Would you call this a mustache bar, or...?
 

Out of curiosity, how would you categorize the bars on this bike in these photos? Is this a "proper" mustache bar, or is there another more appropriate name for these? (I have another set very close to these that was on my 1974 Juenet when I got it, no markings whatsoever.)

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=341486http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=341487http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=341488

Looks like a nitto albatross

http://www.rivbike.com/Nitto-Handlebars-s/107.htm

I think those fall into the category of North Road bars. Mustache bars are nearly flat and have ends that point straight backwards.

I would not call these a mustache handlebar; a mustache bar has larger flatter curve as the bar bends back toward the rider with less flair. Most mustache handlebars are designed around different hand positions including the ability to place brake levers on the front of the bar as below.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=341493

I'm not sure the correct name for your bars, I call them 3 speed bars, but I've also heard them called Townie bars. Those bars are currently made by the retro bike sites such as Nitto (Rivendell) and Soma and I think Velo Orange who have their own names for their particular model.

Looking at them a second time, they are a bit different than the ones that I posted. They're angled pretty much the same amount out, and have the same amount of "drop" to them, but they have more of a forward bend like the mustache bars you posted.

I'll try to snap a picture of mine in the morning, once I've got some light to work with. (Really should have done that in the first place.)

As a general rule, mustache bars measure 15/16" = 23.8 or 24.0 mm, and fit curved brake levers, the ones made for drop bars. The brake lever goes on a curved section of the bar.

In contrast, northroad (as well as flat, allrounder, lauterwasser, and various other) bars measure 7/8" = 22.2 mm, and fit straight brake levers. That is, the brake lever goes on a straight section of the bar.

Apologies for the taken-with-a-potato photo. It's 15/16", FWIW.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=341649

That is true as a general rule, but Nitto used to make a 7/8" moustache bar.

There's an exception to every rule.

Those look pretty much like a mustache bar to me, unless there's a ton of drop. Mustache bars don't have much.

It's got some. Sort of like the offspring of a flat mustache and a Lauterwasser.

Right, not the same bar.


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At times like this it's helpful to remember that Northroad and Lauterwasser were both early (1920s-30s) versions of the drop bar, and English (which explains the 7/8" diameter) while the mustache bar is based on old French forms (which explains the 24 mm diameter). I used to have a really cool Philippe mustache bar that had absolutely no drop at all; in fact I know where it is (in storage in a basement in Berlin) and have been meaning to get it back one of these days.