Earliest drop bars?
09-27-11 | 06:00 PM
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Earliest drop bars?
The shape of some early drop bars I've seen make me wonder if they weren't just standard bars turned upside down. Any idea when the earliest drop bars came about and their origin? I figured if anyone knew, it would be this lot.
09-27-11 | 06:09 PM
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09-28-11 | 07:19 AM
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Really, I think nearly all early handlebars have some drop. Ordinary ("penny-farthing") handlebars have quite a bit of drop, because the headset is so high and they have to allow room for the rider's knees. Riser handlebars are a late development, and started as drop bars reversed. The North Road handlebar, for example, was a popular style of drop bar, that became even more popular in reversed form.
09-28-11 | 03:49 PM
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09-28-11 | 05:43 PM
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09-28-11 | 06:39 PM
#15
it's good to see they had drunken homeless folks bar hoping in 1907 as well:
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09-29-11 | 11:05 AM
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Just for fun, ran that price through an online inflation adjuster and got this:
What cost $75 in 1899 would cost $1939.05 in 2010.
Also, if you were to buy exactly the same products in 2010 and 1899,
they would cost you $75 and $2.95 respectively.
Also, if you were to buy exactly the same products in 2010 and 1899,
they would cost you $75 and $2.95 respectively.
09-29-11 | 12:12 PM
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09-29-11 | 12:59 PM
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I had the same curiosity not too long ago. While growing up, I was pretty ignorant of road bikes -- all I saw were BMX and mountain bikes. So drop bars have always seemed exotic to me. I've since learned that they figured out the benefits of getting low on the handlebars pretty soon after the invention of the safety bicycle. 
09-29-11 | 01:34 PM
#22
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From: the Low countries
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I've found this illustration from 1891 in an anthology of the first 25 years of the A.N.W.B. -- The Dutch cyclist union that would become the biggest auto lobby group around. Eventually.
In a book I read earlier this year, about Major Taylor, his European tours, and the first years of the Tour de France, it was said that Taylor claimed to be the inventor of the now so common race position. The author found that claim dubious, because there had been predecessors.
In a book I read earlier this year, about Major Taylor, his European tours, and the first years of the Tour de France, it was said that Taylor claimed to be the inventor of the now so common race position. The author found that claim dubious, because there had been predecessors.
09-29-11 | 01:36 PM
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Wouldn't be surprised to see Rivendell, Velo-Orange, or even Soma Fab reissuing those "L'ideal Guidon" bars.
