Thank you Leon. I did not know that. My only experience with them is Calling them “California” bars or “butterfly” bars from customizing bikes in California way back when.
If you have an abundance of Whizzer or Schwinn literature (we do), you can actually see these bars listed as accessories. There were also special dealer bulletins sent out in the late 1940s when the cushion version was introduced.
There was also a version (which we have NOS) that was cusioned in a special rubber sleeve. It operated like
Colson Cushioner fork or
Stewart-Warner Floating Hub. These special cushioned versions said "
SCHWINN" stamped into the metal collar of the cushion sleeve. The Schwinn experts on here ought to know this stuff.
Of course, Riser Bars were not a Schwinn idea or limited to Schwinn. Everybody had them. Version II of
Monark Super-Twin came with its own special set of factory Riser bars with a throttle built-in on the right side.
Now. Today's hobby does not seem to know this but there were once commonly-known bicycle handlebar shapes/bends. Most people interested in and dealing in bicycles knew these easily. A long, long time ago this was once all common knowledge.
Many handlebar shapes were named after cities– especially in California, but all over the country. Also after colleges. There were "California" bars. "Oakland" bars, "Bakersfield" bars. "Fresno" bars. "Stockton" bars. "Yale" bars. "Princeton" bars. "Harvard" bars. And many more.
There were "Scout" bars. "Messenger" bars. "Box" bars. And the almighty "Steerhorn" and "Longhorn" bars. And "Texas" bars.
There were even a couple of publications issued back in the 1920s-1940s depicting the shapes/bends and general appearance of these handlebar styles. Yesssss, we have the publications, of course!
There were also "Polo" bars (at least two types) and by the 1960s, the almighty "Ape-Hanger" bars.
Now... who else tells you this stuff? LOL.
Leon Dixon
National Bicycle History Archive of America
(NBHAA.com)
