On 1/11/2018 5:57 AM, Sepp Ruf wrote:
Andre Jute wrote:
On Wednesday, January 10, 2018 at 4:46:01 PM UTC, Frank Krygowski wrote:

But unlike aluminum ones, stainless steel bars are
very rare, if not nonexistent.

Just because your weight-weenie, replace after one season or die, racer LBS
doesn't carry them? Chances are it doesn't offer full Joergian-strength
cromo bars either.

Here in America, aluminum seems to be the default material for
handlebars on any adult bike above department store quality. Steel
handlebars are typically found on budget bikes. There are some steel
handlebars available for higher quality bikes, but I don't recall ever
seeing or hearing of a set made of stainless steel.

The aluminum upright bars I bought came from a bike shop in a major city
selling a wide variety of good bikes, including (for example) a very
sweet Bianchi city bike that I test-rode. The bars cost me $7 on sale.
They have been on the city bike I built for perhaps five years now. I've
not replaced them this season or any other season, and I doubt I ever
will; and I very much doubt that they'll kill me.

A few shapes I remember Utopia offers, or at least used to offer, in
stainless steel aren't in ergotec's 2018 issue. They might slowly get
replaced by "MAS-Nb" steel. But it still shows some.

Jute claimed aluminum ones were "specialty items." Which are more common
in the catalog - stainless steel or aluminum?


--
- Frank Krygowski