Optimal gravel bar width.

I went larger "because marketing" and actually ended up feeling less stable on the bike because more of my weight was pulled onto the front by my hands being further apart.

I've since settled back to a normal width (40cm for me) but a more aggressive flair/shorter drop for the techy stuff and that seems a lot more comfortable to me.

Depending on bike geo and stem, I like a 42cm wide bar with at least 6 degrees of flare on drops off road.

My gravel bike has I think 44 or 46mm on a short stem and every ride I want a tiny bit more reach and less bar width.

Absolutely personal though.

Nice, both make a lot of sense.

I honestly think a lot of this wider=better is just hype, I mean I do get the practical element of them being able to fit more in between for bike-packing, and more leverage for the seriously rough stuff, but for the average Joe a neutral width coupled with a healthy amount of flair should be good enough.

I'm kind of answering my own question here but I definitely wanted to get some opinions from others that have tried various widths, so thank you.

Like almost everything 'gravel' related I think it depends on how you ride gravel!

I think the tipping point when I felt I needed wider than my current 44cm bars is the same tipping point at which I'd just take my 29er out instead. I still like my gravel bike to feel relatively quick and efficient like a road bike, but with tyres and gears for rougher tracks. Even when riding a bit of CX on muddy singletrack or trying to double up over rocky water bars in the Lakes, I've never felt like I needed wider bars.

offical drop bar calculator (gravel) is 2.6x the length of all your teeth + the average rate of jelly baby consumption per hour hour in summer daylight hours cubed

40cm is optimal for me and that is what fits me. Why would I ride a bar that is too wide just because gravel?

I think putting wider bars on a gravel bikes (past a certain point) can takes away from the nimbleness of what makes a gravel type bike so much fun in the first place.

I have the same 42cm (measured centre to centre) width bars on both my road and gravel/cross bikes. I'm happy with both 🤷‍♂️

Depends how you like your gravel. If you're a grubby roadie type, you'll probably want road-bike type kit. If you're more of a gnarvel rider, you'll probably want something wider and more flared.

I've gone 20mm wider across the hoods compared to my roadies (44cm rather than 42), but very heavily flared and as little drop as I could find. aka Ritchey Beacon bars. Seems to work OK.

I have a set of 38cm carbon Primaveras on the road bike, iirc my shoulders are ~42cm wide, I'd be looking at 50-55cm for bars that would frequently ride over non-tarmac.

I have salsa cow chippers on my gravel bike in 50cm width.

I love them a load more than the narrow cyclo-cross race bars that were on when I bought the bike.

However they do not fit through Motocross gates on tow paths.

Turns out a lot of my gravel riding involves Motocross gates on tow paths.

Quite a lot of my gravel riding involves fitter friends with road with bars that do fit.

They are also a bit annoying getting through doors. As the gravel bike is now my commuter this can be a touch irritating.

So- comfy- occasionally irritating.

I think 46cm would have been a better choice in hindsight.

I think I'm going to run with the 46mm, I guess I can always switch them out later if I want any wider.

Plus I've discovered the term 'Gnarvel' so it's a win-win 🙂

My gravel bike spends most of its time on the road, kinda 80/20split I'd say - so I went with the same 44cm with as I would on a road bike and a minimal flare.

Go with what ever is comfortable and for the type of 'gravel' you ride and also type of gravel bike. Disregard the marketing.

Like almost everything ‘gravel’ related I think it depends on how you ride gravel!

Is basically the answer.

I don't really do flared bars my Gravel and Road bikes have pretty similar bars (440mm compact drop). if I feel the need for more control/leverage I should probably be on my MTB.

But then my idea of "Gravel" won't quite be the same as anyone else's.

I've got 480mm Funn G-Wide. I don't mind the width*, I'm quite a big bloke (not tall) but they have quite a long reach and I think I'd prefer a shallower drop. Going to persevere for a bit longer but reckon I'll change them at some point to either 460mm or shorter reach bars.

*Apart from the moto gate issue above. I used to be able to ride through most of them...

Width isn't the only factor though. Reach, drop and flare equally affect handling as will stem length. What width bars do you run on a road bike?

I went larger “because marketing” and actually ended up feeling less stable on the bike because more of my weight was pulled onto the front by my hands being further apart.

I’ve since settled back to a normal width (40cm for me) but a more aggressive flair/shorter drop for the techy stuff and that seems a lot more comfortable to me.

This was me too. If my gravel bike weren't also my road bike, I might have stuck wider/gone even wider, but I do long rides on it, so it needs to be comfortable in the hoods. The drops are about the same width as they were on my previous bar because of the larger flare, so the control is still available when needed.

Depends how you like your gravel

Or depends on how you like your bike to fit. If 40cm is the right width on road then it is also the right width on gravel

If you're riding a mix of on and off-road and the off-road is average UK byways and easy singletracks then I'd go as wide and flared as feels ok on the road - general plan to make the bike as good as it can be off-road without going too far and making a really bad road bike.

I don't think shoulder width and road bike fit have much to do with it unless you want a gravel bike that's like a US gravel race bike, a road bike on 38mm tyres. And I think we can fit a far wider range of bikes and set ups than our first reactions and muscle memory suggest. The bars I like most on my gravel bike felt stupid for the first few rides and wrong until after a few rounds of adjustments.