[Just..Me..Chillin']

Okay fellas - I've never been a 26" cruiser guy myself - though I've had and sold a fair share of pretty desirable 26" gear over the yrs - I've had early GTs, Kos, VDCs even a set of Torker cruiser bars - but i'm simply not familiar with these and they don't resemble any of the ones I remember having.

Here's a little background on'em - they came to me with a 82 JMC/Hustler 24" package .... The bars are apparently true to the set as they were painted the same Raplh's Bicycles Kermit Green as the frame - done all those yrs ago, sold directly to Ralph's in chrome so more then likely a team riders.
After I got them and removed the grips I noticed they're original color may have been a JMC candy blue.

Well I know JMC and CW they're not - and though they are Ralph's and they did offer bars later on - I don't think Ralph's ever made a cruiser bar or even a true cruiser frameset at that time (obviously because of the fact it's a JMC frame with the signature Hustler gusset added, even the forks are CW 24" minus the added hole drilled in the fork tab Ralph's was known for when they began offering they're own line - which were just CWs w/the gusset and CW forks w/the added hole in the fork tab) hell correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think they ever made an actual Hustler cruiser period...

Ok so here's the bars


They measure exactly 28" wide and don't appear to ever have been cut



Thrashse is somewhere between 5 1/4 and 5 1/2 - just shy (also measure from center of the clamp area to the top of the crossbar is exactly 5")


And the crossbar measured at the longest point weld to weld is 14"



So thats all I got - the person I purchased from wasn't much help with info and they had gotten them prior from an equally clueless seller, so that avenue was pretty futile as well.


Guesses are as welcome, as would any info or hard evidence/literature be appreciated --- I have a feeling of what they might be but wouldn't dare assume anything definitive - don't wanna get all suped up - I did an extensive search as I normally do and chatted up a few of my go to counterparts but nothing solid .... So now I turn to the community for some added input and hopefully come to some sort of conclusion.

[Just..Me..Chillin']

Oh and there's no knurling or stamps of any kind

[TrulyOdd]

whatever they are, they look cool. i hope someone can identify them.


it'd be cool if they were hustlers but i've never seen anything that states they made any cruiser bars. i know they made 24" cruisers though (Jr. & Pro)....so it's always possible.

you're right about the forks, hustlers are very similar to CW's. not exactly the same though...the dropouts on hustler forks kinda vary in size from fork to fork...and most have a hole either above or below the axle opening. the 'race' area on the ones i have are different from my CW forks.


congrats on all that newly acquired nice greenery!!! looking forward to seeing what you do with it.

[route66]

They look a lot like 2nd gen (not as wide as 1st gen) early 80s GT cruiser bars to me. What makes you think they are not GTs?

[Just..Me..Chillin']

A bit shorter then I remember GTs to be in that time frame - what yr did 2gens come out cuz this is def. an 82 purchase and I'm pretty sure it got its gussest and painted at that time too, along with the bars. That and also I'm not certain blue was offered then. If they were, then I too would guess GT. .

Pat, thanks for the kudos - I can hardly wait to see what I do with it as well. This green ain't gonna be the easiest color to work around and i sorta just grabbed it unexpectedly so I haven't put much thought to it..... Don't ya just love impulse purchases - it's a disease I tells ya !

[mcam]

They're not GT cruiser bars. The "early" first gens had a flatter bend and were around 30 odd inches wide. Then the later first gens had a bit more sweep, and were around 29 inches wide.

I'm suspecting the might be Torker cruiser bars. I had some that I thought were GT's but the width was around 28 inches.

[mcam]

Here are the bars I thought were GT's. They were in fact Torkers.

Er, the upload has distorted the photo. They actually look identical to your bars.

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[Just..Me..Chillin']

That looks allot closer - I couldn't remember the width of the torkers I had it was yrs ago and I sold'em to Pzsenny and shit he's been ghost for like 4 yrs already - I remember them different but then again I'm pretty burnt

So I guess the next question is did they offer them in blue in 82 ?Okay so who's Whos got a copy of that Torker ad with all the bars layed out and the BBs and stems and all and what yr was it printed -- so I don't have to go sifting through a bunch of mags and files. - and duh I'll check the data base too

[Just..Me..Chillin']

Okay the ads in the data base - but it doesn't showcase any cruiser bars in that pic - it shows the colors of the forks and stuff and the blue is a pretty good match -BUT- thing is if the cruisers were only available in chrome or black (or was that just the 24"s) - why would a pair of cruiser bars be made blue ? Did the 26"ers come in red or blue like the 20"s before they added the 24"s to the line up ?

[route66]

Torker 26" was offered only in 1981, they came in chrome and black only. Torker 24" started to be offered in 1982 as far as I know, I am not sure about the colors that were offered in.

On a side note, I measured my later 1st gen GT cruiser bars and they are 4.75" center to center. and the top bar is right about 14" across.

[mcam]

I'd bet my left nut they are Torkers. And funnily enough I ended up selling mine to Pszenny too

If *anyone* out there can help me find a set of first gen GT cruiser bars, Torker cruiser bars, or Kos Kruiser bars, please let me know. I really want to get some on my RRS, as they need the lower bars

That is an interesting JMC 24 you;ve picked up JMC. I bet it could tell some stories

[bmx2112]

Yeah they are Torkerish but I don't remember my crossbar being that thick. I'll dig through some of my pics and see what I come up with.

[Just..Me..Chillin']

Yeah see I'm again locked in a tug-o-war with possibility and which side to lean towards

I'm sorta thinking more Torker with mcam, as the bends seem just a bit off when compared to early GTs (from memory) - and the color thing thing

Rte66 - do you know for sure if GT offered blue cruiser bars then - I found no literature on them either - manufacturer catalogs would be nice to fumble through if I had some for the yrs in question

As for the stories this ride could tell - I don't know how interesting they may be. (again this is only speculation) but I'm pretty sure Ralph would have purchased this and modified it for a team rider - he and Jim were friends (Jim was one of the 1st I contacted to see if maybe had made note of selling it to ralph as a frameset - but his record only show the frame was bought and went directly to Ralph as a chrome plated frame) and I doubt Ralph woulda bought it just to weld his famed gusset on and resell it - for not much profit - too much time and trouble - but that said.... I don't know which of his riders may have raced it, but they were either extremely delicate and gracefully as can be or they shortly after receiving the bike found another sponsor or found pussy to be more fun - cuz this frame is mint and doesn't appear to have seen much action (when exactly did they start making they're own brand, cuz maybe it was only short time after and this set was no longer run) - there's no blemishes what-so-ever - the drops bearly show wear, almost no sign of usage on the brake bridge and even the seat clamp bolt looks practically new (and no it doesnt appear to be a replacement either)

Pat you say Hustler actually did make a pro cruiser - I'd love to see pics if you have any - though even if they did make a cruiser and maybe even bars - I doubt these would be them, considering the fact the JMC was used - if they had they're own equipment being made already - this had to have been done before so the parts too had to be from when hustler were just a jumble of sequestered parts his riders preferred, modified with the gussests/holes and painted the team colors.

Either way - I'm still not sure one way or the other or if there was anything else available at the time they may be ---- the previous owner moronically removed it's og surviving hustler decals which sucks and left me with a shockily stark Kermit green frame to work around - (I know this is gonna sound bad but I almost wish he woulda gone full out and stripped it so I coulda blamed him for the action and then I coulda salvaged it with a more subtle finish or replated it as it originally left the factory or if he woulda just left the decals intact so as to softened the impact of this shade, man it's bold ! ) but fear not, I fully understand the importance of this piece historically in connection with Ralph's so I guess it's my job now to preserve it and present it best I can - I'm still a JMC nerd more so then anything so some bits will be stored and protected as I can't see myself using for a personal build a the forks don't compliment the frame in the least - thinner tubing and just to plain Jane - a JMC frame deserve it's proper JMC fork and this style bar (along with inverted stems) were always more of a 26er designed piece of equipment in my head - granted it may be a mental block but om came up with inverts for his om and beachcruisers ran'em - most 24" of that era were designed with standard stems and expert sized bars to be used and personally I feel more comfortable using that outline - ergonomically that is.

Bret anything else you can muster up would be great

[Just..Me..Chillin']

Two of the most difficult and fustrating things in this hobby :

Buying/selling used old tires and hoops/rims
N
Trying to identify early unstamped or unstickered bars (be it expert/pro or cruiser)

For F'sake !


Anyone else got any ideas ? ......and make this all the more difficult if not enough so already

[KenC]

From what I have been told by a local racer who was there, the Torker cruiser bar wasn't even offered til late 82 or 83. Mike McGlauphlin (not sure if the spelling is correct) who was Torkers cruiser teams manager and a local St. Louis racer was sent 4 sets of unfinished bars from Torker for him to choose from in early/mid 82 and he picked out the ones he thought felt the best and that's the design Torker went with. McGlauglin was injured in 82 and a buddy of mine actually raced McGlaughlins 24" Torker that year with the unfinished prototype bars on it, he said by the end of the year they were all rusted because he just bolted them on the way Torker sent them.

A McGlauphlin family member still has the bike and I am going to try to get pics of the bike and the prototype bars, I'm hoping they never painted the bars and they're still rusted.

My buddy still has his Torker bars that he raced in 83 and I can get some pics and measurements if anyone wants to know for sure.

[RyanPartridge]

The crossbar looks a little thick but....could they be Prodyne bars?

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[Thornton]

RyanPartridge, on 17 December 2011 - 09:44 AM, said:

The crossbar looks a little thick but....could they be Prodyne bars?

definitely not prodyne bars. the top cross bar on prodyne bars are damn near flush with grip surface

[Thornton]

route66, on 16 December 2011 - 11:17 PM, said:

On a side note, I measured my later 1st gen GT cruiser bars and they are 4.75" center to center. and the top bar is right about 14" across.

I just went in the garage and measured my GT bars on my Prodyne

exact same, 4.75" center to center and the top bar is right about 14" across as well


ANother dimension I took of my bars is the flat mounting area surface where it is installed to the stem

the flat portion before bend to bend going to the rise is right around 5" give or take a little

[route66]

Yeah, no on Prodyne for sure, the cross bar is up higher and a bit thinner as well as being 15.5" across weld to weld

I am not sure if the GT cruiser bars were offered in blue either, I was thinking they might be GT bars cut down a bit (1"). I seams that the sweep would really help in determining what the bars you have are. What is the best way to determinate the sweep angles?

[TrulyOdd]

here's a pic of a hustler cruiser.

(was grey's)