I'll pass over all of the British makers , whose bicycles from the 1950's I've greatly admired , with their aluminium / aluminum light-alloy dropped handlebars .
But this for Schwinn Paramounts , 1962 :
http://www.geocities.com/
From :
http://www.geocities.com/
As you can see from the listings on that page , there is no data from 1960 .
For 1961 , and on up , the aluminum handlebar is definitely listed as standard equipment . And , the handlebars were made by Titan .
Also , from my personal cheap photocopy of a 1954 Schwinn dealer catalog :
Super Sports - Yes with an extra "s" at the end . This was NOT at all the same as the later hand-made Super Sport . This bicycle was , to quote the 1954 catalog , "electro-forged construction" . It had a 3-Speed Sturmey Archer AW rear hub . Again , quoting the catalog , "HANDLEBAR STEM - Dural special tubular construction." & "HANDLEBAR - Dural drop type Maes style bend."
Paramount - The Paramount models listed were , P-11 Tourist ( upright ) , P-12 Racer ( just because it had fixed gear didn't mean it was a track bike - it was a road racer too ! ) , & P-61 Ladies' . All Paramounts were listed as "CUSTOM MADE" & "Frame - Made to customer's specifications from either Accles & Pollack or Reynolds 531 seamless drawn double butted tubing."
Not bad for 1954 , huh ?
Quoting the catalog , for 1954 Paramounts , "HANDLEBAR STEM - Schwinn double adjustable, Schwinn Paramount, or Tubular, to customer's specifications." "HANDLEBAR - Special Continental, Goullet or Maes type bends to customer's order."
SO !!
In 1954 , Schwinn didn't just put the aluminum alloy "drop type" handlebar onto their Paramounts , they even put them onto one model of bicycle whose frame was made out of seamed tubing which had been "electro-forged" . Some folks might call it "butt-welded gas-pipe" . But it had an aluminum alloy dropped handlebar !
Raoul Delmare
Marysville Kansas
> So the questions that follow:
>
> How closely did the other handle bar manufacturers follow suit?
>
> Is it safe to say then that any bike prior to 1963 must have had a steel
> bar?
>
> I have a 1965 Viking with alloy GB bars and stem, and a 1964 Legnano Gran
> Premio with Legnano branded Ambrosio Champion alloy bars and stem, so I'm
> guessing everybody jumped into making alloy bars right quick.
>
> Confirm or deny?
>
> David Bilenkey
> Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org
> > [mailto:classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org]On Behalf Of Angel M
> > Garcia
> > Sent: September 20, 2003 10:30 AM
> > To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
> > Subject: [CR]Cinelli Timeline? Now Aluminum Cinelli Bar
> >
> >
> > http://www.cinelli.it says 1963:
> >
> > 1963. Aluminium racing handlebar. Curve-shaped and use of a light
> > alloy. The
> > modern racing handlebar was invented by Cino Cinelli
> >
> > Angel Garcia
> > Long Valley, NJ
> >
> >
> > > Can anyone confirm or deny?
> > >
> > > 1964 -- Cinelli aluminum bar introduced.
> > >
> > > 1968 -- Cinelli 1A stem introduced.
> > >
> > > 1975 -- Cinelli 1A bar clamp bolt with nut replace with clamp bolt
with
> > > Allen nut.
> > >
> > > Chuck Schmidt
> > > South Pasadena, CA