Recalling a recent comment on the errr, umm lack of symmetry of certain handlebars, I have a set of GB randonneur bars that have a distinct inward cant to the drops. Other than that quirk, I like them and would like to press them back into service. What is the collective experience in tuning (all right, bending) bars?
Steve Snowling in Bicycle Mechanics in Workshop and Competition (2nd ed. Snowing and Evans, 1990, Leisure Press, Champaign, IL) has a subsection titled Bar Butchery states: "When a rider has crashed and bent his bars, it is possible to pull them back into shape; but it should be done only once or twice, because the very act of reshaping them causes the metal to harden."
It all sounds fraught with just the sort of risk that a reasonable person would avoid. I however, own both a Teledyne Titan and a Speedwell, have ridden many miles on a Viscount death fork and have a few AVA bars/stems. While I don't really honk from the drops, I certainly wouldn't want the reshaped handlebars to fail under some future owner who decided to put the bars on a loaded touring bike and hit the Alps. I'm thinking of using a piece of oak, perhaps filling the bar with sand to reduce the chance for crimping, and levering it outward from the sides of the ramp. Suggestions and admonitions welcomed.
Charlie Young
Honey Brook, PA