reggieob

I was taping the bars on my 76 Schwinn Superior last night and noticed that the drop on the right side of the bar comes back about 3/4 of an inch further than the left. Everything else seems more or less straight - no visible bends and it doesn't look like the bars have ever been in a crash. Wondering if there's something going on I'm not seeing or just some haphazard quality control back in 76?

I may just leave them, may cut off the difference, or may get some new bars - not sure at this point. Has anyone else run into this?

Italuminium

ehm, from your pic it appears your bars aren't centered in the stem. make sure the raised section of the bar is of equal width on both sides of the stem, get a ruler if you're in doubt.

due ruote 

Haven't seen that one. Maybe someone lost their left pinkie to a table saw or frostbite and made a custom bar.

Btw it looks like maybe your rear brake housing is a bit short. Imho it looks best to route each housing to the opposite side of the stem; just seems more balanced and natural that way, at least to my eye.

Is that textured Benotto tape?

rhm

I have an old track bar with exactly that same problem. It's an English-made chromed steel bar from the 30's, I would guess. The curve of the bars is perfectly symmetrical, but one end of the bar is an inch longer than the other.

In your photo, your bar does not look quite symmetrical to me. You're quite sure it's not bent or twisted somehow?

Velognome 

Looks to me as the bar is bent. Looks like the bottom of the right side drop is bent inwards, like from a fall on that side. It's slight but enough to make a difference....that's what I'm seeing.

ThermionicScott 

I wonder if a previous owner chopped off part of the bar to make room for a bar-end shifter -- do the ends look like they were cut differently?

reggieob

Thanks - I'll address each comment: Bar seems to be centered - spent way too long with a ruler checking it. Hard to tell in the photo due to poor lighting. Housing is a bit short - picked up the frame/bars/brakes together and built the rest up. Left it as it was - perhaps a future project. Tape is a double-layer of NOS Schwinn flexon from the 70s.

As far as any bends, I ran a straight edge along the front of the drops and it is even. Lots of ways it could bend though, I suppose. Maybe I'll just get a new Nitto classic road bar or something similar and be done with it.

And yes, I agree - the rug is awful...

Oldpeddaller

Had a few bars just like that in the past few years, where people had cut the end down to fit a Cat eye bar insert mirror to the 'traffic side' of the bike. A sensible idea for safety and cutting the bar about 1" shorter on that side reduces the chance of the mirror hitting the frame/rider's knee when turning/falling. I put the mirrors onto straight bar hybrid bikes and cut the other side of the drop bars to match the shorter end. I never use the extreme ends of the drop anyway.

Italuminium

oops, I now (on the big screen of my home computer) that what I thought was the step-down of the bar centre section is actually the shadow cast by the brake housing.

Velognome 

I'd ride it as is, save the $'s and buy a new carpet

Thumpic

this..........you'll rarely look down at your bars; but you have to live with that rug.........

reggieob

Duly noted. Went to the LBS - they agreed the bars were bent, but each guy saw a different bend. Ordered new bars. Wish I had noticed it prior to wasting time taping them. Chalk it up to good practice.

As for the rug, watch for a new "which rug looks best in the cellar" thread.