# New GoPro mounts



## Vancbiker (May 25, 2005)

Still adding variety to the line of GoPro stuff. This is a new mount that is for 22.2 diameter (tri) bars. Swivels so any aiming point can be achieved. I'll be adding 25.4, 31.8 and possibly 35mm sizes in the near future. PM or e-mail (see link in sig line) for details.


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Vanc, while your at it, why dont you make one that centers lights over the stem for us?


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## Vancbiker (May 25, 2005)

tigris99 said:


> Vanc, while your at it, why dont you make one that centers lights over the stem for us?


Stem faceplate style does that nicely. You know you need one.......


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

oh the fatty will get one once I can have it down for a bit  having a gopro mount that centers on my trail bike though....


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## CactusJackSlade (Apr 11, 2006)

Make the bolt a hex please... if it is not already...


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## Vancbiker (May 25, 2005)

CactusJackSlade said:


> Make the bolt a hex please... if it is not already...


The screw I'm shipping with these uses a 4mm allen wrench to tighten. Is that what you mean by hex, or do you mean a hex head which for the screw size would use a 10mm socket or box end wrench?


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## Vancbiker (May 25, 2005)

Here is an installed picture of the 22.2mm version. I'm mainly intending these to be used with lights and my adapters but it's good for cameras too.


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## MRMOLE (May 31, 2011)

When will these be available in 25.4 & 31.8?
Mole


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## Vancbiker (May 25, 2005)

Actually, the first batches of 25.4 and 31.8 ones are already sold out. I'll have more made by middle of this week.


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## MRMOLE (May 31, 2011)

Vancbiker said:


> Actually, the first batches of 25.4 and 31.8 ones are already sold out. I'll have more made by middle of this week.


Thanks! I'll email/order the beginning of the week.
Mole


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## CactusJackSlade (Apr 11, 2006)

Vancbiker said:


> The screw I'm shipping with these uses a 4mm allen wrench to tighten. Is that what you mean by hex, or do you mean a hex head which for the screw size would use a 10mm socket or box end wrench?


Perfect the way you are doing it


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## Vancbiker (May 25, 2005)

These mounts are available in 25.4mm (1") and 31.8mm (1.25") versions now. PM or e-mail via link in sig line for info and pricing.


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## MRMOLE (May 31, 2011)

Vancbiker said:


> These mounts are available in 25.4mm (1") and 31.8mm (1.25") versions now. PM or e-mail via link in sig line for info and pricing.


Thanks for the reminder. Thanks for making 25.4 too, I've got a 29er rigid SS that will have 25.4 as long as I own it (one case where a little extra flex is a good thing).
Mole


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## Vancbiker (May 25, 2005)

Had a customer opt for red anodize. Pricey, but nice looking.


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Vanc, you should see what it costs to have all your mounts anodized, especially the finned adapters just because it helps with thermal dissipation quite a bit. Probably adds a good chunk to the cost though.

Sent from my XT1565 using Tapatalk


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## Vancbiker (May 25, 2005)

The minimum charge at the anodizing shops in my area is $60 and does not include pickup/delivery or shipping. In the typical batch sizes that I run adapters that's going to add $2-$10 per adapter. IMO, folks won't want to pay that in most cases.


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## MRMOLE (May 31, 2011)

These are nice pieces. Wide contact area requires less pressure on carbon bars.

































Mole


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## Vancbiker (May 25, 2005)

*35mm size added*

The 35mm version of these mounts are now available. PM or e-mail through the website in my sig line for info.


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## Flamingtaco (Mar 12, 2012)

Raw aluminum is ok, but brushed or polished is much better. Looks like you are media blasting?

I believe anodizing is more popular, though. Brushed aluminum resembles a stainless kitchen, and polished parts haven't recovered from the early 90's. I'd bet most would be ok with a $2 bump for a black anodized finish. Personally, I wish there were a lot more brown anodized parts. A well polished part for a highly reflective brown rocks everything out there, IMO.


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## RAKC Ind (Jan 27, 2017)

actually anodizing is quite expensive unless your doing massive production runs (or get lucky to jump in with someone else production run). look above as he did red for someone. "Pricey"

Even small scale stuff is expensive. A lot involved. I thought about a small DIY set up and I havent even started to attempt it yet and it wouldnt be my first time dealing with it. These arent made in china you know


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## Vancbiker (May 25, 2005)

Flamingtaco said:


> ...... Looks like you are media blasting?


The finishing is a tumble deburr. A "tub" of aluminum oxide and silicon carbide trigons slowly rotating with the parts and soapy water water for a few hours.



Flamingtaco said:


> .....I'd bet most would be ok with a $2 bump for a black anodized finish.


The anodizing shop that is fairly local to me has a $60 minimum charge and about a 1 week lead time. Also I have to drop off and pick up the parts. It would add way more than $2 per part to have them anodized.


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

Vanc; Just the other day I picked up a cheap Chinese Gopro bar mount. Boy was that a waste of money! Damn holes in it are so small / tight I can barely get the screw in. Not to mention that it didn't include a hand adjuster so I can angle it right. The included screw won't even let you adjust tension it's so damn tight. ( I had to set the angle right "before" putting the screw in... ) Hell, I searched the net all over for a simple low profile bar mount ( that works with a hand adjuster ) but damn, I couldn't find one that didn't require an extra adapter...in which case it ends up sitting too high for my taste.

Anyway, I'm interested in the mounts you have at the beginning of the thread. Looks to be just what I'm looking for. I'll likely need both sizes because one is to use on an extension mount ( like you show in one of your photos ). The other is for plain bar mounting.

So...how much for two of those? I'd prefer to have them in black. What would that cost ( not including shipping )


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## Vancbiker (May 25, 2005)

My experience with Chinese GoPro stuff ended poorly also with the last batch of mounts having 75% of them needing rework or parts replaced to be good enough to modify and re-sell. A few had to be scrapped as the threads were so loose, they would have stripped at the first or second tightening.

I'll PM you regarding pricing.


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## Flamingtaco (Mar 12, 2012)

Cat-man-do said:


> Vanc; Just the other day I picked up a cheap Chinese Gopro bar mount. Boy was that a waste of money!


When going with cheap Chinese gopro mounts, the k-edge lookalikes  are good quality, trouble-free pieces.


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## Vancbiker (May 25, 2005)

Flamingtaco said:


> When going with cheap Chinese gopro mounts, the k-edge lookalikes  are good quality, trouble-free pieces.


Sometimes yes and sometimes no. The linked brand may be a better unit but I've not tried that one. I have bought over 2 dozen similar mounts in the past year or so from DX and GB. Typically in groups of 4-6 pieces to modify to fit 35mm bars. Quality ranged from all good to 75% bad in a batch. Sucked big time to wait 3-4 weeks for the order to arrive then find that some needed rework to be usable or had to be scrapped.


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## Flamingtaco (Mar 12, 2012)

I ignore reputation, but when the time doesn't fit the crime, I LOL...

Desert Diesel neg repped me with the comment "Chicom crap". 

I'm ok with Mr, Diesel's opinion being different from mine, and even expression of said opinion, but, wow, what an immense over-reaction. ut:

Did Mr. Diesel serve in Vietnam? Most people on this forum don't know that 'chicom' is derogatory slang meant to insult Asian communist nations, or that you don't tend to hear it except at VFW's on bingo night.








There's good product coming from Asia, including communist nations, and last I checked, the cold war is still over. I may not agree with their philosophies, and I won't buy knockoffs (passing items off as another company's product) but that doesn't mean I should paint with broad strokes. A lot of 'Made in the USA' product is out of the reach of average Americans, and lower quality Asian products help bridge the wage gap.


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## Flamingtaco (Mar 12, 2012)

Vancbiker said:


> Sometimes yes and sometimes no. The linked brand may be a better unit but I've not tried that one. I have bought over 2 dozen similar mounts in the past year or so from DX and GB. Typically in groups of 4-6 pieces to modify to fit 35mm bars. Quality ranged from all good to 75% bad in a batch. Sucked big time to wait 3-4 weeks for the order to arrive then find that some needed rework to be usable or had to be scrapped.


I didn't vet that particular seller... what I do a lot these days is purchase Amazon warehoused products. There has to be some weeding of problem products as Amazon surely doesn't want to make minimal income (high returns) from their warehouses.

I could be wrong on that, but I'm a few hundred items in on this method with no quality issues. Returned a Fenix headlamp due to the beam shape being overstated, and a PS4 because my boy wanted a laptop. I've got 20 gopro clone adaptors, all work as advertised.

As a bulk purchaser, this method might not work for you due to stock levels.


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## RAKC Ind (Jan 27, 2017)

The only products Amazon cares about is ones "sold by Amazon" not "sold by xyz and fulfilled by Amazon". Fulfilled by Amazon means it's stored in Amazon's warehouses, Amazon handles shipping and such. But any problems the "seller" pays.

I agree there is a lot more weeding out needing to be done as well as Amazon's return policy needs to be tightened up because it's so easy to take advantage of.

Sent from my XT1565 using Tapatalk


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

Flamingtaco said:


> When going with cheap Chinese gopro mounts, the k-edge lookalikes  are good quality, trouble-free pieces.


Looking at the photo in the link your provided, I've seen these before. Same two types are sold on Amazon, yours and mine. Both do not come with a "hand tightening" screw but rather a hex set-up requiring a hex wrench. Wish I had noticed that before ordering. For me the whole advantage of having something with a Gopro mount is that you can easily tilt/adjust the lamp while on the fly. Helps big time if you can "hand adjust" the tension screw if it's too tight or too loose ( without having to pull out a hex wrench ).

Anyway, the one I have isn't adjustable at all. The screw barely goes through. ( I did get mine through Amazon but it took a good while before I got it ) Damn...you'd think something this simple would be hard to screw up! The design I want has an embedded nut on one side and an included ( removable ) "hand adjustable" type screw for the other. Why is something this simple so hard to find? At least I have the ones that came with my ITUO lamps but the bar clamp on those is designed to fit all size bars and is kind of fugly. Otherwise, they work fine.


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## RAKC Ind (Jan 27, 2017)

The reason for hex is that you can't tighten a thumb screw enough to do any good on the aluminum bar mounts. I

have a few and even if I crank as hard as I can (broken a plastic thumb screw trying to tighten enough to hold anything). Too little friction.

Plastic compresses and bends much more easily to create friction to hold. Your basically trying to bend and tweak 3 aluminum tabs with 2 fingers.

But setting them so you can adjust as needed but be solid enough to hold is easy enough once you've played with it a couple times. Just annoying that on and off mounting quickly can't happen.

Sent from my XT1565 using Tapatalk


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## garrybunk (Feb 12, 2014)

Wouldn't you just "fix" the mount in place and use the thumbscrew at the gopro joint on the other end to adjust your light, camera, etc. . .? That's how I use mine (which by the way is the "other" style mount that doesn't stick way out from the bars). 

-Garry


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## Flamingtaco (Mar 12, 2012)

RAKC Ind said:


> The reason for hex is that you can't tighten a thumb screw enough to do any good on the aluminum bar mounts. I have a few and even if I crank as hard as I can (broken a plastic thumb screw trying to tighten enough to hold anything). Too little friction.
> 
> Plastic compresses and bends much more easily to create friction to hold. Your basically trying to bend and tweak 3 aluminum tabs with 2 fingers.
> 
> ...


Yes, yes, yes! I completely forgot about this. You can get the thumbscrews and nuts by the dozen from Ebay (also come in fives, threes, ones).

Some of the aluminum mounts have thinner outer flanges that will bend enough to use a thumbscrew:

View attachment 1133718


And a lot come with thumbscrew tools:

View attachment 1133713


I didn't care for the look and went with smooth, but a lot of the thumbscrews are knurled as well.

The aluminum mounts I have require a good bit more force to adjust the thumbscrew than the plastic mounts, but I've only had to resort to the tool when wearing thick gloves.


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## scar (Jun 2, 2005)

*Nice work Vancbiker!*









***


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## Vancbiker (May 25, 2005)

Looks nice!!

Did you ever get any measurements of temperatures with and without the finned GoPro adapter? Most lights drop 10-15 degrees with it.


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## MRMOLE (May 31, 2011)

^^^^^^^^^^^^
Also curious what effect the mount has on the Amoeba light.
Mole


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## scar (Jun 2, 2005)

I have not actually measured the effects of the vancbiker finned heatsink but have them on a couple of my personal lights and they definitely help. As far as the new bar mounts, this is the first one that I have ordered. This light/bar mount set-up is going to be touring part off the Tour Divide route so not trying to push every last lumen out of this light head. I thought this mount would be a great addition :thumbsup:.

***


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## Vancbiker (May 25, 2005)

scar said:


> ...I thought this mount would be a great addition :thumbsup:.


I'm betting they will like it a lot.

They are expensive when compared to the mounts coming from China, but after working with (and re-working) the Chinese K-edge copies, the adage "you get what you pay for" really becomes apparent.

Most folks that have bought these mounts comment on the swivel feature. It allows mounting the light at more locations on the bar and still be aimed properly. A couple users that are hardcore commuters swivel the light slightly to the right to help minimize glare for oncoming traffic.


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## MRMOLE (May 31, 2011)

This is what the mounting area looks like on the 2017 Gloworm X2. Not ideal for heat transfer but I'm guessing with the high current draw this light will benefit from a finned mount.
Mole


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## Vancbiker (May 25, 2005)

Sadly it looks like that light is going to require a substantially different form factor than my current offerings in heatsink style adapters. Would you measure the center to center dimensions on that hole pattern? The bottom looks pretty flat. Are the holes threaded? Any idea what size?


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## Flamingtaco (Mar 12, 2012)

MRMOLE said:


> View attachment 1137910
> 
> 
> This is what the mounting area looks like on the 2017 Gloworm X2. Not ideal for heat transfer but I'm guessing with the high current draw this light will benefit from a finned mount.
> Mole


I've not had my X1, X2 or XS dim due to heat. I don't run at 100% during slow climbs, maybe some do? That's a butt-load of light for creeper speed.


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## MRMOLE (May 31, 2011)

Vancbiker said:


> Sadly it looks like that light is going to require a substantially different form factor than my current offerings in heatsink style adapters. Would you measure the center to center dimensions on that hole pattern? The bottom looks pretty flat. Are the holes threaded? Any idea what size?











Widen the center pedestal and fins an equal amount, four holes instead of two and a lowpro style like the one on the XP2 looks like it would work (is that easier said than done?). Flat contact area would be plenty supportive, just a little spotty on contact area but to intricate to try to machine all the surface irregularities in. Holes are threaded. Would definitely send you the light and mounts + screws when I do this. Thinking I want a mount for that 7-up C&B Seen light so sending both at once would be convenient. 
Mole


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## MRMOLE (May 31, 2011)

> Flamingtaco said:
> 
> 
> > I've not had my X1, X2 or XS dim due to heat.
> ...


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## Vancbiker (May 25, 2005)

MRMOLE said:


> View attachment 1137927
> 
> 
> Widen the center pedestal and fins an equal amount, four holes instead of two and a lowpro style like the one on the XP2 looks like it would work (is that easier said than done?). Flat contact area would be plenty supportive, just a little spotty on contact area but to intricate to try to machine all the surface irregularities in. Holes are threaded.


The picture helps a bunch! I have a wide base/fin version of the "regular" finned adapter, but not of the LoPro. That being said it's not too tough to do...

Bigger block of material.
Modify or re-write 2 CNC programs.
Build a new fixture to hold the part for the second CNC operation.


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## Vancbiker (May 25, 2005)

*Back to the topic of GoPro mounts...*

Had a customer opt for black anodizing. Pretty sweet if I do say so myself. These are the 35mm version. Anodizing is available from my local anodizing shop in clear, black, red, green, blue, and gold as standard colors. Custom colors are available at an additional cost over the $60 minimum batch price.


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## MRMOLE (May 31, 2011)

> Vancbiker said:
> 
> 
> > The picture helps a bunch! I have a wide base/fin version of the "regular" finned adapter, but not of the LoPro. That being said it's not too tough to do...
> ...


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## Vancbiker (May 25, 2005)

To just add more heatsink, there are many other less costly ways to do that. A little time on Ebay or Amazon would probably find a useful part.

Anodized orders are done at customer request and I just pass through the additional cost with no markup even though I have to drop off and pick up the parts. Since the cost is high, very few people opt for anodizing. Maybe like 1 or 2 orders per year. That would make bundling orders a very long wait.

I've tried to think of ways to alter how I batch the machining of the parts to facilitate getting them all anodized black. Since the volumes are very low in any particular style and I don't really want to have a bunch of dusty 2 year unsold adapters sitting around that may never sell, it just hasn't come to me a realistic way to do it with out adding significant cost to the adapters. mounts. 

Depending on which adapter or mount and the current production batch sizes, anodizing would add $3.00 to $15.00 per item. As an example, that would make the 35mm GoPro swivel mount cost $47.00. Too high IMO for most buyers.


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## MRMOLE (May 31, 2011)

Vanc,
I've looked at electronics heat-sink options before and while cheaper and have abundant surface area they lack mass which is important too but will check again to see if there's anything new. Appearance is also important and again electronics options I've seen fall short of your products IMO. I think with the number of your mounts I have that having the anodizing done locally might be the best option for me and will have to check that out too. Have to ponder this a little more and will keep in touch.
Mole


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## RAKC Ind (Jan 27, 2017)

Vanc,

Odd thought for you but all the adapters basically start the same way so why not run them all except drilling the holes. An ABS fixture plate to pop them into for whatever mounting hole pattern needs to be drilled in smaller batches.

Would make the anodizing make more sense and you'd have a batch of what starts as universal mount adapters for whatever is needed as needed, already anodized.

Sent from my XT1565 using Tapatalk


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## Vancbiker (May 25, 2005)

MRMOLE said:


> Vanc,
> I've looked at electronics heat-sink options before and while cheaper and have abundant surface area they lack mass which is important too but will check again to see if there's anything new. Appearance is also important and again electronics options I've seen fall short of your products IMO. I think with the number of your mounts I have that having the anodizing done locally might be the best option for me and will have to check that out too. Have to ponder this a little more and will keep in touch.
> Mole


Yes, with all the stuff you've gotten from me over the past few years, it would make a nice batch for an ano shop near you. If you go that way, be sure to look at their process samples and pick the one you like best. You can get black ano ranging from satin to gloss.



RAKC Ind said:


> Vanc,
> 
> Odd thought for you but all the adapters basically start the same way so why not run them all except drilling the holes. An ABS fixture plate to pop them into for whatever mounting hole pattern needs to be drilled in smaller batches.
> 
> Would make the anodizing make more sense and you'd have a batch of what starts as universal mount adapters for whatever is needed as needed, already anodized.


I already do machine most of the adapters through the first operation in larger quantities, then finish as needed to maintain a small stock of each specific type. The reason I have not gone to anodizing at that point is that machining through the anodize surface causes pretty high tool wear. With carbide mills running ~$45-$100 each, avoiding premature wear is important.


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## RAKC Ind (Jan 27, 2017)

Didn't think about that, I was thinking just a standard high speed drill bit. I've found colbalt drill bits aren't even slowed by anodizing but that's in a drill press type use. I forget you cut the mounting holes not just a simple "drill a hole".

Sounded like a good idea in my head 

Sent from my XT1565 using Tapatalk


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## Vancbiker (May 25, 2005)

The last operation is not just drilling holes. It includes facing off the excess stock that was used to hold the part for the first operation, setting the thickness for the specific light, milling a cable groove if needed, then drilling.


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## RAKC Ind (Jan 27, 2017)

That's where I was thinking the whole "universal" idea. Literally everything finished except for the final holes for mounting.

Shows how much I know about cnc though 

Sent from my XT1565 using Tapatalk


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## Vancbiker (May 25, 2005)

*A new size?*

Here is a custom mount I did for use on a rear rack on a fatbike.







Fits a 12mm diameter. I don't imagine a big demand for this size, but this shows the flexibility of the design and manufacturing process.


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## scar (Jun 2, 2005)

Juts wanting to give Vancbiker a shout out for providing these to us. Waiting on a new bike to be delivered and the bars are 35mm. Now I get to mount this beauty on the new ride :thumbsup:









*****


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## Vancbiker (May 25, 2005)

Your re-finish work looks super nice!! Is that glass beaded or shot blasted?


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## scar (Jun 2, 2005)

Glass


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