southpawboston

I picked up a set of black Velox plugs, and for the life of me I can't get them to fit any of the drop bars in my collection! I haven't taken my caliper to them to see what they measure at, but gosh dang it, what the heck's going on? All my drop bars are standard diameter and accept bar-end shifters, as well as other brands of plugs. Did Velox make some large odd-ball size plugs?

ColonelJLloyd 

Anton, I ran into the same issue just last week. I was trying to put Velox plugs in a standard SR drop bar and the newer production ones would not fit. I had a pair I pulled off of a mid-70s Peugeot and they fit fine.

dbakl

Did you loosen the screw and nut?

ColonelJLloyd 

Ouch.

nlerner

I've loosened the screw and nut on some NOS black Velox plugs I have, but they're still a very tight fit. I could imagine they're made for a narrow, thin layer of cotton bar tape inside of the bar ends, but no more--in other words, they don't work with Fizik microtex!

Neal

dbakl

I usually hammer them in with a plastic mallet after spitting on them...

Mike Mills

I agree. Spit on them. Twisting also helps as much or more than hammering.

There's also the issue of swelling. If they were put away with th escrew in tight, the barrel will have swollen. Unscrew them and let them sit so they relax. Alternatively, compress them to an artificially smaller diameter using a zip tie or other device. Cut the tie off and insert before it relaxes back to its original diameter.

nlerner

Actually, I use hair spray rather than spit. It smells better, and I don't have to give up any of my valuable fluids.

Neal

hueyhoolihan

if you want something to be smaller freeze it, or take a few laps in a cold swimming pool.

shelbyfv

Perhaps they are made larger now. Most folks these days wrap tape from the ends of the bars and don't need to tuck it in.

auchencrow

On all of my recent purchases I've had to replace the washers with smaller diameter ones from my local hardware store, just to get them to insert into the bar end.

Grand Bois

I've been using nothing but Velox plugs for forty years. Spit and a rubber hammer has always worked for me, even with a double layer of tucked cloth tape or even elk hide.

southpawboston

You mean that little round thing in the center of the rubber circle, with the grooves in the shape of a plus sign? That's a screw?

Exactly!!! Yes! They don't fit the bore of the bar, even without bar tape!

Oregon Southpaw

+1 they're made for bigger bars now

I had the same thing happen when I went to re-wrap the bars of my Voyageur (SR road champion). Spit and hammering did not work. They slid right in a newer handlebar.

buldogge

I must be buying old stock Velox plugs...or...do you mean your trying to use 25.4 bars as opposed to 26.0 bars. Hard to believe there is a problem with .024" difference though. I assume the Velox plugs haven't been sized up for 31.8s...

ColonelJLloyd 

Does the size of the clamp area have anything to do with the I.D. of the ends of the bar?

southpawboston

That's what I was thinking. Clamp diameter is independent of bar I.D. I thought most bars came in either mtb or road I.D.s, with road being wider, thus having the ability to accept bar-end shifters... Velox plugs!

buldogge

Very true...mind fart...even more reason that this makes no sense.

FWIW...I use Velox plugs or Cinelli plugs on every bike as well as Fizik Microtex and have never had an issue that wasn't solved by lube and a plastic hammer/rubber mallet...

So, basically I am of no help here...sorry.

Mike Mills

Yes.

rootboy 

This sucks. Or might. I've used these things for forty plus years too and to think, they've changed them !
I use Precious Bodily Fluids too, for lube. Spit. I kind of "screw" them in. And if that doesn't cut it, whip out the plastic mallet.

cobrabyte

I've run into the EXACT same issue southpaw. Here's the kicker....they Velox bar ends would not fit into my Nitto Moustache bars (recent production), or Nitto "Dream" bars (also newer production...both of these bars were puirchased from Rivendell.) I also tried to use them on a set of generic stock drop h-bars that came on my Mercier Kilo TT, with no luck. Now, strangely, they fit just fine on the bar ends of a set of SR Randonneur bars I have that date back to the late 1970's. So is it the plugs.....or maybe newer production h-bars have a slighlty smaller ID?

cobrabyte

how?

ColonelJLloyd 

Yes, Mike. Do tell.

rootboy 

I just measured a couple of old sets, one used set off my early 70's Gitane, and a couple others. Almost all of them come in at about 19.5 mm. Anybody want to measure a "new" set? Thought I might have a black set down there Southpaw, but couldn't see them right off hand. If I run into a black set I can send them to you.

"If you find a piece of gear you really like, better buy eight of them for sure as Hell they'll either change it or stop making them" Ted Trueblood.

"What on earth do you need EIGHT of those things for!?" my wife

Mike Mills

I should have put a smiley on that one.

The relationship is this - the bar ends can never be bigger than the clamp.