So, 29" bikes are here to stay, correct? Along with them, it seems the flat bar seems to have risen its formerly dormant head and made its way back to the mainstream market of taste, preference and function. Maybe this is because 29" wheels place your hands that much higher and a riser bar is no longer necessary, maybe there is a top secret trend back toward the XC riding of days of yore, maybe it's just because mountain bikers and the mountain bike industry are fickle and need change for sake of change alone. Maybe, Maybe, Maybe.
Titanium also seems to have had a rebirth. Maybe that one never went to bed - yet another maybe. So, in the spirit of 29 and Titanium, this week's Throwback Thursday showcases early 1993 Titanium flat bars, with generous bend I may add, the hand crafted Titanium Power Band Stem, and WTB Hammer Handles. Now, bar ends may never fully come back and I'm perfectly ok with that, didn't like them in the first place, but WTB made some fancy ones back in '93 and they meshed up perfectly with the Titanium Flat Bar. So, bring on the old school, for all we know it's tomorrow's new school. Until next Thursday, keep it neo retro.
Posted below are descriptions from the 1993 Product Line catalog, published in October of 1992. Of interesting note: this entire catalog was published on recycled paper with soy based inks. Being green may be a very trendy thing these days but like Ti Flat Bars, WTB had it figured out from the start.
