Originally Posted by RicFlair Fixie
neither i believe that the finish you see on them is just the aluminum finish. if you get the crested bars i beleive the part that is raised is polished and then the rest of the bars are the regular aluminum finish. you could always get some chromed steel bars. i have the nitto threadless brass stem and steal bars. i run my bars real skinny too. (36's) if you live in an area with alot of traffic where you will be shooting inbetween cars i recomend you get some super skinny bars. the 36's are the same width as your pedals.
personally, if the space between two lanes of traffic is that narrow, i don't think i'd want to try to squeeze through anyway. too small a margin for error, either mine, or the drivers', plus my shoulders+bag are much wider than 36cm. that said, i get around just fine with moustache bars, which are around 50cm wide. most of the messengers i see around are riding schwinn-ish cruisers with giant baskets on the fronts...or road/touring/'cross bikes.