Buy some that can be cut down. That way you can try the full width and gradually prune until they suit. On one have some ‘el guapo ancho’ bars at 810mm that look good.
Edit: to quantify ‘can be cut down’, some bars are over size at the centre and quickly taper down so you have plenty of bar estate for grips and brakes etc. Others such as hussefelt & superstar have quite an extended taper so at their full length still don’t leave much room for cutting down and have brakes inboard. Admittedly I don’t know how good the on one bars are for this.
i run 685mm on all my bikes usualy its the width of your sholders apart plus a inch each side is the sweet “comfort” spot but it really is a can of worms.
I’ve gone from 710 nukeproofs up to 720 fatbars, they were at 740 but bit wide for normal trail riding. Few brown pant moments when making like a Jedi through the trees! Pretty perfect now I’d say, but as previously said, start wide and you can always trim them down if needed.
I prefer 685mm, although I am currently using 710mm as I gave my son the 685mm ones.
I keep moving my hands in as they aren’t comfy using the full width.
Must look out for some cheap 685’s…or get the pipe cutter out
Bar width is very personal – other people’s dimensions are just random numbers even if you know height, arm length, stem, top tube, riding style, bike….
Buy wide (>750mm) and slide the grips in and adjust controls to feel but for mostly DH, ride them wider than you think for a few rides before reaching for the cutting tools.
Yep as above, bought some fat boys a while ago with the intension to cut them down. Thought I would try them at full whack first, left them like it since, they do look a bit crazy when parked in shed! Have very short hope stem.
There’s a real wide bar trend going on right now, same as with slack head angles – seems to be getting wider and slacker every year. Go back 10 years and people rode the same trails with 600mm wide, 71 degree head angle and didn’t find it a problem….
Go back 10 years and people rode the same trails with 600mm wide, 71 degree head angle and didn’t find it a problem….
Go back 10 years and people rode the same trails with 600mm wide, 71 degree head angle and didn’t find it a problem, they now look at younger better looking riders riding them twice as fast on slacker bikes with wider bars and head off to STW to tell everyone how they rode the same tracks first and were greatfull for their girvin flex-stems.
In most cases, i.e. average trail riders, I don’t think they do go any faster, it’s just a fashion thing, wider bars and are really in vogue right now.
and it wasn’t 600mm bars, try cut down to 480mm bars and 135mm stems.
they now look at younger better looking riders riding them twice as fast on slacker bikes with wider bars
don’t see it, sorry, speeds haven’t really changed for the average rider, suspension has had an effect but even that isn’t much. Maybe the average rider has changed, fat middle aged IT workers rather than young XC wanna-bes?
and while i ranting about stupid ideas
as for what should be brought back, and yes it was crap but it sounded so good…
and the ultimate pointless build, but it didn’t stop people doing the same.
Whatever feels comfortable. Rule of thumb is thae wider and taller you are the wider the bars.
It looks very funny when tiny kids are running huge flat bars with their chins on the stems. I run 750mm on all my bikes, but recently had to ride my old 685 wide bars and honestly didn’t really notice much difference.
I’ve been wondering about this too but for single speeding. I recently found that wider bars made climbing up hills easier on my singlespeed because I could get more leverage.
Recently got a pair of the previously mentioned on one el guapo ancho bars, too lazy to cut them down, so been running 810mm for a while now. It’s quite fun, but you have to watch out for trees/buildings/people/fences a bit more.
I’ve got 2 bikes with the same RaceFace Handlebars which were 660mm wide, on one I cut it down (width of shoulders with no extra inch each side, that’s what I cut off), on the other I left at full width to find out which was the best width for me.
I find that on the cut down bar my hands are hovering on the ends and most of my weight is on the end of the lock-on grip, which can be a tad uncomfortable over any distance. Basically, I need to replace the cut down one to the wider width to match the uncut one.
I was firmly in the wider bars are just fashion camp, then I got my Ironhorse Sunday and it had 745mm sunline bars.
After having a go with the 745mm bars I noticed crc had similar flat bars on sale for £20 = £30 depending on the colour / model. Now I have 762mm bars on my Trek Fuel EX and Sunday and the 745mm bars are on my shop bike.
Have to say I really like the feel and amount of control or responsiveness of the wider bars.
There’s a real wide bar trend going on right now, same as with slack head angles – seems to be getting wider and slacker every year. Go back 10 years and people rode the same trails with 600mm wide, 71 degree head angle and didn’t find it a problem….
Did they? People seem to be quicker and smoother these days….
Having ridden wide, narrow, HT, FS on loads of trails repeatedly I have to say wider bars help in technical, descending and fast trails.
It’s personal preference; I’ve just fitted some Pro Taper 780’s which just felt wrong the first time I rode them, but they’re starting to feel more normal. I like a wider bar because I run my brakes pretty far down the bars for single finger braking.
I haven’t ridden many tight trails yet with the new bars, so they may get a bit chopped off the end soon.
The rule generally is that whatever distance apart your hands are, there should be a bar in between them (with a stem about halfway along said bar…).
Otherwise you’ll just fall off.