Date: Tue, 16 May 2006 11:13:49 -0500 From: John Thompson <JohnThompson@new.rr.com> To: CR List <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org> Subject: Re: [CR] Cinelli 'City' handlebar(s)
Mark Bulgier wrote:
> John Thompson wrote [snipped]:
>> I used to have an old "Velital" Italian city bike with a narrow,
>> brazed steel flat bar/stem. It was quite narrow -- probably 35cm
>> at most, with no back sweep. The stem had no forward reach, but
>> was brazed to a somewhat semi-circular piece that swept
>> forward. Very short, straight pieces extended out from there
>> for the hand rests and brake levers. The brake levers were brazed
>> onto the bars as well.
>
> This must be the very bar or one very much like it:
> http://bulgier.net/
> Bars1955.jpg
> Or http://tinyurl.com/
>
> These are listed in The Data Book (p.186) as 1955, but I saw them in
> Firenze on a bike that must have been ten years younger than that. No
> doubt the design hung around for a while. A classic beauty IMO.
Yup; that's it! I never knew who made them. Wish I still had them, too.
--
-John Thompson (john@os2.dhs.org) Appleton WI USA
I think those bars must have been pretty common, because I have them on an
open-C equipped Bartali from the 1950s, and also have a set of Torpado Sport
bars like it. The lever blades have the appropriate marque logo raised from the
inside length on both sets, so I suspect the bar/stem piece is generic, and
that only the blades and possibly the washer for under the quill bolt were
ordered special for each paying company. Pictures of a much cleaner set than the
rusty Torpado Sports I have, belong to beloved listmember Joel Dressner. Note
that they appear to have a different manufacturer name forged into the front
of the stem (albeit, they are clearly from into the 1960s), and I posted a few
pics which can be viewed here:
http://www.wooljersey.com/
This seems to ba straying slightly off topic of vintage lightweights, so I'll happily reserve futher correspondence on the subject, for off-list emails.
Ciao,
Mark Agree
Southfield MI USA