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I've seen a couple of interesting videos about fit and hand numbness which has me wondering if the wider bars on my gravel bike are necessarily a good thing.
I run 44cm on the road bike but am actually considering experimenting with 42cm.
I run 46cm on the gravel bike, flaring to 52cm I think. It's telling that I really don't like the feel of the flared drops, not sure if that's due to the width.
Not fussed about 'control' as I'll probably just use my 29er for any chunky routes.
So, anyone running narrow/same width as their road bike bars on gravel?
If you're only using your gravel bike for gentle off-road AND you don't need the extra width (between the drops) for luggage then you really don't need the benefits that flared bars give.
I've very gently flared bars - IIRC 12* flare? I much prefer them to the 0* 'straight' road bars it came with. Just enough for wrists to be happier.
Worth a play
I’ve got some Deda gravel bars that are pretty narrow (40 cm maybe) with only a very small flare. I like them.
I had 44cm on my old gravel bike, at the start of the year I built up a new bike and straightaway went to 44cm again, after a load of messing about I bought some 40cm bars to try with a little flare up to about 42cm.
Much prefer them, tbh not sure what all the fuss is about with superwide gravel bars now looking back.
I use 40cm on the roadbike and 42cm on the Gravel. I'm about 41cm shoulder to shoulder so anything wider than 42cm is totally unnecessary for non-mtb duties and just results in stiff shoulders, neck and wrists. I've never had a control issue, even on riverbed type rocky choss.
If you 'need' 52cm bars on a gravel bike, I'd argue that you're probably on the wrong bike.
Presumably you are matching a shorter stem with your wider bars? If not I'd try that first. But there's no harm in matching your road set up on the grav bike and see how it feels. Easy to swap (unless you have daft integrated cables/hoses through the bars) so try it.
I had Sonder Bombers on my Camino which have a crazy flare, I really wanted to love them but couldn’t get comfortable on the hoods.
I put some cheap 42cm bars on with just a slight flare and now the tops are great but I really don’t get on with the drops, I really liked the drops on the Bombers.
I’ve got some Ritchey Corralitos arriving tomorrow to try now, which I hope will be the sweet spot.
I know that doesn’t answer your question really…
Also went wider/flared and then back to narrow which I find more comfortable. I'm not pushing the limits, but no control issues from going narrower.
Thanks folks, yeah I'm not doing anything which requires additional leverage etc. Might be pushing on over loose tracks etc. but that's a comfort thing, not fighting for control thing! What I've always liked about drop bar handling was the tucked elbows, dropping the shoulders type thing, rather than the elbows out MTB type posture.
Annoyingly I've realised the current bars are 'only' 44cm which means going 42cm might only be a marginal difference, although if it meant I used the drops more because they weren't flared out so wide then that could help.
I have some new-to-me 42cm bars to experiment with, will put them on the roadie first and if it feels OK will maybe try a 42cm on the gravel bike as well.
Keep you eyes on the classifieds for some 44cm Lauf Smoothies at this rate! 😂
I'm using 40cm bars with 12 degree flare on my gravel bike.
It's spot on comfort wise for me whether I'm using it on or off road.
The only time I think wider bars might useful for me is when commuting with a bag on the back of the bike
@13thfloormonk - check you'll not have issues with knee clearance. Standing up/honking you can get pretty close to the bar ends. A wider/flared bar helps.
I’ve seen a couple of interesting videos about fit and hand numbness which has me wondering if the wider bars on my gravel bike are necessarily a good thing.
I wondered the same thing for the same reason - I run 42cm bars on the road and have/had mildly-flared 44cm Salsa Cowbells on the gravel bike. I swapped the Cowbells for some mildly flared 42cm Alpkit bars but found I actively preferred the Cowbells, particularly on the drops. I've put the Cowbells back on, but compromised slightly by angling the hoods in slightly which has the effect of making the bar narrower when riding on the hoods. Works well for me and feels comfortable. Not convinced by ultra-wide flared bars, but I ride quite a lot of back lane tarmac along with the off-road stuff. They seem to put the hoods at a slightly bizarre angle.
I think all you can really do is give it a try and see how narrower bars feel. Maybe just buy something cheapo to try the width and upgrade later if you like them?
I have ritchey corralitos and they are great, the sweep and flare is wide though.
You say you want to go 42 from 44 but the narrowest corralitos is the 46cm pictured below