Buiding your own handle bars?

[woollypigs]

I'm trying to find some handle bars that would do the job for me on my new touring bike.
And I'm split between the butterfly, On-One Mary Bars(laying next to some titec j-bars) or Titec Hells H-bar.

Butterfly bars : looks good plenty of grips, and I can get my hands where I want them on the sides, the only problem is that I can't get my levers and gear shifter there. Looking at tonnes of phones on the net everyone with these have them down on the "flat" part.

H-bar : looks good but not the right angle for where I really wanted my hands. and there s also a lack of room for a handle bar bag. though I have seen someone sort that out with leaning the bar bag down and the handle bar up.

Mary bar : not enough angle or different grip options.

Kentic : the bars that is on the Dahon Speed Pro TT, can't find them around without the bike  and it is not a n+2 here. But these bars have the right angles I would like but not wide enough for touring.

So I had a talk wit someone today and a good old think (yeah I know) if it was possible to build some yourself, with some aluminium tube and get a company to bend it into the shape I would like.

Do you think iht would be strong enough and also in a price range that I would not have to sell both my kidneys for ? I only have to think about the diameter and the thickness of the allu tube, right ?

[LittleWheelsandBig]

Have you considered Bike Friday's H-bars?
Bike Friday Accessories Store

[woollypigs]

yeah they got the touring version too http://store.bikefriday.com/product_info.php?products_id=8121 that looks good and now I'm just more confused ...

This building a bike malarkey is doing my head in, so much easier to get a bike of the peck, I'm so glad that I'm not building a frame on top of this

[Chris N]

Aluminium is funny stuff - bending it is possible, but it needs to be treated properly afterwards to make sure it won't snap.  Make sure you're happy that whoever bends your bar from aluminium knows what they're doing!

A custom frame builder should be able to build you a three piece bar from steel tube, similar to the Bike Friday ones.  Then you could have any shape you want.

[PhilO]

yeah they got the touring version too Bike Friday Accessories Store that looks good and now I'm just more confused ...

This building a bike malarkey is doing my head in, so much easier to get a bike of the peck, I'm so glad that I'm not building a frame on top of this

They just look like an expensive way of getting a flat bar with bar-ends, to me. 

There are a few extreme-sweep designs from 'lesser' brands, which might give you what you want, or at least provide a basis for modification if you want to go that way. this and this both on Ebay, for instance.

I'd be very cautious about bending bars, though. At the very least, make it clear to whoever you get to do the job that this is a safety-critical item and it needs to be crack tested. I suspect that the bending needs to be done in an annealed state and followed by correct heat treatment (probably solution hardening) to be safe. That almost certainly limits you to approaching a bar manufacturer - a run of the mill fabricator is unlikely to have the specialist knowledge required.

Edited: to correct seriously rubbish HTML! 

[Tom B]

In 2001 I bought a 2nd-hand tourer with butterfly bars. I like them v much - especially the upright 'cruising' position and the 'arms wide' for hauling up hills. I don't think they look bad and people often use them as a conversation-starter. I wouldn't go back to drops on a tourer. Might try other straight-bar variations, tho

Have often wondered why steel isn't more often used for bars on touring and utility bikes where durability is a bigger issue than weight. The Surly Torsion bars look good