Classic & Vintage - Randonneur Bars

I'm wondering if anyone can recommend a randonneur style bar.

For a while I had a steel rando bar from a 70s Schwinn and it was the most comfortable bar I've used, however I foolishly left it on a bike that I sold. In addition to the flair and shallow drops, this bar was fairly narrow.

I'm looking for something similar for a century bike/country road rider that I'm building up. The nitto randonneur seems to be everywhere as does the noodle, does anyone know if either is comparable to the old schwinn bars?

Any thoughts on these from velo-orange: http://www.velo-orange.com/mogrfoha.html

Thanks!

I have a set of Nitto for my current build. They aren't quite as radical looking as the ones on the Velo orange site but I think they are going to be great. I like the fact that the drops kick out about 2 or 3 degrees. I'm going for a more upright positioning on this bike so thats going to be interesting.

Old Schwinn Super Sports came with a decent set of alloy Rondo bars on them, if you can find one thats is :( Ill keep an eye out ;)

ive been very tempted by those angular bars, if you get them be sure to write up a quick review here. I am between those right now and the noodle.

Did you see the Origin bar in the November 16 Velo Orange Blog? I'm tempted to try them.

While you're there, check out the "stunning" yellow Carlton from December 4th! :D

The Nitto Noodle bars are the most comfortable bars I've ever ridden. There's a chance I still have my stock Super Sport handlebars at home, although I may have given 'em to PastorBob...

i have a set of Belleri, made in France, bars. I haven't mounted them yet but they are very nice looking. I fbelieve they are NOS. Does anyone know of these bars?

Early 1970s Nishiki Competitions and Internationals came with randonneur bars.

This is a Nitto Noodle
http://buzznet-31.vo.llnwd.net/assets/users13/marinerfan/default/art_work_0671--large-msg-116549287672.jpg

This is a randonneur bar from a 1976 Schwinn Voyageur II
http://buzznet-64.vo.llnwd.net/assets/users13/marinerfan/default/1976_Schwinn_Voyageur_2--large-msg-116568657759.jpg

i just bought a set of those velo-orange bars. haven't had a bike to put them on yet, but i really like the feel. the backsweep on the flats is about the same as the rise on a pair of riser bars. they feel really sturdy, with a lot of hand positions.

Check out the ON ONE Midge bars. I really like mine.

Early 1970s Nishiki Competitions and Internationals came with randonneur bars.

Mine has them, they are narrower and with a bit higher upkick in them than other Randonneur bars I have used such as GB and Nitto.

I had forgotten how comfortable they were! :D

They come on most all lower half Schwinns in the 70's, stopping short of the Varsity I think. Continentals have them, at least every one I've ever seen. Theyre still my favorites.
That outward tilted shallow drop feels like it was made for my hands. I pick them up whenever possible. I may get the one's I've been glancing at in the flea market guy's junk box tomorrow.,,,,BD

For me, the bars are tilted completely opposite to the natural position of my hands on the tops.

I usually have my palm on the raised part, resting on the curve to the ramp, with my thumbs inside. Like on the hoods, but scooted back a few inches. I see what you mean though.,,,,BD

I have a set of SR rando bars I'm saving for the born-again Miyata 712 project. Came off a Colombia mixte.
Frame is at the welders: stay posted.
Top

:love:
Yes, I love the traditional classic Randonneur bend bars with their narrow shoulders, notable upward rise from the center, shallow drop and wide flare at the bottoms. I have several different ones, from several companies and various different nationalities. To be honest, they are my favorite style handlebar... period. Each to his own taste. If I see a bike with Randonneur bars, I would expect that I will feel quite comfortable riding it.

But, I will say that with their narrow shoulders, I would think these are not something you would want for a racing bike. They would also simply feel very unfamiliar to you if you are used to either the classic Cinelli bends or else any wide modern anatomical bend road bars. And, I also think they would definitely feel very odd if using STI/ERGO brake/shift levers, but I may be mistaken about this .

Nitto 135... I think the Japanese had long ago distilled the essentials of the style and all the others I've seen amd which I own have elements very evident in this model - distict bottom flare, and narrowed corners, shallow drop. For these purposes I would lump most any of the specific vintage randonneur bars I own together with these since they are in current production and are certainly the most commonly available. They are beautifully finished and I would always feel comfortable riding on these.

Rivendell/Nitto Noodle #177 This is very different as you can see in the photo posted by [I]Mariner Fan. These have wider corners and tops which are drawn back rather than upward from the center. Very little flare at the bottom. These would probably be best for anyone converting and retaining STI/ERGO levers, and these maintain a similar quite vertical orientation for those levers. I ride in the drops a lot, and I find these much less appealing for my riding than almost any other handlebars on the market. If [as perhaps only myself and the late Marco Pantani] you happen to climb in the drops, you would NOT like these at all! The corners, whenever I ride in the drops, are forever hitting against my forearms. This is odd since I tend to mount my handlebars higher than anyone else I know - close to level with the top of a saddle as possible. But this problem is increased because of the exaggerated backward bend of the top the wide corners and the lack of flare at bottom.

Many people obviously DO seem to like these, and they are available in more familiarly modern very wide widths. But, I'll offer a minority position here and state that I find them simply very uncomfortable. The corners actually slope downward from the center a bit at the corners which to me would even seem to be counter-productive to the stated intention of having the effect of "raising" the resting position when riding with hands at the tops of the bars by drawing them farther back (rather than up). Personally, I even seem to feel my hands sliding downward and outward in that position with any of my weight at all shifted forward. So, maybe these were intended for bikes with a short forward reach (or riders with long arms) and best for somehow "resting" in a very vertical position with your weight mainly on the saddle. I'd rather just use a NITTO B-114 or B-115 "Classic" model among any of the more conventional looking retro-styled bars.

The Velo-Orange Modolo bars look interesting. Modolo had always come up with very unique designs. I'd be very interested to hear someone's analysis of these from actual use on the road. They seem as if they might actually offer some of the advantages of a European "TREKKING" handlebar [or "butterfly" bar] but I can't quite figure them out. The wide flat top section certainly looks inviting.

Traditional Randonneur bars will look either beautiful to you... or simply very weird. They definitely stand out when you see an approaching bike with them mounted. Sure, this bike may just look like any low-end Schwinn from the 1960s, but I very much like that look, anyway. :)

http://shutter14.pictures.aol.com/data/pictures/06/005/3F/EF/9C/58/dB5RYz2FDNbxK5ryLjgLGJ1fh9pPIgUP0300.jpg

My brother has the Nitto bar on his Surly and a couple of my bikes came with them. I love the way they look but they are always waaaay too narrow for me. My 46cm Noodles are perfect for me, though.

I'm wondering if anyone can recommend a randonneur style bar.

For a while I had a steel rando bar from a 70s Schwinn and it was the most comfortable bar I've used, however I foolishly left it on a bike that I sold. In addition to the flair and shallow drops, this bar was fairly narrow.

I'm looking for something similar for a century bike/country road rider that I'm building up. The nitto randonneur seems to be everywhere as does the noodle, does anyone know if either is comparable to the old schwinn bars?

Any thoughts on these from velo-orange: http://www.velo-orange.com/mogrfoha.html

Thanks!

The bar you liked sounds like the Nitto Randonneur, still available from Rivendell. I have one, and really like the narrowness combined with the flared hooks.

Road Fan

I like the Nitto bars also but my favorite randonneur bar was made by Pivo, here is a pic of one on my Miyata. My Motobecane Grand Tour had a Beleri Randonneur bar that was fairly comfortable but I like the Pivo more, I think the curve of the drops on the Beleri is tighter and they didn't have much rise from the stem. I would get measurements but I sold the Moto Grand Tour last Summer. Don

I had a pair when I built up my first good bike about 1972, but the racing crowd I took up with shamed me out of them shortly thereafter and I converted to Cinelli. I'm thinking of trying another set for the old Carlton I'm building now. Anyone know the bar size for an Ambrosio adjustable stem (my new favorite)?

My old Ambrosio "Champion" stem is 26.0... And, my adjustable length 3-TTT (which is a dead ringer for the Ambrosio model) is that size too. - So, a bit smaller than Cinelli's 26.4 ... and a bit larger than standard British or US 25.4 (1 inch)... significantly larger that French standard 25.0 mm.

Thanks all.

Mariner's Fan, those cockpit pics are especially helpful. I don't suppose you have one floating around of the Nitto 135s?

Yes! Yes! Yes!

I got a set of these on that 70's Le Tour that was given to me. I'm still trying to decide which other bike to put them on since the Schwinn is not my size...

Seems like every bike I've acquired in the last year had Rando bars installed: Gitane 600, Schwinn Le Tour Luxe, Cannondale ST500. I like the bend, but they're all so narrow compared with modern bars. Did everyone grow wider shoulders in the last 30 years?

These are the Nitto B-135 that Stronglight mentions. I'm very pleased with them...

http://buggytexas.com/images/nittoB135.jpg

Digging through the many, many pairs of bars I have hanging on the pipes in the basement, I found a nice pair of unlabeled randonneur bars I'm going to try on the Carlton! I have no idea what they're off or where I even got them...

Did everyone grow wider shoulders in the last 30 years?

I did?:p,,,,BD

These bars came off a Schwinn Continental. They're very similar to the Nitto B-135, other than them being steel...

http://www.buggytexas.com/images/wood2.jpg

More of the same bike here...
http://www.buggytexas.com/woody.html

What year Continental? Every, and I mean EVERY Conti I've ever seen has had an alloy randonneur? Never even seen a steel randonneur on any bike, though I guess they could have made them?,,,,BD


Or is it the Nitto's that are steel? I must be missing something, lol.

My mistake, they're both alloy. :o

Never even seen a steel randonneur on any bike, though I guess they could have made them?,,,,BD

According to the Schwinn data book and my recollections the ones I pulled of the '77 Traveller III were steel.

My opaque blue 76 Traveler has nice fat alloys on it. The plot thickens, hehe.,,,,BD

Nishiki Randonneur bars:

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f106/RabidKoala/35dd56e7.jpg

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f106/RabidKoala/f69e41a8.jpg

Did everyone grow wider shoulders in the last 30 years?

Well the rest of me got wider in the last 30 years so why not my shoulders? :D

But that's funny 'cause I was getting a fitting done a couple of years ago with one of those fancy, schmancy computerized fit systems and it kicked out a warning to the technician to remeasure because my shoulders were too far outside the normal limits. He had measured correctly though. I'm just built like a linebacker. I think bikes and cycling accessories are designed for REALLY skinny guys - how else can you explain why a size Large sport shirt fits me comfortably but I need 2X Large cycling jersey?

I like the old GB Randonneur bend bars. I have two, as a matter of fact. They are not mounted on anything, because I cannot figure out how to thread them into a GB (or a Cinelli, or...). Does anyone know if there a special stem built for these bars?

Sorry to bump my own thread, but a set of new Sakae World Randonneur bars came up on CL here. Does anybody have thoughts on them?

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/mld/bik/509699261.html

What year Continental? Every, and I mean EVERY Conti I've ever seen has had an alloy randonneur? Never even seen a steel randonneur on any bike, though I guess they could have made them?,,,,BD


Or is it the Nitto's that are steel? I must be missing something, lol.

I agree, all the bars that I've seen on Continentals were Randonneur style alloys -- made by GB in the United Kingdom, nicely made and very light. Contrary to what the bike snobs will tell you, Schwinn did use some high quality components on their gas pipe sleds.

I would say most Sakae's are okay. I've never seen any bad ones really. Those don't look like traditional randonneurs, but are an excellent price. I would be surprised if they still have them.,,,,BD