satbuilder 

All,

I received a set of these in a parts purchase. Having never used them before, I am wondering about their suitability for road use. They more resemble track bars.

Thanks for any information.

Kurt

Soody

they flare in a bit right?
I think I rode some of those for a while. I don't see why it matters road/track use. Brakes will function well. Just comes down to if you like em or not imo. Give it a try.

oneclick 

The difference in the bends is that track riders don't (usually) need the tops of the bars so much, but they want the curve to stay out of the way of their forearms when they are busy. The opposite end of this spectrum is the randonneur-style.

big chainring 

Also known as the criterium bend. Wish I had had 65's on my bike back in my racing days. But got used to sore bruised forearms.

jingy2

These were my bars of choice in the 80's.Lots of wrist clearance when sprinting in the drops.
Hence the name Criterium

RiddleOfSteel

BIG fan of 65s!! The only vintage drop bar that allowed a classic profile (when viewed from the side) and a comfortable and ergonomic hand/palm/wrist position when one's hands were on the hoods. The butt/back of the palm (just ahead of one's wrist) always gets kicked up and out by traditional drop bars (say, Cinelli 64s), which is uncomfortable and lengthens ones reach when in the saddle. 65s actually allow one to have a hand/wrist position identical to one on modern STI/Ergo levers (when employing compact/modern drop bar profiles) as the handle bar "gets out of the way" of one's palms. Really comfortable, I found. Mounting the brake levers high enough induces some flare, but it's got its own cool look + huge comfort going for it, so I was happy.

And no, I'm not crying over beautiful bikes I've owned and built over the years.... (too small--though not at the time!)






Ok, the Davidson was tall enough. I don't need to revisit The Potential Sea Of Regret on this...

satbuilder 

Thanks for the info everybody! I'll set them aside for the next build project.

Steel Charlie

Not to be the grump but 65's never seemed to have a place to put the brake levers for me or a proper place for my hands on the top. 63's and 64's always were like they were made for me.
JMO of course YMMV

scozim 

Thanks for posting - the two Colnago's I just picked up both have 65-38 bars and they're stamped Criterium. I didn't know much about them so this is a timely post. The prior owner I got these from used to race criteriums back in the 80's. They have a nice curve but I'll replace them with a 66-42 and a 3T unit.