Tag: handlebar

57 Sunflower Porteur

This past week I built up a 57cm Sunflower Rambler as a Portuer.  What is commonly referred to as a “city bike” these days, the Porteur has deep roots as a French newspaper delivery bike.  Optimized for getting stacks of newspapers out to the stands around Paris, the Porteur is optimized for speed and all day comfort in the urban environment, yet still able to handle well with exceptional front loads, i.e. a stack of newspapers.  THis translates into an excellent bike for most people who carry a varying load throughout the day, have a stop and go radius under 10 miles and prefer the comfort and added visibility of an upright position, think commuter.

This build has been well received on our social media channels with requests for more info on some of the details.  The build was a mix of price points, focused on a safe and transportational ride that will see daily use in Santa Clarita as well as longer weekend explorations.  Pictures tell the rest of the story…

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Wald 867 Handlebar Review

I bought this bar to get some rear sweep in the grip area for my S&SUB.  Over the years I have used more upright bars then I can keep track of, from super cheep to the Nitto Albatross (B-352AA is my Fav).  The Wald offering comes in at about $20, they are chromed steel for high bling factor and they are made in the U.S.A..  They seemed like a worthy candidate for this budget build.  My inital impressions are good.  On the plus side they are comfy, cheep, made domestically, the straight front will not interfere with the load and they seem pretty strong.  Downside is a bit of slide in the stem (possible stem issue), short grips and they are kind of heavy.

 

The dimensions are, 50cm wide tip to tip, 26cm of straight section in the front, 9cm of rise and 13cm of straight return at the grips.  The return on the grips is almost straight with just a smidge of flare.  The grips are really short, no room for levers and shifters at all.  I have the brake levers here pushed as far into the bend as possible without the levers flaring out too much.

Overall I like these bars in spite of their limitations.  In the application on this bike, single speeds or other times you will not need more than brake levers, these are a perfect and affordable upright bar.  I would buy them again if needed and recommend them if they meet your needs.

As an aside, the keen of eye may have noticed my NOS Jim Blackburn parking brake.  I am not sure if these are still made, but it is fantastic for keeping the bike still while loading.