So.. I have big wide 800mm bars and a 50mm stem on my DH bike and it I love it. Could maybe trim the bars to 780mm as my shoulders are not so wide. Have been running that type of DH set up for years.

For my Enduro/Trail/singletrack bike I have an 5″ travel bike which happens to be an Orange 5 for my sins, built up lightish at around the 28lb mark. I always ran a 70mm stem on that bike with 680 bars but recently thought how would it handle with the short stem wide bar combo as per current trends, so stuck a 50mm stem on it with 780mm bars. Now it may just be me but I don’t think it works as well as an all rounder. Pros are stability on high speed downs for sure, but thats about all. It also has numbed down the steering a tad too much. When you get a pedal on in the singletrack I find it washes out more on the front end as there is not quite enough weight over the front wheel now and less feedback from the steering. Climbing on non technical ups the front lifts a tad, but when its more small steep fun sections its not as easy to get the bike up them as the front really wants to lift. You have to really try and get your weight forward and then back slips and it all gets hard work where with the old set up I could flow. The super wide bars for my average width shoulders also make it harder to get over fallen down trees as I dont have as much pull with my arms splayed out like I am trying to learn to fly.

Not to say that the wide bar short stem is a bad thing but I can see how it needs to be on the right bike to work effectively and compliment the individual and bike. On my frame the 50m stem has also made the cockpit quite small which doesn’t help as I have a long torso.

So has anyone else experienced this when playing around with this set up on their singletrack weapon?

Going to try my 70mm stem with 750bars next to see how well that works. I recon its going to be a winner, but you never know, I might be disappointed with the results.

All good fun.

It’s a preference, same as anything else. Suits some folks, doesn’t suit others. 780 us probably at the wider end for bars for trail riding (that said, I use 800, 785 and 750 on my DH, AM and hardtail bikes).

Get more gnar

I’m on 740 bars and 50 stem and i went for a large frame over a medium. Much better downhill and in the air.
I think the shorter stem (70 to 50) probably made the most difference. I quickly got used to it and adapted my climbing position. I didn’t notice the wider bars much since i’m swapping between my trail bike and DH bike a lot anyway.
After some Jedi instruction, I’m weighting the front wheel more and I feel this wider bars/shorter stem combo works well when you’re doing this.

If my frame had a longer top tube then a 50mm stem would probably work fine. In my case this particular bike with a short stem is not working for me as I have a long torso so all a bit cramped. Have sometimes bought a larger frame to get a better personal fit. Know what you mean about air time, longer bike is much les pitchy but not as nimble either. Horses for courses. Hmm maybe its bike change time. :-)) 650b bandit looks nice in a large!

780mm and 35mm stem here on a 160mm el guapo, it feels really good and still climbs well