Handlebars If You Dare

.875x.049 Chromoly







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Let me see yours!






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Very nice! In the late '70s and early '80s in Davis, CA, we made quite a few handlebars for our Woodsy (aka Mountain) Bikes. They included the gooseneck, many having fixed angles, but some were adjustable. At the time, most staight-ish bars were made for either kids or ‘adult’ bikes and didn’t have appropriate shape (picture sitting up straight with your hands back) and were either very heavy or would bend easily. I’ll need to really dig to try to find pictures (they are actual prints, in a box, somewhere).

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A non-related question… Why does your basket need to turn? It looks like a fair amount of work went into that, and I’m curious what the reason is.

I don’t think it’s basket that’s turning. It’s the fork.

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Oh, okay… So, the bars are back from the fork some distance, putting the weight of the basket directly over the fork. That makes more sense - I guess that the basket is used to carry some heavy stuff!

The basket doesn’t turn but the front end has been extended by moving the fork forward and adding a remote steering link. The basket does not move and as you mentioned the weight is directly on top of the fork


I would love to see some of those prints of handlebar action in the 70’s and 80’s!!

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Thanks! Those photos make everything clear. Very nice.

As I mentioned, most of my photos are pre-digital, and are still paper prints stashed in boxes. I was very active in getting Woodsie Bikes (to become known as Mountain Bikes) built and raced. I worked with John Finley Scott in Davis CA and rode with some people that you might have heard about (Tom Ritchey, Gary Fisher, …). Check out the story of JFS on the Marin Museum site: https://mmbhof.org/mtn-bike-hall-of-fame/history/john-finley-scott/