May 7, 20179 yr Noticed some 70's Cota's have packing pieces wrapped around handlebar to increase the diameter. So why were the handlebar and clamps clamps odd size to the normal 7/8"?
May 7, 20179 yr Why do we have fatbars? My 348 had the bigger diameter bars, presumably for strength, but they were not (unlike fatbars) very resistant to bending so there was a market for shims to convert to accept 7/8 Renthals.
May 7, 20179 yr Author So it's a standard 'feature', do we know what years had the 'fat bars'? Many thanks
May 7, 20179 yr Best I can do is to say early Seventies. I think, but may be wrong, that all 348 years had them but 349 did not. Montesa experts will correct any error.
May 13, 20179 yr 348 Cotas had Akront fat bars. Not tapered like modern bars. Made of thicker tube (about 25mm) and turned down to about 7/8 inch at the ends for the levers and grips. Very god bars they were. When you changed to standard Renthal bars (Akront fat bars unavailable) you had to fit the shim pieces.
May 14, 20179 yr My 1976 348 came with Akront 1" bars and they were great bars. They lasted until about 2014 before breaking which is quite a bit longer life than 1970s (unbraced) 7/8" Renthals
May 14, 20179 yr One photo shows how the ends were machined down to 7/8". The other is the stamping that was between the mounting clamps, looking like an advertisement for Akront
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