mr_macgee

Can anyone identify these vintage Track Bars: Lauterwassers? Major Taylors? For 23.8mm stem.

I have no idea who made them but they look like Lauterwasser bars. They came off an Olympic track bike that had a mix of the best of the best (Dura Ace "10 Pitch" drive gear, Cinelli steel stem with orig painted badge, Campag Sheriff hubs, Assos Pedals....etc) so when I took off the bar tape off I was curious where it came from, I really love the shape so I went to my friend google and here we are.

The dia. for the stem mount is 23.8mm, everywhere else is 22.2mm, the drop is approx. 15cm, overall bar width (c-c) 46cm.

Sorry for all the pics but it was really hard to photograph and capture the true shape of the bars. They are in really nice condition. They are not Soma's and these are old.

So who made these ? Any info would be much appreciated. Cheers

Mos6502

They look like fairly normal Pista bars to me.

rhm

+1. Nothing like Lauterwasser or Major Taylor, at any rate.

Unusually thin, though? English bars were 7/8" with a 15/16" clamp (like yours) until the 40's but with the other relatively modern gear I doubt you have anything so old.

mr_macgee

Thanks for the reply. I have to admit the photos don't show true shape, there like major Taylor's with a shallow drop. I need to photograph the bars again.

The guy who built the bike was a big collector and frame builder for the Olympic team, it came from his personal bike.

23.8mm is the old English dia and I have only seen that style of bulge for the stem area on the old bars hence my asking. There's no markings and completely different shape to my old orig. cinelli pista 67 bars. They spread out quite a bit like a major Taylor, it's a very nice shape but very hard to show it with the camera.

Just curious what it could be.

Cheers

clubman 

CCM made a bar like these for their road racer in the 30's/40's/50's. They differ from typical pista bars in the way they flare out in diameter from the start of the bend and they are quite shallow. The bar ends also extend back an extra inch or two, like yours. Top right on the page.

rhm

Major Taylors go straight from the clamp for a couple inches, then have a sharp bend forward and down and then another straight section, then another bend for the drops. They are pretty distinctive on account of the straight sections and fairly sharp bends. Several of the really old track bar bends (and others, such as Lauterwasser) bend forward and down right from the clamp.

Someone, like Velobase, should have a page on handlebar bends. There are so many interesting varieties! And so many of them are, well, wrong. The Soma "Lauterwasser" bar, for example, is very different from the real one (though probably an improvement). Same with their Major Taylor bar.

mr_macgee

Thanks clubman,

The flyer looks very similar but i think the stem area is a sleeve and not bulged out.

RHM,

Thanks I'll take a look at velobase but if anyone has any idea what these may be I would greatly appreciate it.

ftwelder

There were at least twenty different drop bar bend profiles made in England in between 1910 and 1950. Check a Raleigh accessory catalog for more ideas.

mr_macgee

Thanks welder,

So I take it that these bars are not new (70's-) but come from the 50's or earlier and nothing special?

Sorry for the silly questions, it's just finding these bars in such great shape on a bike with Dura Ace 10 pitch components and Assos pedals.