Finally received delivery of the gel padding that I wanted to include under the leather handlebar tape (and red anodized Salsa skewers to match the headset!) and was able to finish up the build. Had a request for some close-ups of the cockpit so I'm attaching a couple extra down below. I admit this is a pretty unorthodox setup. Butterfly trekking bar, disc brakes, grip shifters, and leather Brooks bar tape... wha-wha-what?
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The orange gel padding that was holding up the show. Looks ugly now, but should add some comfort for the hands during those long days in the saddle. |
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| Head-on view of the control arrangement. Installed the brake levers on the edge of the bars and the grip shifts just inside of them. It gets tight underneath with the brake and shifter cables dueling it out in close-proximity, but it works well! |
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| My baby's first track-stand! |
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My first time wrapping handlebars didn't go too bad (thanks for the second set of hands Kristin!). I realize it's not normal to wrap the lower end of the bars with tape, but the grip shifters don't allow for excess to be tucked in behind the bar plugs. It's a bit unsightly, but a pretty good insurance policy against it unraveling. That's it for now. I'm off to go take this thing for its maiden voyage. Finally! Can't wait to install the racks and fenders. Anyone know where I can get a half-dozen red anodized bottle cages? Just kidding. I'm only going to install four. |
3 comments:
Looks good! Never saw handlebars shaped like that, not that I see many bikes. Congrats!
Thanks. They're pretty rarely seen in the US. Pretty common in Europe, from what I understand. I saw them on a bike at REI and just immediately realized I wanted them on the touring bike I was building.
Hey Doug, also looking to install bar gels on my trekking bars. wondering if you still rock these gels or have any thoughts 8 years later? I've been rocking ergon grips on the staight part of my trekking bars but am thinking of trying something new.
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