I have some vintage handlebars in my garage. I got a $32 55-lbs 'Ultraship' gram scale from Amazon, and I've been enjoying weighing everything in sight. I put a piece of masking tape on the end of each bar, with the weight, in grams. Here are my results :
Raleigh mid-70's 38cm 342 gm as seen on record, gran prix, Raleigh mid-70's 38cm 352 gm super course, competition, Raleigh mid-70's 38cm 360 gm and international models. Raleigh mid-70's 38cm 360 gm GB plain raddoneur 38cm 310 gm as seen on raleigh gran sport GB plain maes 38cm 314 gm GB map of britain 38cm 334 gm as seen on raleigh pro GB map of britain 38cm 310 gm GB ventous deepdrop 40cm 410 gm as seen on carlton flyer Cinelli 64-42 ergo star 42cm 332 gm 1990's Cinelli 65 2xknight logo 42cm 327 gm SR World Custom bird 39cm 310 gm SR Road Champ no sleeve 40cm 274 gm 1980's SR/Raleigh Wreath logo 40cm 296 gm 1980's ITM ? grey ergo sleeved 40cm 312 gm 1990's
Some observations :
Most of today's aluminum handlebars are stupid-light at 210 or 215 grams, i.e. ITM millenium or Deda 215 bars. The reason a lot of us value vintage bikes is because we don't easily fall for 'marketing gimmicks', i.e. "Buy these handlebars, they are stupid-light, and replace them after every crash or ever 2 years, if you survive that long !!"
Most of these vintage bars are from rider bikes that are 30-40 years old. I plan to replace them when they start wearing in ... *GRIN* ... *SNICKER* ...
- Don Gillies
San Diego, CA, USA