Wattsup

I'm using a Surly Moloko, (steel, unbutted) and I was wondering whether I could get something lighter in the same form factor, but lighter. Any ideas? Who does custom bars?

unterhausen

Jones, Engin, Groovy.

Not sure if anyone will exactly replicate those bars though.

chaadster

Wattsup Ti Cycles in Portland, OR, are whom you’re looking for.

https://www.ticycles.com/store-all/#handlebars

indyfabz

Drew at Engin will likely make you anything you want out of ti unless he thinks it's a bad idea. Might as well go for a ti stem as well.

Rolla

Oddity Cycles does custom ti bars. Oddity Cycles

Wattsup

Dave got back to me. $650, just for the bar...no collar. That's more than I want to spend for 1/2 a pound savings.

chaadster

I don’t know what the collar is, but I do know big, complex, custom titanium bars are expensive, so I’m not surprised at all. Hell…even a simple, production MTB flat bar from a company with deep market penetration and traction like Thomson costs nearly $400, so adding probably twice the amount of Ti, a whole bunch of welds, and a ton of work for a one-off custom for $250 more sounds pretty reasonable.

You can shop it, but given you’re trying to justify the spend based on weight savings, I’d suggest not wasting anyone else’s time.

rosefarts

Those bars are pretty much exclusive to heavy bikes. I’d be surprised to hear of them on anything under 30lbs, probably usually on a 35-40lb build.

You can go custom to for the hell of it. It’s not a cost effective option though.

Wattsup

I am using the Moloko now on my "custom" 22 lb Salsa Vaya Ti gravel bike. I like the bars a lot. They give me security on the rough stuff when I need it, and on the more benign sections I can get lower on the forward bars.

chaadster

You could get a 250g Jones H-Bar Loop carbon for $275 and bolt on some 110g Rose Spirgrips bar extensions for $80 or $90 shipped, and save even more weight (349g) for only $355. That’s only about $1 per gram saved…pretty good.

Jones do the H Loop in Ti, but as to be expected cost and weight go up.

https://jonesbikes.com/jones-h-bar-loop-carbon-31-8mm/

https://www.rosebikes.com/spirgripsr...r-ends-2667879

Wattsup

Interesting idea. I did have an aluminum Jones Bar before the Moloko. I bought the bike like that. I liked the Jones, but after a while I felt like I was driving a bus.....too upright. The Salsa already has a short reach and a high stack. The Moloko wide hand position was a little farther forward...see the pic. (I think my Moloko has been cut down...not as wide as in the pic) Hand position is just behind the weld, leaving room for the XT shifter of course. That little bit makes a pretty big difference. Now that I've gotten more flexible, I actually prefer riding with my hands out on the "bullhorns" on the Moloko. I make more power I think....more butt muscle is going into it. I can't bring myself to ride drops like everyone else. I just don't think I'd feel secure in some of the rough stuff. Instead of buying a new, lighter, bar, maybe I'll just wash the bike after each ride. 😆

chaadster

Oh, well yeah, the sweep is an issue. Maybe the idea of a multi-piece bar assembly opens up some options for you, or maybe you could try one of those eBay/Alibaba China-direct vendor handlebars, e.g: https://www.ebay.com/itm/TiAtom-Tita...-127632-2357-0