What weighs less than a pile of toenail clippings and costs $400 retail? My new handlebars. **I did not pay retail, nor did I pay wholesale, manufactures cost, etc… They were a gift from a friend who works for Trek. Thank you TM! 170 grams, $399. That’s right folks. Top end bars now cost $400!

Ok, skip forward if you don’t want do hear another diatribe about how long I’ve been racing bikes. Still reading… you asked for it. I worked in a shop in Cincinnati in the early eighties. We sold nice stuff. We were one of the first Serotta dealers anywhere. My junior team was sponsored by Serotta. Man I wish I still had that bike. Anyway, we sold Gianni Motta’s, Colnalgo’s, Viner’s, Cinelli’s, Benotto’s, Gios Torino’s, etc. Like I said, nice stuff. You could get out the door with a full Nuovo Record bike for $1,050. Wheels, pedals, everything. $1,300 to $1,600 for Super Record. And you really had to try to drive the price up that much. Binda Extra straps, two TA bottle cages, Criterium Seta sew-ups, and a Cinelli 1R stem. The handlebars, whether Cinelli 64-40, 66-40, or criterium drop cost $19.95 retail. You could go on the cheap and buy some TTT for $14.95, but no self respecting bike racer would ride that crap.

Move forward 25 years, whoops… 27 years (am I really that old?), bars now cost $400 American dollars. They do look cool and I’m sure will feel very nice. The reason I went to them actually is to go back to a standard-bend drop. Road test report to come soon.