Everyone loves Nitto products.
I’ve visited their factory several times, but every time I go, I discover something new—it’s a company I truly love.
Unlike factories that can do absolutely anything, they have their constraints, but I respect the way they craft essential products within the boundaries of those constraints and their long-standing traditions.
Personally, I love old things and have a habit of wasting my spare cash on vintage clothes and film cameras, so I’m a huge fan of things with a classic aesthetic. (The straps from LANCE, which sadly went out of business, were also classic.)
Given my personality, I’ve always been frustrated that while I love the shapes of the products in the Nitto catalog, they just didn’t quite fit the way we like to play.
Then, when I visited Nitto last year, I brought that up, and Nitto’s president, Mr. Yoshikawa, said, “Why don’t you just make it? What do you want?” So, taking him up on his generous offer, we went ahead and made these Circles custom models.
Introducing the wide versions of the B132 Grand Randonneur and B136 Bee Bar.
B132 “Hanafuda” Grand Randonneur
This was genuinely the handlebar I’d been dying to have.
It’s a classic Randonneur bar. It’s got a classic design, layered with tradition and historical context. With the rise of neo-randonneur style bikes these days, this is my personal number one pick for handlebars to use with that kind of interpretation.
While the standard lineup comes in 390mm, 410mm, and 450mm, we requested custom 460mm and 500mm versions. They’re perfect for modern neo-randonneurs with wide tires. They do a great job of suppressing road chatter on rough terrain, and perhaps thanks to the extra width, the vibration damping is excellent. They have a fantastic, supple feel.
We also added a black finish, which isn't in the standard catalog.
It has a square shoulder with a slight flare. It’s a perfect design for touring bikes where you want an upright riding position. (Using an upward-angled stem is recommended.)
And looking at it from the side, the geometry is stunning. If you compare it to modern drop bars, you’ll see the radius is extremely rounded. Plus, having it set parallel to the ground looks so cool. Just swapping to this handlebar gives your bike a incredibly classic look.
This shape means it has a long reach and a deep drop, but I personally love this long reach because it offers more hand position options, allowing me to ride in a variety of postures.
The deep drop means a significant difference in position, so riding in the drops makes for a fairly aggressive lean, but for touring with the goal of riding at a leisurely pace, you rarely use the drops anyway. And when you do, the shift in weight balance is quite different, which I find refreshing when rambling along for long distances (I’ve ridden about 1,000km with this, and it’s something I’ve felt firsthand).
One thing to note: because the reach is deep, the bar will feel further away. You might need to adjust by shortening your current stem extension by 10mm or more. Just keep that in mind! (We recommend having a shop check your position!)
NITTO B132 Hanafuda Grand Randonneur
Reach: 122mm
Drop: 110mm
Clamp Diameter: 25.4mm
Width: 460mm, 500mm
Price: 7,200 JPY (tax included)
B136 “Hanafuda” Bee Bar
The B136 is also an unbeatable Randonneur bar (though, in reality, it feels like the optimal solution for neo-randonneurs—but more on that later).
Compared to the B132, the shoulder rise is milder, making it a short-reach Randonneur bar. Once installed on a contemporary neo-randonneur, it gives off a highly classic vibe.
The slight flare is also nice.
In practice, the reach of about 110mm on the B136 is really good. You have plenty of hand positions, but because it’s a short-reach bar, the distance to the hoods is shorter. I recommend this bar for those who find the B132’s style a bit too aggressive. It’s a model that hits the sweet spot—classic style with practical, user-friendly details.
Most modern drop bars these days probably have a reach around 80–90mm. That profile is likely very effective for those who ride on the hoods or use the drops frequently, but when you’re limited to long-distance rides, being the impatient person I am, I find myself wanting more variety in hand placement or the ability to drastically change positions to feel refreshed—which is why I like these two classic handlebar models.
Also, comparing profiles, while the B136 (130mm drop) technically has a deeper drop than the B132 (110mm drop), because the B136 has a gentler upsweep at the shoulders (the square shoulder angle isn’t as high) and combined with the fact that the B132 has a deeper reach, the B132 feels deeper in actual use.
In other words, the B136 is a drop bar that looks classic but actually has a shorter reach and shallower drop. My personal bias is stronger for the B132, so I find myself pushing that more, but objectively speaking, the B136 might actually be the definitive choice for finishing off a neo-randonneur in a classic style.
For this handlebar as well, we recommend using a slightly shorter stem extension (though some people might find their current stem works just fine).
NITTO B136 Hanafuda Bee Bar
Reach: 110mm
Drop: 130mm
Clamp Diameter: 25.4mm
Width: 470mm, 500mm
Price: 7,200 JPY (tax included)
Postscript: Original Engraving
Oh, one more feature of this product. For this custom project, we went all out and created a custom engraving for the handlebars.
The motif is Hanafuda (Japanese playing cards).
Facing forward, it says “NITTO” on the right and “Circles” on the left.
A combination of Kanji and Katakana!
When we were thinking of motifs, we wanted to include something “very Japanese.” We figured it should be something classic and something that felt like “us.”
That was when Hanafuda immediately came to mind.
Well, it’s not exactly that we’re super familiar with Hanafuda cards, but the reason I thought they’d be perfect is because I remembered that Hanafuda was actually Nintendo’s very first product. That thought clicked perfectly with this project.
The reason being, there are many fanatical Nintendo fans here at Circles, and they are constantly honing their skills, so the “Nintendo spirit” has had a significant influence on us.
Play seriously, think seriously, goof around seriously, and enjoy it seriously.
For us, turning our hobby into our work, this is extremely important.
With that sentiment in mind, we created the Hanafuda engraving.
By the way, Nintendo was originally a printing company, and they started out by using that printing technology to make Hanafuda cards (founded in 1889! They were apparently called Nintendo Koppai!). Isn’t it intense to think they were making a Famicom about 100 years after they were founded? The innovation of such an old, established company is incredible. That’s also a uniquely Japanese aspect that differs a bit from the US, where emerging manufacturers repeat constant innovation.
That spirit mysteriously synchronized with the image of Nitto, and this product was born.
They’re classic, wide-range Randonneur bars. I think they fit the current mood surprisingly well, so please give them a try.
P.S. It might look really awesome if you try inking the engraving yourself.
