Im thinking of swapping mt current 711mm wide haven bars, which a find quite nice, for something a bit wider. and a much shorter stem (new frame has a longer top tube) so im going from a 70mm stem on 711 bars to what with 740 bars?

also any suggestions on stems and bars. Ive used raceface and thompson stuff in the past which i like but im after something more reasonable that doesnt just look like a massive square chunk.

50mm stem is hot right now

I just discovered what i thought was 740mm Havens have been 711mm all along. Here was i, thinking i was on trend. True story

On one Carbon bars and El Guapo Cortez stem can be had for £60 at the moment. Can vouch for both.

Renthal Fatbar Lites. Have them on all my bikes, can’t think of anyone who doesn’t like the shaper (imho, its spot on).

I like Renthal bars (I’m currently riding the 780 FatBars but the Fatbar Lights are nice as well). Not sure on price as head came off the GF’s bike as she wanted to keep her 760 RF Atlas bars. They do a matching stem as well.
The Pro Atherton bars are nice and comfy as well.

If you’re looking to save money then the Superstar Bars and Stems are bargains and again are a decent shape. You’ll also be able to match them up.

301 is quite a long bike. I run a 30mm stem on mine, with 760mm bars
Suggest you start at 50mm if you’re not sure.

Combinations that I’ve ridden and like:

Pricey end: Syntace Vector Carbon bars and Syntace Megaforce 2 stem.

Mid market: Renthal fatbar (still with the cheap option of a Sunline V1 stem probably)

Cheap but very good: Sunline V1 stem and bars

Just changed one bike to the Renthal Carbon Fatbar with a 20mm rise and a 50mm Renthal stem and trimmed the bars down to 760mm. I was after more width and a higher stack on that bike as the front end was a bit heavy and low and needed livening up. I’ve changed another bike to the Ragley Carbon Wiser Bars which come in at 760mm and fitted them with a Ragley 50mm stem.

I’d been that impressed with the improvements the wider Fatbar gave me and was then amazed at how unstable the other bike felt compared to it before I changed that one out, I changed the second bike straight away.

The Fatbar is a nice piece of kit and very lightweight but super stiff. You can position the stem one way or another to either lower or lift the front end and I opted for lifting it as the 20mm rise on the bars doesn’t really feel like much of a rise (wish I’d gone for the 30mm really).

The Wiserbars are thinner and have more sweep but the stem has less stack which suited me because I was keen on lowering the front end on the second bike.

If I’m honest I think I prefer the Ragley bars because the sweep just makes them that little bit more comfortable.

I now have some Raceface alloy bars and stem, and a pair of Thomson carbon bars with a Truvativ stem for sale if you or anyone is interested (both 730 (I think). I was going to put them on the classifieds here but if anyone wants to contact me (email in profile) and I’ll take some pictures and take some measurements and ping them back.

Cheers

I’d go 45mm or 50mm stem and 780mm bar.

I’ve just been rationalising my bikes so I have 50mm/762mm and 45mm/785mm bar/stem combos to sell if you’re interested in secondhand. Email in profile.

I’ve got a 50mm Renthal Apex stem I quite like. Tempted to get matching bars too.

+1 for Renthal bars and stems, running a 50mm Duo and a FatBar Lite Carbon which have both be flawless so far

+1 for On-One Knuckleball.

I’m 100kg and I’ve not been easy on it so far.

Stems’s I’m more inclined to stick with more known brands. If bars flex it can feel like good flex, absorbing vibrations etc. I had a 60mm Specialized stem not long back, couldn’t figure out what was wrong with the bike until I swapped it to a 70mm RF Atlas, the old one was like paddling a canoe in comparison!

howsyourdad1 – Member
50mm stem is hot right now

What is this, cosmo girl?

Big fan of Syntace stuff. I prefer a 60mm to anything shorter. Buy a (few) cheap stems and see how they feel, then buy a good one in the length you prefer.

CRC have got Easton Havens for cheap money in their Black Friday clearout. They do a 55mm version…

rule of thumb is reduce the stem by 10mm for every 20mm of bar width increase to keep you in the same position. so 30mm more bars means 15mm less stem ie 55mm whihc is either a 50mm or a 60mm depending on if you think you woudl like to be slightly further back of forward, prob a 50mm unless you already feel cramped on the bike.

I’ve just picked up this rather lovely Ritchey arrangement. 45mm stem and 780mm bars, for just over 100 Euro for the pair – that’s £70 (not my bike or pics)

https://www.bike24.com/1.php?content=8;product=104986
http://www.bike24.com/1.php?content=8;product=103455

Mjsmke… Drop me a line if you’re after a carbon Renthal fatbar 🙂 I’ve got one for sale.