Currently have Easton Haven Carbon 711mm with 20mm rise on my Bronson with a 50mm stem. Feel like I would like to have my weight a bit further forward for cornering and climbing so considering wider bars.

So, before I spunk potentially 3 figures on new bars I have two questions:

What width and what diameter?

Been looking at Renthal Fat Bars 35mm and think they come in at 780mm. They seem on paper very wide and I’m worried about tree lined trails. Also been looking at the lite (31.8mm) version but they are only 740mm and I’m worried they won’t make enough of a difference…..

Anyone been in the same boat and can provide any feedback?

buy the larger, cut down if you find them too wide for you/the trees.

They come in 31.8mm and 780mm width so no need for a 35mm stem too.

What happens is, you buy the wide ones, then you decide they’re too wide and cut them down. Then a few months later you wish they were wider 😆

I’d go with the wider ones, personally, there’s very little downside and lots of up (a cutdown bar is still generally a wee bit heavier and stiffer than a bar designed to be shorter, because the centre parts are beefed up too, but it’s no biggie)

Wider ones, I thought they’d be too wide, but really like them, definitely wouldn’t go back to anything narrower than below for MTB riding.

I use 750 for xc racing and 780 on the ‘trail’ bike.

Go with the wider ones. Try them for a while, decide you want to cut them down. Then don’t. Or get the Fat Bar Lights which are 740. 740-60 is a good size. I’ve got pretty broad shoulders and loved my 780s but made it a bitch getting in and out of the flat at the time. Currently at 750 and that 30mm makes it much easier not to wreck door frames and not a lot of difference on single track

A lot depends on your wing span (Arm length)

I’ve gone from 711 to 780 over a few years with stems shrinking accordingly to 35mm.

I was worried about doing the ews with 780 so tried them at 760. Didn’t feel right. Wider bars are so much more stable. You get use to shimmying them around tight spots.

I’ve got 750mm Thomson bars on my medium Bronson. I’m a very average 5’10” size person. I had some narrower Easton Haven bars on before which were a bit too narrow, but almost a necessity for my local trails. I’ve run wider bars before, but these 750mm bars feel spot on for me.

I’d go with the wider ones, personally, there’s very little downside

760 on my bike made the steering a lot slower and slowed me down.

My new bike came with 750mm bars. I spent a few weeks getting use to them thinking I’d cut them down but then I ended up buying more 750mm bars for my other bike to match.

I’m 6 2″ an I’m currently running 760mm Gamut Trail bars which seem to be just about bang on the sweet sport for ‘normal riding.’

Tried a set of 800’s a while back but they just felt a bit cumbersome for my day to day riding and because they were built stiffer for the leverage they were a bit harsh and uncomfortable after they’d been cut down.

It’s very much personal preference but a nice lightish set of 760’s are what’s doing it for me right now.

molgrips – Member

760 on my bike made the steering a lot slower and slowed me down.

I meant, there’s very little downside to buying a wider bar, since you can shorten them but you can’t longen them.

The sensible answer is to buy a Kore 800mm bar and experiment buy lopping 5mm off each end until you have the perfect width for you.

In reality most people chop and change and end up with bars of all lengths in the shed, I have some Renthal Fatbar Lites in 740 that suit most of my riding and some Kore 760s for uplift days and DH racing, I couldn’t get on with 780 width bars…I didn’t have the finesse, my ham fisted efforts saw exaggerated steering inputs and a front wheel that seemed to have a life of its own, getting through trees was a pain in the arse too!

Now ditched the 780s and settled on 740-760 but you never know how much is enough until you’ve had too much so to speak.

Get a longer stem.

I’m loving my 777mm knuckleballs, 50 quid in white from on one

I meant, there’s very little downside to buying a wider bar, since you can shorten them but you can’t longen them

Oh yeah that makes sense 🙂

I think whheel size is a factor that people don’t seem to mention. Bigger wheels benefit from wider bars.

Am giving 780 a go, but as with others will probably drop it to 740 – 760.

Thought about getting the Fatbar lite, but to me the weight difference will be un-noticable (compared to Maxxis Highrollers and a Reverb).

so are 630mm considered quite narrow then?

Going from 580mm or whatever were on my M2, 630s felt huge, fit my shoulders fine – I think. 26″ old school bike, maybe that affects things bit..

Should’ve said I’m 5’10″…. Think I’m going to go for 780mm. Just need to hope they arrive in time for a bit of tinkering before i head to Pass’Portes end of next week!

Epic fail OP.
[list]You took a week to carefully consider your purchase
You seem to have taken on board the advice given
You have left yourself plenty of time for them to arrive and fit them
You even came back to update us on your choice[/list]

What were you thinking, this is not the way it is done.

I think whheel size is a factor that people don’t seem to mention. Bigger wheels benefit from wider bars.

Whilst I’d mostly agree, the 720mm bars on my El-mariachi now feel unbelievably small after spending a few months on the fat bike with 780mm bars. Which is weird as before I got the fat bike I’d been deliberating going back to ‘normal’ width bars. So I think it’s as much about what you’re used to and any wheel size/bar width correlation is simply that wheel sizes and bar widths have grown concurrently.