Want some drop bars for a cross bike build.
Have a road bike, happy with the width of the bars, how do I measure them to see what width bars I need for my new build?
is it outside to outside or centre to centre?
It's usually c-to-c but I'd check before you buy that the shop specifies. Some manufactures quote outside to outside.
Personally I prefer wider bars on a cross bike than a road bike. Most are measured centre to centre across the bottom of the drops, but there are different ones out there.
also is it measured on the top, or on the drops? the centre to centre of my drops seems slightly wider than centre to centre at the hoods.
EDIT: answered above.
I'd use cross-type bars like Woodchippers, Bell Laps etc, the extra width and flare will help a lot off road.
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As the Zipp pic shows, there are variations in how different companies measure is - Salsa measure this way as well, but centre to centre. Best bars I have used on a CX bike are Salsa Cowbells.