For Steve, KP, and everybody else who likes Townies...

[JB]

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=286515

[BC]

Rad.

[Steve Mattson]

Here's my latest:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/11590584@N02/3351081966/

[Dusky]

Dumb q: What exactly categorizes a bike as being a townie? :O Is that another word for city bike?

[JB]

Not a dumb question at all. 

It is another word for city bike, kinda, but Townies tend toward more classic styling (fenders, upright position, Brooks saddles, North Road / Mustache handlebars, leather / cork grips, racks, bags, etc., etc.).

[kbpfister]

Hey Steve,

Do you know what the diff. is between the Alu. Northroad bar offered many places like Ben's cycle and the alu. albatross bar offered by Riv.? I'm thinking about getting one for that Univega Mixte I'm working on

nice bike by the way

[Steve Mattson]

I'm pretty sure the albatross bar is wider, more like the moustache bar, their Dove bar is the North Road bar.  Maybe a wee bit too wide, that albatross.
I also like the Nitto B603 Promenade bar.  More french, like the VeloOrange Montmarte:
http://www.velo-orange.com/volebaha.html
but I think better looking cuz it sweeps down a bit before rising: 
http://www.outsideoutfitters.com/p-5252-b603-promenade-bar.aspx
Your hands end up more parallel with each other than on the Northroad bar and there's lots of room up front for a porteur rack...

Oh my, I was right and then some...
(From the Albatross description on the Rivendell site):

Here's a good question: What's the diff btw this Albatross bar and the Dove bar, at lesss than half the price?
Answer: Alba is made of stronger aluminum (2014-T6, for those of you with metallugical backgrounds), polished better, about 2cm wider, and it fits bar-end shifters. The Dove bar is made for the Japanese market, for puttttting around on sidewalks and narrow streets, and for slight-framed riders. It's an excellent bar for many Americans, especially women and children.
The Alba bar opens you up more, fits the bar-end shifters, and both stronger and more beautifully finished.

If you want to use bar end shifters with this bar and your bike is 58cm or bigger then you'll probably need extra long shifter cables and housing.

[kbpfister]

Are they really identical to the dove or just similar? Ben's cycle advertises their Northroad bar as accepting bar end shifters:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=200313965652

[Steve Mattson]

My knowledge banks are dry, sorry.  I do want research and a complete list of any Nitto Northroad-like bars that take bar end shifters/brake levers.
This is my favorite configuration.
Period.

[kbpfister]

I'm probably going to go ahead and order one, so you'll be seeing it eventually, I was gonna try to find some decent mountain bike levers at the bikerowave, but I already have some inline brake levers I was planning on using but they are for road bars, I was thinking about using foil tape as a shim, I'll have to measure the stem I have to make sure it will work, I will def. need your help with the harlequin wrap if I decide to do it.

I of course started this project right before a huge deadline at work, so I haven't been able to work on the bike much.

[faultymonk]

Do you know what the diff. is between the Alu. Northroad bar offered many places like Ben's cycle and the alu. albatross bar offered by Riv.? I'm thinking about getting one for that Univega Mixte I'm working on

From http://www.bikeforums.net/archive/index.php/t-266753.html:

"The major difference between albatross bars and north road bars are that north road bars do not sweep back as much as albatross bars do. North road bars sweep back at an angle that is very similar to that of the human hand in a resting position (which is why so many people find them comfortable)."

One thing I haven't really seen mentioned is the issue of brake levers.  The obvious one is the issue of diameters, but the less obvious issue is lever positioning.  Depending on where you want your hands and brake levers, it'll dictate the style of bars.

I've got the 56cm chromoly Albatross and I bike it.  But lets say you want your levers horizontal and up towards the front (like you see on mustache bars), you simply won't be able to get your levers through the bend.  Alternatively, the mustache bar doesn't have enough straight section to allow for grips and a shifter.

[kbpfister]

I have a pair of inline levers that I was going to locate inward from the bend  so when your using the bend you still have access to the brakes. This is in addition to mountain bike levers on the straights.

[imjonta]

Since we're on the topic of handlebars for townies, I have an old Peugeot (80's) that I'm thinking of turning into my townie bike, does anyone know the style of these bars or what company makes them? There like mustache bars but with drops. And yes, I don't know why the mannequin has a tube wrapped around it's neck, lol.


EDIT: I did a little more research and they look similar to Nitto 135 Randonneur Handlebars. Can anyone comfirm?

[Steve Mattson]

They look like some bars Soma makes:
http://www.somafab.com/bars.html
The "walker racer track bar"
"Sparrow bar" is nice too, but kind of limited as to where you can put your hands. 
Speaking of inverse levers and Soma all in the same thread--Soma's urban pursuit levers in polished silver look beautiful:  http://www.somafab.com/pursuitlevers.html
The soma label can be rubbed off and they look very elegant.

[kbpfister]

Jerk store, so I received my nitto northroad bars from Ben's, they are explicitly advertised as accepting bar end shifters, but as you might have guessed there is no way I can fit the bar ends in, rats. I knew it was too good to be true. They better accept a return including shipping.