Currently running 685mm Easton cnt bars. Also, hope tech levers with matchmakers. I’d like to move the brakes further in for that one finger feeling but the bulge section limits it. So, thinking of fitting wider bars. Easton haven at 711 or havoc at 750. Is this enough or should I go wider with the option to trim? The raceface atlas bars feel nice but are more than twice the weight of my current bars.

Your thoughts please.

I’m sure you won’t feel the weight difference mate. I run 760 renthals and there’s plenty of room. So, go wide is what I say… Go with Raceface if they feel good.

Good luck.

Think the rf are 780 I was going to get them went for the 725 instead like you say you can all ways trim to soot you!! Must say the atlas is a good strong bar and light. Good range of colors to!

I’ve just upgraded to Easton Havoc (750mm) & love ’em!
Loads of room to move you brakes & shifters in for one fingered brake positioning + computers etc so don’t worry about that.
I had some bars snap on me a few years ago, so I’d stick to the most reputable brands if I were you & for me they are Easton & Renthal. Wouldn’t quite trust the others personally.

I’ve just got some RF 785s from the classifieds to see what all the fuss is about (currently on 711 eastons) Will report back in a couple of days!

I went wider then gradually cut them back down to 710mm, which just feels right for me- just trying again with a set of protapers on the dh bike at 750mm but it’s not going to last I think.

Haven Carbon are lovely bars- light as anything yet supposedly as strong as the old monkeylite dh (which means proper strong- fall off a gondola at fort william onto the bars strong, then just straighten the bike up and ride on)

Salsa whammy bars at 780mm. Loads of width.

Bikemonger – I have a gift for you. Where should I send it, shop or elsewhere?

PS It’s nothing nasty, like a turd in a cake-tin. Honest.

Cheers guys. Wish I’d tried other peoples bikes at the pootle now. Not easy getting the right sweeps on bars otherwise. My current bars are the cnt mx. I think it swept up more than it did back. By comparison the cnt xc felt “wrong” to me.

Getting a wider bar and cutting it down is a really good way trying out what feels right for you. I got some 780mm bars for my fixie and kept taking 2mm off each side until I was happy with them.

😉

On my mtb I’ve gone for 750mm funn full on Bars which seem spot on for me. I had 710’s before and to get a feel for the difference I just slid my lock on grips out the desired width so the overhung the bar ends, adjusted my controls and rode it GENTLY around a car park. Just gives you an idea of what they’ll feel like before buying.

I moved from eaton cnt 685 to the easton haven cnt bars. They are great bats and I noticed the difference in width/control straight away, they feel perfect.

I got some sunline v1 bars off crc on sale http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Brands.aspx?BrandID=577&PartnerID=2324&gclid=CPqL29uhwK4CFVRItAod0X9GCg

Had them on my DH bike and like them so bought another couple of sets.

I used to run 680 bars and hope brakes with a 70mm stem, but now I run 760mm with a 60mm stem and shimano brakes! not sure if I will cut the bars down.

Have to say I resisted the wide bars for a while but I do actually like them 😀

i use 680 havoc bars and hope v2 . my levers are way inboard from my shifters

DSC06654 by ukbikeskills, on Flickr

Wide bars are ace. I pinched the 780mm bars off my DH bike to try for XC, thinking they’d be a bit stupid but I loved it, never went back. The only time they felt a bit wrong was technical climbs out of the saddle, it’s slightly harder to support your weight over the bars when they’re so wide. I’ve since gone down to a marginally more sensible 750mm Easton Havoc (Carbon 8) ) and I don’t seem to get this downside.

Like everything there is a limit to the “wider is better” argument, and of course it’ll be different for everyone. However, for people that haven’t tried anything beyond a 685mm bar, I’d strongly recommend at least trying something wider for a few rides.

I went from 680 to 700 Crank Bros Iodine bars, glad i did as it feels just right. Picked em up cheap from Rosebikes iirc around £28

What about the 810mm El Guapo Ancho bars from On one? I phoned them to find out the weight and was told 273g, however having just looked at the weight of other alloy bars I’m now wondering if I misheard, and they are 373g!

Has anyone bought these yet?

N.

ndg – Member
What about the 810mm El Guapo Ancho bars from On one? I phoned them to find out the weight and was told 273g, however having just looked at the weight of other alloy bars I’m now wondering if I misheard, and they are 373g!
Has anyone bought these yet?
N.
POSTED 2 HOURS AGO # REPORT-POST

I was in office when you asked.
I will check.

372g

Thanks, must have misheard – seemed to good to be true! Not too much more than my current 685mm supercross though…..

N.

Thanks, must have misheard – seemed to good to be true! Not too much more than my current 685mm supercross though…..

no you were told wrong, as I told them wrong.

Bear in mind that’s at 810mm width. Trimming to “more sensible” such as 760mm will save more.

I can’t tell you how much more (yet!)

If you want to go a bit wider and stay carbon then I can strongly recommend Race Face Sixc bars.

725mmm wide and perfect for a weed like me.

Anybody tried a Superstar Yardstick, without cutting it down? 915mm of bar!

http://superstar.tibolts.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=532

The press up thing makes sense for me. Do a few and then measure the distance between the outer edges of your hands, that’s roughly what width you need. I went for Easton Haven 711s. Only gripe is the finish – which looks great out of the box, but begins to look tatty after a few months (the white and gold lettering gets rubbed off by brakes and shifters).

I would go for the ones with the prefferred rise, up sweep and back sweep, oh and colour/blingness, and then cut them to length (if too wide)

Got some RF Atlas FR bars last year and cut 50mm off before fitting them.

Wide bars are nice but they can lock your elbows.

I don’t understand why you can’t set up for one finger braking on a narrower bar – I have that arrangement on 680 width and narrower bars without the clamps being near the bend or bulge.

I just switched from a Ritchey alloy 670mm bar and eXotic 60mm stem to an Easton Haven Carbon 711mm bar and Renthal 50mm stem. I didn’t want to go wider because I’m often riding very tight woodland singletrack (and I was concerned that these might be too wide). Never had a problem setting up the old bars for one finger braking with GPS computer, handlebar light, two shifters and a gravity dropper remote on the bar!

However the width is fine in the tight bits (and very nice everywhere else) and I’m shocked at how much stiffer and thus more positive everything feels – like there’s about a fifth as much flex when hauling on the bars uphill or really pushing downhill on the rough stuff. It’s a vast difference and a very welcome one!

Hamish, I guess I have a bigger bulge than you. What can I say. My bars have a large upsweep and very little backsweep. I can’t find anything like them now, not even the originals, let alone anything wider.

kayak23 – Member

I just slid my lock on grips out the desired width so the overhung the bar ends, adjusted my controls and rode it GENTLY around a car park.

FWIW, Aaron Gwin says he had his grips overlapping the end of his bars for every pro race he’d done til the start of last year. I know some folks on here think it’s certain death though 😉

Yeah I heard that too. There’s not much holding a standard lock-on grip onto the bars unless it’s sandwiched between two collars. Maybe he has different grips though.

FWIW, Aaron Gwin says he had his grips overlapping the end of his bars for every pro race he’d done til the start of last year. I know some folks on here think it’s certain death though

Ha, exactly. Last time I suggested it on here I got accused of potentially killing hundreds of innocent mountainbikers… 🙂

Some grips, dmr’s for one, only use a lock on at one end. Had them on my blender for years with no issues but I agree, you have to be careful suggesting such things in case some people are not fitted with common sense. Such is life.