Meyer Lenore wrote:
>
> I'd like to know when the era of cork barends came to a close. (1930's,
> 1940's?)Were they manufactured by a supplier or were they home brewed by the
> owners of bikes?
I'd say mid-1950s would be the end of the did-it-myself cork barplugs.
I saw Fausto Coppi's World Championship winning bike two different times (won the Lugano, Switzerland Worlds Pro race in 1953) and they were the did-it-myself style plugs. The bike had its original handlebar tape on the bars. Corks pushed into the ends of the bar with three strips of cloth handlebar tape across the flat ends of the corks. Handlebar tape then wrapped over the three strips where they overlapped the bar. Very clean looking.
Chuck Schmidt
South Pasadena, Southern California