want to keep going. I can't think of a better compliment for a 
> bike. This bike (and these bars) have completed my transformation to 
> unracer.
>
> I realize after re-reading the above that it might sound like I am saying 
> Sam Hillborne is a slow bike. It is not. The Sam that I built, with heavier 
> touring style wheels, and upright-ish bars is definitely not as fast as my 
> more traditional stripped down drop bar road bike, but it's a heck of a lot 
> more comfortable, useful, and fun. How fast is Sam Hillborne? My answer 
> after putting a few hundred miles on it: Fast enough.
>
>
> 

[RBW] Re: Notes on a new Sam Hillborne, Albastache handlebars, and on being "fast enough"

[Austin B.]

Similar story with my 62cm Sam. Noodles on a 90mm stem left me feeling 
stretched out no matter the bar height.  Then I picked up an 80mm stem and 
an Albastache bar and it was glorious! I have it set up as my offroad trail 
bike with 42mm knobbies.

-Austin
Sykesville, MD

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[RBW] Re: Notes on a new Sam Hillborne, Albastache handlebars, and on being "fast enough"

[Ron Mc]

your bike is a beauty, and just how I would set one up.  Currently, my 
closest bike is my '74 International.  This may change before too long, 
since my thousand-dollar monthly child support commitment just ended for 
good.  


I ride religiously with a 7a Sunday morning group from Alamo Heights to the 
Alamodome.  It's a fun group of friends, all wheels, many old-bike-guys 
there, and 30-40 riders usually ride in to join the group.  
The lead group breaks into a sprint heading into downtown and the final 
stretch to the Alamodome.  My friends last week were commenting on my speed 
and place riding "the fender bike"

 

another group of us always split off for coffee before we head back uptown. 
. 

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[RBW] Re: Notes on a new Sam Hillborne, Albastache handlebars, and on being "fast enough"

[Lester Lammers]

Great write up.


> *I first built it with 44cm Noodles that I had on hand, but even with the 
> Riv-recommended 8cm stem (that I worried would be too short), I felt way 
> too stretched out and uncomfortable.*
>

 I felt the same way about my 55cm Bleriot with a similar set up. My legs 
are longer than my torso and I struggled with the stem and drops. FYI, I 
ordered one of these to be able to use drops on a MIT Atlantis.

https://www.analogcycles.com/2018/02/26/wright-stem-write-up/

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[RBW] Re: Notes on a new Sam Hillborne, Albastache handlebars, and on being "fast enough"

[JohnS]

Nice write up Jonathan and a great looking Sam! Well done. I'm a big fan of 
the original mustache bar, have them on three bikes now, different bikes, 
same cockpit.

JohnS


On Thursday, June 14, 2018 at 5:34:44 PM UTC-4, Jonathan K. wrote:
>
> I just became a Rivendell owner last fall when I bought a new Appaloosa. I 
> was so impressed with that bike, and loved riding it so much, that I wanted 
> to replicate that super comfortable, smooth ride on my long-distance road 
> bike. I wanted to try a more road-ish Riv, and when the pre-sale for the 
> new canti-Sams opened up, I couldn't resist. I had intended Sam to be a 
> straight up replacement for my current drop bar road bike that I really do 
> like, but that I had struggled to get comfortable on. Sam had other ideas, 
> though...
>
>
> I first built it with 44cm Noodles that I had on hand, but even with the 
> Riv-recommended 8cm stem (that I worried would be too short), I felt way 
> too stretched out and uncomfortable. The first few rides I took on this 
> setup were not fun. I thought the bike handled weird - the front end felt 
> sort of squirrely. To be honest, I was pretty disappointed. After a quick 
> mock up with some old Nitto moustache bars I had, I decided to order a set 
> of Albastache bars from Riv. 
>
> Sam Hillborne with Albastache bars is the most comfortable, fun bike I 
> have ever ridden. (Right next to my Appaloosa, of course.) I love the more 
> upright position, the sweep, the angles, the width, everything. The curves 
> are great to sit and grind out the miles, but the ends offer a very 
> comfortable upright position to alternate with as well. I was nervous that 
> my enthusiasm would be squashed once the rides got longer, but I've done 
> enough long rides in the last few weeks to be confident that these are the 
> bars for this bike. I have no desire to go back to drops. These bars 
> changed the bike, and my whole outlook on bikes in general. I realize that 
> I don't have to have drop bars to ride long distances, or to be a "serious" 
> cyclist (whatever that means). This is such a big deal to me, because my 
> biggest struggle since I started riding has been fit/comfort on longer 
> rides. 
>
> This bike was originally intended to be just another road bike. I feel 
> like what I have is so much more. At first I was worried, because I was not 
> as fast on the Sam as my lighter drop bar bike, but who cares? Now, I only 
> want to ride the Hillborne. When I ride this bike, I find myself not caring 
> how fast I'm going, or about anything except enjoying the ride. When I'm on 
> it, I just want to keep going. I can't think of a better compliment for a 
> bike. This bike (and these bars) have completed my transformation to 
> unracer.
>
> I realize after re-reading the above that it might sound like I am saying 
> Sam Hillborne is a slow bike. It is not. The Sam that I built, with heavier 
> touring style wheels, and upright-ish bars is definitely not as fast as my 
> more traditional stripped down drop bar road bike, but it's a heck of a lot 
> more comfortable, useful, and fun. How fast is Sam Hillborne? My answer 
> after putting a few hundred miles on it: Fast enough.
>
>
> 
>
>
> 
>
>
>
> 
>
>
>
>
>
>
>

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