[Closed] So ... what is the perfect bar width?

Wider shoulders, wider bars. What do you have currently?

There was something in the syndicate video from last week where it was shoulders apart elbows hanging down. And the width of you elbow to elbow. I personally feel comfortable in that position. Just remember you can cut bars down not make them wider.

750 feels okay to me and when I go narrower, I notice it. 800 feels a bit wide though. I guess somewhere between the two for me (also 5'10")

I've been riding a similar length of time to you and have come to the conclusion 710mm is about right for me. I don't ride DH, I ride woody singletrack and, having tried 780mm, then 740mm, both felt too wide.

So no, it's not just you.

About 3 metres with at least 6 ales.

Buy handlebar of choice at max width available.
Fit lock-on grips and adjust position inboard/outboard until you feel comfortable/balanced.
Cut bar ends off accordingly.

Whatever's comfortable. I think there's a lot of wannabe dhers who just have 800mm to be trendy (along with their massive gert discs and -10mm stems 🙂 ). I had some 780mm Answers (they were cheap) ended up cutting them down to 750 as not only were they a little bit uncomfortable (you do get used to them) but they weren't practical for riding through trees/gates/traffic/people!
750mm feels about right to me.

I've been riding with 710-720 ish bars for a few years now but then bought some RSP Ego Carbon DH bars at 780mm i think. At first they felt wide but now the bike with narrower bars feels wrong. I don't want 780's on the hard tail really as it's not used for DH or anything like that but i might have to go a bit wider, maybe 740 or something.

I'm 5'9" but am 'thick set' with fairly wide shoulders.....

. At first they felt wide but now the bike with narrower bars feels wrong.

I think that's the key - feel. I've got 780mm down to 740mm on 5 bikes and have previously had everything from 820mm down to 685mm. I've found that anywhere between 740mm and 770mm feels normal, with no odd feelings when swapping between bikes. 780+ ALWAYS feels too big for me and anything less than 730mm feels narrow.

Mike has it.

open your arms out wide, bend at the elbow (where else) and drop your forearms downwards.
this gives you your natural attack position and where your hands rest is where your bars should be cut.

It's something you need to find out for yourself.

But if you don't have time, it's 785mm.

Bang on 6ft tall here (183cm).

750mm bars with a 60mm stem works perfectly for the kind of riding I do, which is primarily natural riding in the Dales and the occasional loop round Gisburn or Dalby Forest.

I've given wider bars / shorter stem a go and it feels right for technical, trail-centry stuff, but wrong for the sort of riding I do day in day out.

Summary: as chakaping said above, personal choice and preference.

Long enough for all the regular punters to sit at whilst still allowing others to get served.

You might get a more sensible answer in the bike forum. LMMTFY.

780mm for me (Renthal Fatbars) felt very strange for the first 20 minutes but I know can't imagine narrower. On a slow up hill drag I sometimes ride with the outer 1/3 of my palms off the end of the bars. Makes me wonderif 800mm was the way forward.

I'm 5' 7" and fairly regularly sized.

So from the evidence posted height and width is no correlation.

Three_Fish - Member
Buy handlebar of choice at max width available.
Fit lock-on grips and adjust position inboard/outboard until you feel comfortable/balanced.
Cut bar ends off accordingly.

This. There's no "right" width - there are small people who liek 800s and tall folks who like 750s. People ride off the front or off the back of the bike or somewhere in between, and different widths will suit styles/bikes/terrain/body shapes/etc.

Do the above, it will let you get a feel - try each width for a couple of spins, long enough to make the allowance for avoiding trees, etc. and then move in 10mm and try that. (having said that, I've gone 680->710->750->780->800 over time and never gone back down, you might be the same).

It's one of the few bike fit things you can experiment with for (more or less) free

I've been riding with 710-720 ish bars for a few years now but then bought some RSP Ego Carbon DH bars at 780mm i think. At first they felt wide but now the bike with narrower bars feels wrong. I don't want 780's on the hard tail really as it's not used for DH or anything like that but i might have to go a bit wider, maybe 740 or something.

Been slowly creeping out. 780 feels about right to me - got some 800s on the HT.

6ft / 40" chest

Not the currently available ones = that's the 2017/18 treat to remedy the situation and save us all

Similar to others, mine have crept wider. I ran 28" bard (710mmish) from about 2000-2011, then tried a set of 760s. Currently happy at 780mm, tried some 800s on my fatty trail, but they were too much and the bike instantly felt "right" when swapped for a set of 780mm answer bars. A big part of it is also finding the correct angle and bend to suit.

Handy hint - measure how wide the gap in your front door is before selecting new bars

makes life a lot easier

😳

Handy hint - measure how wide the gap in your front door is before selecting new bars

Measure the gap between the trees at your favourite riding spot before selecting bars.
It makes life less painful 😆

Depends on bike and riding, quite a lot, imo.

At 5'10" do I need 780mm or should I be happy with he 720mm that still feels wide to me.

If you are happy with them where is the need to change? I am 5'10" and use 690 and they almost feel too wide sometimes. They give good control downhill/technical stuff but for fast uphill/XC I actually prefer around 620mm

I find it depends on venue. My xc bike is 685 as local rides tend to be through the forest, the trail bike is at 710 and the Alps bike 740. Have tried friends bikes with wider but just can't get on with them. Strangely I'm fairly wide in the shoulders but don't feel comfortable spread that far out.

I'm almost 6 foot and use 670mm for general cross country and trail riding. Tried wider but just feels awkward to me.

Currently using the widest bars I've ever used at about 700mm. Wouldn't want to go any wider.

770 feels right to me but I have constant "narrow gap through trees" anxiety problems.

Can't help but think that in 5 years time we will look on really wide bars and laugh. "what was I thinking" etc. Leverage - really - I think it is psychological ....

After a few years at 710, then 760 on the full-sus, then 760 on the hardtail and 800 on the full-sus, I've accepted that although I fit big bars my local trails really don't. Now 740 on both bikes with the 800s kept on the shelf for away trips with the bigger bike. 50mm stems on all except the hardtail recently going to 35mm (it's fashionably long in reach...)

Not keen on anything much wider than 740, especially racing, too wide makes overtaking harder. I used to be 6toot1ish, barely 6foot these days but assume my wingspan is the same.

Been using 810 for the past year, it's too wide. I'd say 780 is probably the sweet spot.

assume my wingspan is the same.

It must be hard riding a bike with wings - how do you grip the bars?

My armspan is a lot more than my height. For average men it's a bit more than their height.

777mm

Coz that's the width of my on one knukleballs

I was just wondering this today..
Found a crack in my FSA carbon bars after taking off a bar mount shifter..bars a 660mm wide, but it's my XC bike.

They do feel weird at first when riding as I'm used to the rental fat bars on my 5 which are I think 780mm.

So does XC still warrant a narrower bar?

800mm

You don't get such varying bar widths (well, less often) in motocross. Everyone bar midget sized people like my wife should be on 780-800 IMO.

Wide enough so you can stand and prop it up solo without feeling lost,or chat with your mates without feeling cramped when it gets busy but not that wide that you have to holler to get the attention of the bar staff.
I went from 640 to 685 to 711 to 750 then 760 and shortened stems from 70 to 60 to 50 finally to 40 and 35 keeping bar and stem manufacturers happy all the way! 5ft 9ins FWIW.Now using a flat bar rather than a riser on the big bike too.Happy sticking with 711 on my XC hardtail-it is an Easton carbon and feels right.Mind you it's got 26 inch wheels 😳

I've had 800 and it made me so awesome I snapped my frame, so 780 MAX.

I (182cm) worked my way up to 785mm but have since come back down and settled on 740mm. Run this now on all my bikes and find it is my sweet spot.

I went as wide as 780, and didn't get on with it. Partly due to the many narrow tree gaps on trails around here, and though I'm 6ft, I do have quite narrow shoulders.

I went Back to 720 or so and they feel spot on with a 50mm stem.

kimbers - Member
777mm

[u]Coz that's the width of my on one knukleballs[/u]

^^^ This! 😆

Kimbers and oink +1

Tried 800 and it was too wide. Might work on an MX bike as the reach is a lot shorter, but on a push bike it felt horrible.

777 is too wide for a lot of woodsy singletrack too but seems to work well for actually riding. I'd go narrower if local trails had narrower bits, it's not such a big deal, I still happily ride 680-700 on my other bikes.

I've ended up with 780mm on the mountain bikes and 740mm on the hybrid. Every other time I've gone up a size, it's been like this:

Try 720. Think it's too wide. Cut 10mm off each end. 4 weeks later regret it. Replace with new 720 bars. a year later replace with 740. Think it's too wide...

But this is the first time I've avoided that, which I think means it's perfect for me. Still some downsides, it genuinely doesn't fit between some gaps and some wider gaps feel a bit iffy, but other'n that I love it.

(the hybrid got 740s purely because it felt weird going back and forth from it to mtbs)

My bars are 760 but I think that's too wide for me. I've bashed into a few things recently which caused me to skin my knuckles and fall off. Think I might chop them down a bit too.

I've actually a spare bar in the garage that I was thinking about chopping as small as it would go just for the laugh, that could make for an interesting ride!

I went from the standard 685mm bars up to a 740 and now a 780 on my FS, Getting through the door of the shed is the tricky bit! Have tried 800 but feels a bit large to me. All personal taste anyway but reckon 740-780 is pretty much bang on. I find I can breathe better as well!

6'4" here, started 12 years ago with something araound 660 I guess (spec hardrock), then switched to 720, 760 and finally 800 (Easton Havoc35) on my enduro bike (Transition Covert V3) with 50mm stem (Easton Havoc35). Will never go back to narrower bars on my enduro bike, I feel like home with those. On the XC bike I use a 100mm stem with an Easton carbon 720 bar and feels right for the kind of ride I do with that one, mainly looong hours on wide access roads and some trails with no big technical features. Hope it helps.

My method was simple.
I held my hands in a position that felt comfortable, then had some bars made with that width and sweep.Ten minutes of measurement (and 4 weeks delivery) gave me some perfectly fitting bars.

900mm and 27 degs sweep worked for me.

Wider than your shoulders, but not too much wider as that restricts your room for manoeuvre and makes more work for your arms on descents.

Stuck with 720 that came with the bike - feels great but I catch a lot more bracken, brambles and trees. One day this will cause a nasty off if I am not careful!!

I'm 6'with fairly wide shoulders & have been Mt Biking for 30 years now. I am still riding a K2 Razorback I've had for 14 years. The bars on it are 640mm wide and it feels absolutely wonderful.
I've just sold a much newer Cannondale on which I tried bars at 720 and 760. It always felt like a pig and I only kept it as long as I did because it reminded me how wonderful the K2 is!
It could just be a matter of what you get used to and what feels right to you? (rather than following the latest ridiculous trend and smashing your knuckles on trees unnecessarily?)

It could just be a matter of what you get used to and what feels right to you? (rather than following the latest ridiculous trend and smashing your knuckles on trees unnecessarily?)

If what feels good is wide, use wide bars and enjoy!
To me, they feel awful and with my limited peripheral vision they've contributed to my having smashed my knuckles on trees more than once.
I'm perhaps a bit more cynical than I should be about the bicycle industry and the need for constant change in order for them to sell the latest and greatest without it necessarily being an improvement to our cycling experience.
Sorry if that came over as condescending mikewsmith.

I'm perhaps a bit more cynical than I should be about the bicycle industry and the need for constant change in order for them to sell the latest and greatest without it necessarily being an improvement to our cycling experience.

My point is your confusing My with Our, just because you don't see a difference or benifit doesn't mean other people don't. It goes back to the road brakes and UCI aero rules thread where people keep going on that Road Bikes do exactly what is needed so why change them - in a world where they are basically not allowed to change them and see what the differences are.

To me, they feel awful and with my limited peripheral vision they've contributed to my having smashed my knuckles on trees more than once.

Nope, I'm not confused at all. I've only offered my opinion based on personal experience.
I don't for a moment believe I speak for anyone else.
Like I said, "If what feels good is wide, use wide bars and enjoy!"

fair enough, it's just the great usage of "Our cycling experience" from people makes it sound like it's speaking for all.

Chopped mine down last night from 760 to 740, seems more comfortable now 🙂

I, like many others have thought I had it right only to go a bit longer and prefer the new length.

Just changed to 800 from 750 but lost 20mm on the stem. I can remember thinking 700 was ridiculous when I was rocking 640's. 😕

I think 'industry standard' these days is 740 for trail riding and 780 for DH, but that's only what they want you to use.

I also so the Syndicate vid and it made sense, but of course that's for the likes of Mr. Minn riding WC DH tracks, results for middle-aged fat lad in Wales my vary.

My Mate has a good solution, get into the push-up position, your hands will naturally move to the width which gives you the best position for maximum efficiency - measure that.