[CR]taking hands off the bars, hbar questions

Hi all!

Wes Oishi's comment about his trainee being scared to use a bike with down-tube shifters really cracks me up. And actually, as a rider with a dozen bikes with dt shifters, I routinely hear this "concern" semi-regularly about taking the hands off the bars to shift. But hello!? Don't we take our hands off the bars to reach for a water bottle or into a jersey pocket? Seems obvious to me, but I figure it's just another example of how cyclists are, by and large, absolutely brain-washed by the marketing and hype associated with racing and with selling bikes and bike stuff.

Totally different topic: Is it just my imagination or are 44 wide Cinelli bars without grooves (and thus 26.4) absolutely impossible to find? I need a few pair, but never see them anywhere. Suggestions?

Another question, hopefully not heretical on this list: once upon a time, in the beginning of the "aero age," a few companies made bars that were drilled for internal cable routing. (Yes, I know one or two companies do that today in carbon, but that's not what I want.) I have been restoring my custom Ron Stout from 1985. It had the first Campy aero levers ever made. (I made them by installing super record levers into the upper parts from some Galli aero levers. Those Galli parts necessitated running the cable straight into the bars; they didn't have a notch to let it out the side, or a carve-outable area there like the Modolo Kronos levers did.) Anyway, "back in the day," since I was 18-20 years old when I raced that bike, I thought nothing of drilling holes in my Cinelli bars for cable routing. Well, today, I'd rather buy something made for that purpose. 44 width. Suggestions?

Finally, on the bike tech debate, Race Across America times have not improved, and have actually generally slowed down, compared to 1985-1990. They got faster back then with the advent of the aero position, but nothing else, bike-wise, has mattered in this ultimate 3000 mile race of truth in terms of finishing times. Of course, one could argue vehemently that it's "not about the bike" in that event. I thought differently back when I did that race, but I was young and impressionable. (If you want to read about my custom RAAM bike, click http://www.adventurecorps.com/when/raam/ultrastout.html. If you want to read about the bikes used in the early RAAMs, click http://www.adventurecorps.com/when/raam/raambikes.html. And if you want to read my now somewhat humorous prognostications about future RAAM bikes (in 1990), click http://www.adventurecorps.com/when/raam/ultrabike.html.

Thanks, gang. I'm really enjoying being a part of the CR list. And stay tuned for details on The Technical Trials!

Chris Kostman
LA, CA