Suitable touring bars for a vintage bicycle project.

[LiveFree]

Hello good cycling folk..

Another question from me..So, I am in desperate need of some touring dropped bars for a project I am working on- it is proving very difficult to find any at the moment. I need some bars for a vintage bicycle build- the clamp size needs to be 25.4. The bicycle will be used for day tours- I should add that I do live with a health disorder that causes me quite a bit of pain (especially in my back/neck) so comfort is key. The thing that seems to be causing the difficulties at the moment, is that I am in need of some bars that are 44-45cm from hood to hood (since that is where I will spend most of my time.) My shoulders are 17 1/2 inch across and a helpful bike-fit chap online suggested it would be very wise to match this to the bar width- presumably the area of the bar that I will mostly be using. The problem is, AFAICT all the Nitto bars that might fit the job are the 'rando' style- which means that the hood-to-hood width, even if the bars are theoretically the correct width, is too narrow. The 'Noodle' bars look awesome..but I can't find any with the 25.4 clamp sizing. Unfortunately, I can't change the stem..as it is an adjustable which I need to use to sort out my position in the cockpit.

Any ideas? Anything that might be suitable seems to be out of stock..as is the case with so many things at the moment it seems So live links would be handy!

Thanks in advance

[rotavator]

I have a Nitto Noodle bar with a 26 mm clamp. It has not had much use. The hoods would be about 395 mm apart. The ends of the drops are 408 mm apart centre to centre. Send me a pm if interested.

[LiveFree]

Thanks for your reply. Unfortunately though, as per my post- I need a clamp diameter of 25.4mm and a useable width of 44-45cm, so as nice as the Noodle bars are- they are no good for my needs I'm sure you won't have any trouble selling them though

[Jamesh]

Someone might have a spare one.

If you said where you are someone might have one in their parts bin??

I can look after 9.45!!!

Cheers James

[LiveFree]

That would be so AWESOME James! I am in Gloucestershire, not too far from Cheltenham.

Do let me know if you find anything in your parts bin

Many thanks.

[nsew]

Noodle’s are the most comfortable, everything is right about them. A 25.4 quill stem is easily filed out to accept 26.0

https://www.hubjub.co.uk/nitto-mod177-noodle-134-p.asp

If you must have 25.4 then the Nitto RM013 is equally comfortable with some flare. They are measured from the bar end so the available 48cm here will be about 44 across the hoods.

https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/HBNIRM011 ... -dirt-drop

[LiveFree]

Thanks nsew for your reply. I did look at the rm-013 bars- they looked ideal. BUT, someone measured the 46mm ones for me (they had some in stock) from hood-to-hood and they came out at 40mm: so I figured the 48mm would be a few cm's short unfortunately.

I will think about filing the stem though- the problem there is, I had planned on selling the stem once I've sussed out the correct setup. Since I am rather poor (!) I would prefer not to blow the whole value of the stem

[Jamesh]

I I have a pair of sr custom road champion handlebars 40cm 25.4mm

But they are heavily scratched at the stem attachment point and the brake lever attachment point.

Happy to post if required.

Cheers James

[LiveFree]

Good morning James, that's really very kind of you to offer- thank you. The problem is, unfortunately those bars are just not wide enough for me. The bars that were on there were 42cm SR's- and they were too narrow, so alas a 40cm bar would not help the situation
It seems from the posts and my (extensive!) research..that there is not really a solution to this problem. Which means I might have to swap over to 'Option B'..which is just to swap the cockpit over to a riser bar setup: this had already crossed my mind. Since the shifters on the bike are stem-mounted, this shouldn't be too much of a hassle hopefully.

I have pondered over nsew's idea of filing out the stem and using the Noodles- but whilst I can see this working with a traditional quill stem, it seems a bit of a dodgy idea with this Humpert Ergotech adjustable stem..unless I'm totally wrong and this might still work? I would prefer the bike to remain safe (!)..especially as I have experienced quite severe shimmy with it prior to all the various changes I have made.

[Jamesh]

No problem I don't like narrow bars either.

Do you have a bike library near you? They might have a suitable pair?

Hope you find the right bars!

Cheers James

[LiveFree]

Thanks James- your help and kind offer are both much appreciated

Alas no bike library anywhere near to me..as far as I am aware..but I shall persevere and doubtless find a solution..eventually!!

HAPPY CYCLING

[LuckyLuke]

Hi, I have mostly 25.4mm clamp size handlebars. For drops I have bars by Nitto and Grand Bois in 25.4mm. Velo Orange make wider drops I think, at least 44cm. Worth having a look on their website.
If you’re not averse to flat bars Planet X have a fair few Nitto flat bars with 25.4mm clamps; riser bars, moustache bars etc. Even Butterfly bars, IIRC.
Also, IIRC they have some Nitto gravel-style drops which might have enough flare for you.
Humphert do a wide range of flat bars in 25.4mm size too. See SJS or Bikester.
SJS Cycles allow one to search for handlebars by clamp diameter, and they have a few 25.4mm in stock. Hubjub and Velo Vitality have some 25.4mm too. Mostly Nitto I think.
Compass Cycles in the US sell 25.4mm drops, but I don’t know if in the width you want.
Good luck!
Cheers,
Luke

[LiveFree]

Many thanks Luke for those suggestions- 'tis much appreciated

I had already looked at all the options you kindly suggested..in the end, I settled on a compromise of the Nitto dirt-drops..they are slightly narrower at the hoods than I might have hoped for; but it seemed it was that or filing out a stem which, while a good option, I was a little uncomfortable with- mainly due to my own inexperience with such things.

So, we shall have to see how the dirt-drops pan out. Thank you though to everyone who took the time to reply to me.

HAPPY CYCLING ALL

[rogerzilla]

I was going to suggest Nitto Randonneurs. They don't suit every bike in terms of looks.