This reminds me of the remedy used on Lou Maltese's track bike many years a go...(I have never seen it, but the bike currently belongs to a List Memb er.) If I remember the story correctly, Lou was an electrician and injured his shoulder falling from a ladder. The track bike that he raced on had a bar and stem combo that allowed for a shorter reach on one side....I want to s ay that it was some sort of modified adjustable/Major Taylor type stem? Any one have any recollection of this bike/story? Mr. Albert?
Matthew Bowne Brooklyn, New York
----------------------------------------
> From: ternst1@cox.net
> To: rapidfire10ring@hotmail.com; Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
> Subject: Re: [CR]Widening the classic handlebars
> Date: Wed, 17 Sep 2008 13:53:21 -0700
>
> My experience was different and I may have been lucky with no problem
s
> at all.
> A lady touring sport rider already a customer came into the shop with her
> arm in a sling.
> She got her arm caught in a car door closing and tore her arm up most
> nastily.
> Her arm was healed and with therapy was starting to come around but she w
as
> about 3" short on reach with her bad arm.
> Much like the old fabled longshoreman with their bale hooks and one short
er
> arm of occupational injury.
> So, after thinking a little I decided to go to my favorite machine shop
and
> have piece made that was standard length on one side and about 2" closer
on
> the other.
> This piece fit in the stem and gave me a double length insert that had ab
out
> 2-1/2" of peg sticking out on each side.
> I then cut a bar in half and had the inside smoothed out to match the peg
s
> with a nice snug not quite tight press fit.
> I glued it in place after testing it and the lady picked up her bike and
> started her comeback.
> It took about a year for the arm to feel strong and flexy again.
> We removed the custom therapy fitment and the lady is still riding today
10
> years later, fit and happy!
> Take your chances, use the best and strongest materials and the rest is
up
> to you.
> The new tough alloy is so strong, I would be hard pressed to not trust
the
> job.
> It worked for my customer.
> Even though you may be bigger and stronger, get a shear and stress esti
mate
> on the diameter and I'll bet you get a rupture before it could be made to
> fail with lunging testing as in hard climbing for instance.
> How many times have we seen pics of the Euros riding bikes with bars and
> stems drilled through and a 5-6mm screw and nut holding the damn thing in
> place?
> Ted Ernst
> Palos Verdes Estates
> CA USA
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "bruce thomson"
> To:
> Sent: Monday, September 15, 2008 11:34 AM
> Subject: [CR]Widening the classic handlebars
>
>
>> Has anyone either thought of or experimented with the concept of widenin
g
>> t
>> he classic handlebars? I don't mean by a stretching process, but I mea
n
>> a using a tubing cutter and center cut and then adding a central extensi
on
>> of either solid or heavy alloy tubing that would be step cut to fit insi
de
>> the cut off bars and have a central section that would match the origina
l
>> c
>> lamping section.
>> I am considering experimentation with a addition of Permanent Lock-Tite
>> and/or knurling the sections together. I have too often felt scrunch
>> ed up on those old 39cm bars and miss some of the classic randonner curv
es
>> of some of the old bars.
>>
>> Bruce Thomson Spokane WA 99204
>> (509) 747 4314
>> Masi3v4me@yahoo.com rapidfire10ring@hotmail.com
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>
> _______________________________________________
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