[Closed] Deciding on bar width?

play about with where the grips are till it feels comfortable, chop

you're the one riding the bike, not anyone else, or fashion

You have to spend some time at a width, say a couple of weeks, then move it and reassess. Takes time. Each to their own. But if you dont experiment you wont know if you are getting it right or wrong.

750 feels fine...until you ride at 800 and then go back to 750.

Okay, the numbers might be different for you but I only seem to notice a width is wrong when I go back to something narrower.

Just be sure. You can cut bits off, but you can't cut bits on.

Cut 'em to the length you like. And in 2 weeks you'll realise that it's 10-20mm too short. No getting away from it, it's just how it works.

No such thing as wrong here, I was quite early in going for wider, back when MBR was saying things like "720mm is too wide for trail riding", and I always thought I was pushing it when I went 720, 740... 760 seemed insane, I retreated from that, but then I tried it again and eventually settled on 780. But at just about every point I thought I was wrong 😉

I’ve given in and put 800mm bars on my slack head angled big front wheel full sus bike. Rider proportions are not the only thing that drives bar width, for me. Prefer 760 bars normally, but they just don’t work as well with that bike. Tried 780 on it as well, and that didn’t quite work either. Ask someone else why, I’m not sure.

Bar width doesn’t relate to size - many of the women on the DH circuit run wider bars than much bigger men.

I’m not massive in the shoulder/upper body area and have found that I’m faster with 800 mm bars than narrower ones, especially in technical terrain. The wider bars make the bike feel more stable when you’re getting pitched around. Someone who’s bigger/stronger can probably get away with narrower bars.

I remember the terrible advice in the late 80s to cut bars down to shoulder width, which as a slight 13 year old meant about 550mm, so I’ve always been sceptical when people say your bars are too wide.

JP

Having cut down my RaceFace bars on my hardtail and still not being able to ride past the fence on a track last week, I'm glad they're not wider. I think they're 760 (same width as on my full sus). My son is skinnier than me, rode my Yeti with Gravity 777mms on it and got on fine. Just go with what suits you.

[i]many of the women on the DH circuit [/i]
Yeah, these are on DH bikes right? And the OP is talking about a trail bike. I don't get why everyone wants what downhillers have when that's a completely different type of riding to what most of us do.

I’m not saying you need to have the same width as downhill riders, you doofus - I’m pointing out that ideal bar width is not positively related to rider size. I could have picked women enduro racers as another example, but I thought it was pretty clear what I was trying to say. Obviously not.

JP

you doofus

I am 😥

I love the word Doofus.

I have one set of 780s and one set of 760s. I love both, but prob love the 780s a little more. But when I’m in forest trails with very tight trees, I’m often glad if I’m riding the 760s!

“Yeah, these are on DH bikes right? And the OP is talking about a trail bike”

The RocketMAX isn’t really a trail bike, it’s a 160mm 29” enduro bike which is as long and slack as many WC DH bikes.

I’ve done a lot of experimenting in the last few years and settled on 770mm. Widest was 810, tried 740,750,760 and 800 too. The trees are really tight here so I tried to go as narrow as possible without it being compromised elsewhere. If I was racing in my local woods then I’d have to go narrower but I’m not so I haven’t!

People sometimes talk about using your push-up hand width to check - but my strongest position for that is much narrower and I find for bench press I’m stronger with a narrower grip despite the longer range of motion it demands. I’m also stronger in pulling exercises with my hands less far apart.

If I liked super short stems then I’d probably go wider but I prefer how 50mm feels, it’s calmer than 35mm.

I tried some 800 mm bars, felt like driving a truck and kept clipping trees. Cut them down 10 mm at a time, found 760 mm and a 50 mm stem works for me. Everyone has their own personal preferences, so you just need to experiment.

You can't really determine bar size without factoring in stem length and reach.
My XC bike has some narrowish bars (couldn't tell you what without measuring) and a 65mm stem ... the same bike felt super twitchy with the 85mm stem... My 10yr old jumped on the XC the first thing he said was "wow these bars are narrow" even though I don't think they are narrower than his bars with a 35mm stem.

Glad they are narrow at the moment as my hands are full of gorse anyway...

My bigger/longer frames both have 780mm the Mega(L) is slightly longer but has a 35mm stem and the Bird (M) very slightly shorter and running a 50mm.

Non of these feel wrong though...
Why not buy a £10-£15 eBay set or some NP Neutrons and experiment on those before cutting the carbon ones?

Pick the tightest gap between trees on your favourite circuit, measure it and add 10mm. Cut you bars to this width. Entertain your trail mates forever.

I find width is less a factor of my body shape and how the bars feel than;
- getting past/between those tree things
- super wide makes bike storage more irritating.

5.9” high, 37” chest so not a big build. I run 780 wide renthal bar but could quite easily get away with 760 bar but just didn’t want to cut down the carbon bars.

Pick the tightest gap between trees on your favourite circuit, measure it and add 10mm. Cut you bars to this width. Entertain your trail mates forever.

[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/128/349329484_f944592e10.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/128/349329484_f944592e10.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/wSpu9 ]Help with wide bars at Learnie[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/brf/ ]Ben Freeman[/url], on Flickr

I had 720mm bars on my XC bike, and I cut 10mm off!

Arms closer together feels way better for me on climbs when putting some effort in. Hence the (relatively) narrow bars on the XC bike and even 660mm on my adventure bike where it's brilliant for putting the miles in.

Just put 780mm on the big bike tho and it's good, so I'd say it depends massively on the bike and the type of riding.

For me 720 is the absolute max and 680 is still fine. Wider bars I just don't get on with

Its just personal taste

https://www.pinkbike.com/news/finding-your-sweet-spot-handlebar-width.html

That formula gives me 740mm (I'm a 1.68m shortarse). I have use 760mm bars for years now. If you factor in the outside collars on my grips, I reckon it's about spot on. YMMV.

I'm 6'1 with wide shoulders and don't get on with wide bars, I tried 800mm and clipped my little fingers numerous times & had shoulder ache after every ride.

I currently have 660mm on my xc bike & 711mm on my freeride bike - handling is fine & wider bars only had disadvantages for me.

I’m yet to be convinced that anybody my size (or this side of a gorilla) actually needs 800mm bars, but on the other hand – lopping the ends off “just because” seems kinda daft, and its “only” 20mm.

Sums it up neatly for me. I've had 800mm on two bikes now. I used to think i'd never get used to it, and chop them down to maybe 780mm, but again, I'm not sure why I've settled on that as a more "sensible" width, and so I've never cut them. I'm 178cm and 75kg. I don't think I've got a bigger upper body, or doing trails near me that need me to muscle the bike about.

If it feels OK, just leave it.

Bars, if you been around through the whole mtb thing you’d have seen them all. My oldest bikes 1987 and 1992 have both had their bars updated (widened) twice. If fact both have had their diameter upped and therefore new stems as well, increased dia and shortened as bars got wider. Both, even in their updated forms, feel very narrow at the beginning of a ride but mean I can ride the old single tracks, that modern bikes just can’t do. Clearly reach (top tube length and stem length) are factors in considering bar width. Terrain influences choice and speed, seems to mean, it’s narrower on the road and wider off.
There are quite a few bikes in this household, three riders, each with numerous bikes and every one has a different width bar.
Ultimately it’s what feels right for you for that bike and where and how you are going to ride it.
Probably if a normal person on normal modern bike it will be 780 or 800 or maybe something else!

it's a fit question, the closer your arms are together the further you are from the bars, so for everyone on every bike it'll be different, due to effective TT length, stem, saddle, and their personal measurements.

You're aiming to have yourself roughly mid way between the wheelbase when you're on the bike, so you can move about either way for max control.

If you've got narrow shoulders, but long arms, then you'll want a longer bar with someone with broad shoulders and a smaller wingspan.

I wasn't sold on wide bars, until I chucked some 800mm ones on one of my bikes, (I'm a short arse, with wide shoulders), and now they just feel right, although I'm on a 16.5" bike, with a 30mm stem.

Way too many factors, but you want to make yourself feel in the strongest position on the bike, so not hanging off the bars, but not hunched either, not leaning over them, but not hanging off the rear of the bike either.. if that makes any sense.

it’s a fit question

It’s not just a ‘fit’ question.

Leave the formulas to roadies.

Bar width on your Cotic you say? Some words from the man himself may help

IMO life's too short to worry about 20mm... Ahem

It’s difficult I think. I’m running 780mm bars and generally they feel fine, but when I’ve had a go on bikes with 800mm they feel too wide.

The only place I wonder about the 780’s is on steep / tight / slow turns on natural tech - it feels like the outside end of the bar is too far away from me when going round these. Maybe it’s because I’m turning too much and not leaning enough to get the bike round the corner. Wonder if I’m that case 760mm would be better.

I’m 5’9 and have to wear the shorter arm length in formal shirts and find longer reach bikes a bit too long. I think you’ve just got to play about until you find what’s right for you. Ignore fashion to have the widest bar length possible.

Im 6' relatively broad, ride a banshee spitfire with 35mm stem. I run 750 wide (cut from 780-Renthal). There was a good video talking about bar width, i think it may have been ob GMBN, but as others have stated, your type of riding, where you ride, stem length etc play a role. I was one of the old xc fan bois running super narrow bars, then got into freeride, so everything went relatively wide (but not stupid), but high rise. Then along came 800mm "enduro" bars that were touted as the best thing since slice bead, with the main selling point being "more stable at speed".. Of which i agree, on a DH bike, going in relatively striaght lines.

I like tight singletrack and wide bars don't work..

So this still seems to be plodding along gently...

I'm 5'10", 36" chest, relatively normal proportions. The bike is used for the nastier end of natural (term used loosely) riding - think Wharncliffe, Golfy, high/cheeky Lakes stuff. A lot of "getting down it upright and feet up = success" kind of riding.

I guess a chunk of the question is how do you define "right" from merely "different"?

As a bit of backstory, I've always been a bit behind fashion in bar-width terms. Back in 2015ish I was trying to get my head round winter Wharncliffe sloptech riding. Steep, claggy mud, greasy roots, greasy rocks. Even with mud tyres on, survival is more about controlling the slide accurately than conventional "hooked up" traction. I was on my 26" Rocket with 710mm bars. I was struggling a bit and came to the conclusion that part of the problem was the front tyre grabbing on the rocks and roots before skittering off unpredictably had more control authority than I did through the bars. I shuffled the grips out 20mm each side (lockons with a nice stiff core) and things immediately calmed down - a combination of extra leverage, more stability and a given hand movement resulting in less angle applied to the front wheel. As a result I snapped up a cheap set of "last years unfashionably narrow" 750mm bars and all was good.

I'm now riding a bike that's 3° slacker and has a front wheel that's ~500g heavier and is letting me carry (a lot!) more speed, so there's more flop to deal with when going slow and much more inertia to overcome when turning at speed, so that's why I'm automatically heading for something wider. Ebay chucked up some mint 800mm Renthals and here we are...

It’s not just a ‘fit’ question.
Leave the formulas to roadies.

Glad you only quoted that bit of the post and totally ignored the rest.

Well done 😀

If I was going on formula's only, half the stuff I said about your body size, the stem length etc would be nonsense, and they're clearly not.

It IS a fit question though, if 800mm bars don't "fit" your bike, your shape, or your reach, they just don't.. it's fine to make them narrower, that's why they're marked for cuts.

The one thing that hasn't been mentioned is that wider bars put your weight further forwards. So wider = more weight on the front wheel & proportionally more weight through your arms. Definitely more suited to riding 'hard' than just pootling, and is potentially more tiring than riding narrower bars.

I'm tall ish, but not particularly broad-of-shoulder. I like my 800mm FatBars which I've had for 5 years now. There are some very tight tree-gaps on some trails though! I'd be interested in trying something wider but I suspect it'd be too much.

It IS a fit question though

Of course fit is key.

But…

It is not ‘just’ a fit question.

Smaller riders with wider bars, large riders with narrower bars… whatever works for your riding. It’s not just about fit, it’s about handling, wheelsize, headangle, and what kind of riding you enjoy… and the trees.

Ive actually gone narrower down to 760 from 780. I’m not broad shouldered and find it easier to push the bar down into the corner that bit narrower

I still find 705mm a bit wide and thinking of going back to 680mm. That's still 100mm wider than I used for a very long time 🙂

From that Pinkbike article:

From this work, I’ve developed the RideLogic sweet spot handlebar width calculation. Starting with your gender and height (and assuming average proportions) this calculation gives you a handlebar width that:

• Gives you the range of motion to shred downhills and carve tight turns.

• Supports huge pushing strength for aggressive riding.

• Empowers pulling strength for pumping bumps and turns.

• Uses the big muscles in your torso, rather than the small muscles in your arms and shoulders, so you ride longer and harder with less pain.

• Keeps your shoulders stronger and healthier.

Finding the right width will make you ride — and feel — so much better. And it’s so easy.

Are you ready?

To get your RideLogic sweet spot handlebar width in millimeters:

If you’re male, multiply your height in millimeters by 0.440.

If you’re female, multiply your height in millimeters by 0.426.

Simple.

The key point is, "assuming average proportions". A whole lot of people aren't of average proportions, so the formula cannot work for everyone. It doesn't work for me, that's for sure. None of the miracle formulas on bike fit will work universally for the same reason.

Ebay chucked up some mint 800mm Renthals and here we are…

It'll also chuck up loads of cheap bars ... just grab one at 780 or bigger (you already have 800) and incrementally take off 5mm a side until it's too short then go back to which length felt best.

better than cutting off more than you would like and you got a good deal anyway.

so the formula cannot work for everyone.

I've just worked out me "ideal bar width" based on that formula; 783mm. I ride 800mm bars, a difference of 17mm, so less than 9mm per side, which I reckon would probably be inconsequential.

I’ve just worked out me “ideal bar width” based on that formula; 783mm. I ride 800mm bars, a difference of 17mm, so less than 9mm per side, which I reckon would probably be inconsequential.

A formula like that might get the average person into the ballpark, the problem is that it can't work for people who don't have average body proportions, which is a lot of people. That Pinkbike article was in response to this:
https://www.pinkbike.com/news/handlebar-width-vs-handling-are-your-bars-too-wide.html

If you scroll down to the bottom of that, there's a list of pro riders and their preferred bar width. It's all over the map. For example:
Richie Rude
EWS Pro
Height: 5' 10" (179 cm)
Bar Width: 750 mm

Amaury Pierron
World Cup DH Pro
Height: 5' 11" (180 cm)
Bar Width: 800 mm

Danny Hart
World Cup DH Pro
Height: 5' 9" (179 cm):
Bar Width: 780 mm

Brandon Semenuk
Slopestyle Pro
Height: 6' 1" (185 cm)
Bar Width: 735 mm

Isabeau Courdurier
EWS Pro
Height: 5' (152.5 cm)
Bar Width: 760 mm

I could have bars a metre wide and still ride around with my palms perched on the ends of them.