bruce thomson wrote:
> Has anyone either thought of or experimented with the concept of
> widening t he classic handlebars? I don't mean by a stretching
> process, but I mean a using a tubing cutter and center cut and then
> adding a central extension of either solid or heavy alloy tubing that
> would be step cut to fit inside the cut off bars and have a central
> section that would match the original 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 curves of some of the old bars.
This sounds exceedingly dangerous. I have had handlebars come apart before, while riding. It's not good. Better to live with the narrow originals, and check them for cracks and fatigue!
If you really want bars of a certain width and bend, I'd recommend talking to a metal fabricator with a good tubing bender about making some custom steel or aluminum bars.
Morgan "I like my teeth where they are." Fletcher Oakland, CA