Sheldon:
If manufactured properly the bulge, and the area around the bulge, could be made to be the thickest and strongest part of the handlebar. Methods similar to the ones used to make butted tubing, for example, could be used to form the bulge.
Since those methods are expensive, a press-fit or shrink-fit sleeve, is a reasonable alternative. The "Maes" bars on the Gran Sport have a purely cosmetic sleeve that is open on the bottom. I'll take pictures once I clean it up. I don't think it adds strength, just looks.
Amir Avitzur, Ramat-Gan, Israel
BTW: My commuter bike is an old Peugeot Mixte with my all-time favorite brakes - Mafac Sqealers.
> Amir Avitzur wrote:
> >If anybody's interested, the Raleigh Gran Sport (from the trash) has
> >an interesting handlebar. It is made from straight tubing with no
> >bulge in the middle.
> >Instead, it has a loose fitting red-anodized aluminum shim where the
> >bulge aught to be.
> >
> >The shim is original, it has the following engraving:
> >
> >TYPE GB
> >Maes England
> >
> >Those Brits would do anything to shave a dime, eh.
>
> That wasn't a cheapout, that's the way good handlebars are made. If
> you bulge out the bar at the middle, you wind up reducing the wall
> thickness just at the highest stress area.
>
> Those were among the finest handlebars made back in the day.
>
> That was the model I most lusted after (but couldn't afford) as a
teenager.
>
> Sheldon "Forged Hiduminium" Brown
> Newtonville, Massachuetts
> +-------------------------------------------+
> | I millihelen = the amount of |
> | beauty required to launch one ship. |
> | --Peter Shickele |
> +-------------------------------------------+
> --
> Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts
> Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041
> http://harriscyclery.com
> Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
> http://captainbike.com
> Useful articles about bicycles and cycling
> http://sheldonbrown.com