Gotte

I've got some bars I really like - off a Kona Ute. They're like a cross between a porteur style and a moustache bar (only with the sweep upward, not downward). They're alu, and the main problem is, I want to fit bar end shifters. Being mtb diameter (forget what that is - 22mm?), my bar end shifters won't fit. Anyone know if there were ever any shifters made to fit the smaller diameter, or any other way of getting around it?

Thanks

dabac

Maybe you can get one of those thumbshifter mounts, flip them over to get the shifters pointing forward?

Or, the load on the bar for that last inch or so isn't going to be that great. Maybe a piece cut off from a drop bar would fit like a sleeve over your MTB bar? Glueing a short extender on with due care doesn't sound that risky to me.

Gotte

I was wondering about something like that. I was also wondering about filing a couple of mils down on the end of the shifter that usually fits in the bar (not the expansion lug, then filling the bar end with that epoxy putty, drilling it and then screwing it it with a longer than usual bolt. Its all a bit of a bodge, though, and ideally I wouldn't want to start filing the shifter down. I've tried to find a bar like the one I've got with a bigger diameter, but sadly can't get one. The closest I can get is the Nitto Chromo Porteur, but with the shifters on, I think it will be too far back, and hit my knees when steering tightly (the bar I have has a nice loop in it a bit like a moustache bar, which would solve this problem.

xenologer

No need for drastic surgery yet

Jagwire makes one that will work.
First google result is out of stock, but you can see what it looks like;
https://www.cycleclubsports.com/p-432...mano-only.aspx

reptilezs

if you have thin wall mtb bars they will fit right in the end. gotta find some race type weenie bar. can also use the paul thumbies or similar copy

fuzz2050

I've found that sometimes you can get the old Suntour Barend shifters to fit, but I won't guarantee it.

fietsbob

The Jagwire one is for for like thick wall tube carbon fiber time trial bars ..
that grips the outside of the tube.

You still need to buy the Shimano bar ends to get the shifters, so,
in that, is like Paul's 'Thumbies' ,

another aftermarket accessory mount,
for the Owners of Shimano bar end shifters.

might work with friction down-tube levers, or the reproduction ST ones Riv Bike
sells as "silver shifters", since they also make a copy
of the Shimano bar end shifter pod.

Jeff Wills

I've made bar-ends fit in thicker wall aluminum handle bars by revising the clamp screw and wedges that hold the bar-end to the handlebar. You need to turn down the end of the clamp screw (I chucked mine in a electric drill and used a file to reduce the diameter) and then make the wedges fit. I ended up filing out the center arc of the wedge with a rattail file and then using two of the three wedges. After reassembly, the clamp screw and the wedges fit in the handlebar while the body of the shifter was outside the end. I wasn't particularly pretty, but it worked fine.

Alternatively, you could find someone to ream out the end of the handlebar. Don't go too deep, just enough to fit the shifter. A friend of mine does this for the custom recumbent handlebars that he makes:
https://www.terracycle.com/Merchant2/...ategory_Code=H

Gotte

Thanks for the help, chaps.
Can't get the Jagwires here in the UK (well out of stock and no one seems to know when they are back in stock).
The bars I've got are pretty thick, so the shifter minus plug won't even fit, but I did find a way around it.
It was pretty make do and mend, but it's worked.

First I widened the top of the bar by getting the biggest drill bit I had (about half the size of the hole), and kind of ran it round the inside edge, knurling out enough to get the shifter end in, then I found that an old solid read axle had the same screw thread, so I cut about a three inch length from either end, left the rounded ball race/nut on about halfway along (this fits down the bar with a bit of a gap and pads it out nicely and stops any potential movement), then I packed some metal putty around the axle and pushed it in. I let it harden until still malliable, then, making sure the end of the bar was clean, screwed the shifter on until it was tight to the bar and a mm or two shy of it's final position. I then let it dry overnight. I tightened the last couple of mm until it was firm and in the right position, cabled everything up, and off I went on a test spin.
Perfect, if somewhat of a bodge.

Again, thanks for the help, and hope the explanation is clear enough, should anyone be looking to do the same.

All the best.