I guess now I know 😁… thanks Jim!

... but then swapped in a Jones Loop Bar, and I couldn't be happier. It gave me the opportunity to install a vintage MTB cockpit, which instills greater confidence in all kinds of riding and terrain.

I'm hooked. Take a look at the Jones Loop Bar setup... Might work for you.

Interesting 🤔… thank you. I do like the look of it. I never realized when I picked this bike up that it would cause me this much of a dilemma, but I very much enjoy the process of custom building my bikes. I guess I’ll savor the decision making process and have a months long debate in my mind. No plans to build it up until spring at the earliest.

Do you find the bar end hand position useful? Seems like an odd angle.

The odd angle doesn't bother me... These are just cheap Ergon knockoffs, and they're otherwise pretty comfortable. I hang out on the bar ends very infrequently, and always keep my hands loosely.on top so that they face.forward... no big deal.

boneshaker78 For rebuilding a bike, I guess you need to decide what you want, or what neighborhood you want to be in- a "restoration" with "proper," "period correct" parts or a resto-mod with parts from everything in the past 40+ years or anything in any combination in-between.

To me- I love old class-A touring bikes because they're elegant bikes built with a lot of ATB parts to be "adventure."

For a long time I was not into the resto-mod thing with modern parts... I had a bunch of my 1984-6 bikes set up as if someone upgraded them in like 1993. Because those were the parts I liked.

IMO- there's a whole world of several generations of parts to hang on that bike. While people are talking about what came on that bike- there's been "better" stuff in the intervening 40 years. Regarding handlebars... you've mentioned and expressed interest in swept back bars and butterfly bars... I will say in my limited experience- swept back bars don't have a lot of hand positions- and for me, my hands are really feeling it after like 7 miles and I'm constantly trying to find different positions for my hands- which swept back bars do not have. As far as butterfly bars... I like that you can use regular MTB/ATB parts on them, I like the idea of dozens of hand placements... and it could be just the set I got- but I couldn't get along with them- and I always was ending up on the portion closest to me- giving me the least amount of leverage and control. Just my experience.

My favorite bars are the Nitto B177 bars (the "Noodle"). I like that they're wider than the old road bars on 1980s bikes- the long ramps are nice and actually make a decent hand position from the corner or the hoods. I rarely ride in the drops- but as mentioned, when you're tired and riding into a headwind- you're glad they're there.

As far as shifting goes- I don't like reaching down to shift- I like your idea of thumb shifters- they're right there where you want/need them; and the ratcheting Suntour models are among the very best in the business.

You've got tons of options to make this a classy, comfortable bike for you.


Here's a few of mine:

Here's my 1985 Trek 720- with Brooks Cambium saddle, Suntour bar end shifters and a Suntour XC Pro rear derailleur:

IMG_3392 by Dave The Golden Boy, on Flickr


Same bike but with slew of more "modern" parts- Nitto B177 bars, Tektro TRP brake levers, Suntour Command Shifters, Dura Ace derailleurs...

IMG_2377 by Dave The Golden Boy, on Flickr

IMG_1703 by Dave The Golden Boy, on Flickr


I used to not like the TRP levers- I thought they were hideous- but once you use them and the way they bend to reach your fingers... it's gold, jerry.

IMG_0218 by Dave The Golden Boy, on Flickr


Here's my 1985 Trek 620- Specialized riser stem, B177 bars, 6 speed Command Shifters...

1985 Trek 620 by Dave The Golden Boy, on Flickr



Same bike built similarly to the 720 but with a SON generator hub and lights:

IMG_3370 by Dave The Golden Boy, on Flickr



Here's my 1990 Miyata 1000LT - Nitto B132 bars, IRD drilled brake levers, 7 speed Shimano bar end shifters and XTR derailleurs:

M1000LT by Dave The Golden Boy, on Flickr

M1000LT Bars n Bag by Dave The Golden Boy, on Flickr


M1000Cockpit by Dave The Golden Boy, on Flickr



And my attempt at butterfly bars:

Trekking Bars Cockpit. by Dave The Golden Boy, on Flickr