I know several of you felllas are using these bars. How do you get the tight bens through the clamp? They just won't go. I even tried witchcraft to no avail

are you using the right size stem? You can also try using a large flat screw driver or something like that and lightly prying open the stem clamp a little bit. Just make sure you're using the right size stuff first though...

The bars and stem are both 25.4. Does someone make a 26mm randy bar?

I sometimes take a large screwdriver and tap it horizontally into the stem gap as a wedge to open the stem for bar installation.

Your stem needs to designed for drop bars. Many MTB stems have clamps that are too wide to allow tight drops to fit. See how this stem is narrower at the bottom.

Nitto make a tool for opening a stem clamp a little wider.

That Nitto tool is also great for avoiding those unsightly gouges that your stem can leave on your handlebars.

Wait. Witchcraft? Do tell? What else does it work on? jim

I always turn my bars so that the outward bend on the bar is where the gap in the stem is. That said, some stems are a lot easier to work through than others.

Thanks for the suggestions and I had no idea there is a tool for such an obscure job. I am using a road stem and I am not too worried about getting the bars marked up since the whoever removed these old schwinn bars already took care of the marking issue but it will be covered by the wrap anyway. I am thinking about a new stem and I just hated to bugger it up. If I can find a used stem I will probably go that route anyway. Thanks again

I use a lot of WD-40, a big fat screwdriver, a lot of twisting, pushing, cussing, praying. It finally gets there.

Is it worth it to get the randy's on**********?

I think a lever is the way to go. I found a thinnish 9 0r 10 mm open end wrench makes a decent lever, in lieu of a $20+ Nitto tool. A thin layer of grease can't hurt. The lever and the grease conspire to help eliminate scratched bars. It also does need to be a road stem, with a thin area near the gap. This really does allow the curves to slip through.

And yes, rando bars can be very comfortable and a nice place to put your hands. I'd say the effort is worth it.

No.

In the interest of frustration prevention, I am willing to handle the disposal of these devious critters. PM me for details on my shipping assistance program.

I love my Nitto 46cm randonneur bars, and yes I had to pry open the Nitto stem, then wedged a shim in there while I slid the bars in, and pulled the shim back out once it was in place. Ended up with just a few small scratches in the bends of the bars.

When in get the stem I am going to give the randys a try. I rode a Continental many years ago and I remember liking the bars but the bike was too big for me so it was a little uncomfortable. I am looking forward to the experiment.