Re: [CR]Stem Options for '60's English Tourer (longish)

(Example: Framebuilders:Bernard Carré)

In-Reply-To: <3.0.5.32.20010310133535.0174c290@j.imap.itd.umich.edu>
References: <3AAA5910.D28BCD96@fridayscomputer.com>
Date: Sat, 10 Mar 2001 17:31:06 -0500
To: Joseph Bender-Zanoni <jfbender@umich.edu>, Steve Freides <steve@fridayscomputer.com>, Classic Lightweights <Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
From: "Sheldon Brown" <CaptBike@sheldonbrown.com>
Subject: Re: [CR]Stem Options for '60's English Tourer (longish)


I wrote:
> >That would be the most appropriate thing, "Forged Hiduminium" with
> >matching GB bars. Some racy bikes of this period used Titan bars &
> >stems with their proprietary 27 mm diameter, but I don't recall ever
> >seeing these on a tourer.

Joseph Bender-Zanoni responded:
>My '64 Paramount Touring bike came with a Titan stem and upright steel bars
>with a 27.0 center section. The bars are light and well made, not the Wald
>type. Along with the stainless steel fenders the bar may be some of the
>last vestiges of Schwinn making (or having made) quality lightweight parts
>in the US. The stem was too short and I found a longer Titan I have yet to
>install.

Most certainly _not_ "Wald" type! Titan was a super high-end product, and, if I'm not mistaken, was the top-of-the-heap for bars & stems before Cinelli came along. My '61 Paramount and also a '50s La Perle I used to own both came with Titan sleeved aluminum drop bars and steel stems. They are very light. (I don't know that Titan ever made aluminum stems, and aluminum handlebars were a pretty exotic item in the '50s.)

This was not a Schwinn product...I think they were Belgian, but I'm far from certain of that.

Sheldon "'50s High Tech" Brown Newtonville, Massachusetts +------------------------------------------+ | Light, cheap, durable. Choose any two. | | -- Keith Bontrager | +------------------------------------------+

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