getting wrist problems lately and thinking I should chop the bars from 800mm - but how far is far enough vs too far?
27.5 Rocket (last iteration) with 170mm forks - feels great on the descents as it is but prolonged climbs and alongs put a strain on the wrists.
Just slide your controls and grips along the bar until you find the place that works best for you. Then chop off what you find you dont need
I started out with some 800 mm bars and trimmed them 10 mm each side until I found that 760 felt good. It's entirely a personal thing so you just need to experiment until you find what suits you.
780-800 is comfortable for me.
The new Stooge Klunker bars I've got coming are 820mm 😀 ( I know these will be too wide but want to try them)
It's all personal preference. I know riders far taller than me riding 740mm MAX after trying wider.
It depends on how tall you are, how long your arms are, etc.
I like wide bars, but I'm 6'4" with arms like an orangutan, but I also like lots of back sweep, currently Stooge bars with 17deg.
As above, move the controls and grips in until you feel comfortable. Just because fashion says you must have 800mm bars it doesn't mean they'll be comfortable for you.
Used 750-760 the last few years, was convinced my new 800mm bars would need trimming, as I do with every bar I get that’s wider than the last pair but they seem fine, as they all have, and then previous bars feel narrow afterwards...
What about some swept bars? Not necessarily as extreme as the 45deg of the Jones bars but something that puts your wrists in a better (straighter?) alignment.
I found the 800mm of the Stooge Moto bars way too much for me. As above, it's all personal preference.
740mm
Aye, sweep is deffo a thing! I like the position, it's the angle of the wrists that's the problem - I didn't realise Stooge were doing those bars so will save up some pennies to try them out!! presumably one ends up running a longer stem to keep the hands in the same place-ish tho???
presumably one ends up running a longer stem to keep the hands in the same place-ish
Depends on the bar, some sweep forward before then sweeping back so you end up with the hands in the same place.
I'm not particularly tall at 178cm, and quite narrow shoulders, but 800mm bars just feel fine for me. like TomH up there, I was convinced I'd have to cut them down, but they're perfect for me really.
750mm. But i'm shortish at 5'8". Seems comfy to me and fwiw (probably not a lot) it's the same as the pinkbike bar width calculator. Not that I used that, 750 is just what I have ended up being comfy at.
I currently have 720 but my hands would be more comfortable at 740-760 when resting.
780mm. Even my hybrid is 750mm, it just feels weird having narrower.
I use the Stooge Moto with a short stem and can't imagine going back to narrower. I ran On-One Mary for a long time and really liked them but found that I was always hanging my hands over the bar ends - basically I wanted something wider. Everyone is different, and bike geometry (e.g. reach) will also affect the set up so there's no single answer, but the response above suggesting that you start outside and move everything in until you're comfortable makes a lot of sense to me.
700
As said above, depends on frame reach, shoulder width, arm length etc.
If you're going to cut your bars then I wouldn't go for more than 5mm cuts at each side. Then reassess the situation.
Also don't forget rotation, that can change the sweep a bit.
Running long grips can help.
Gives more choices of hand position, it can make positioning the controls a bit more tricky though.
(Broke my left wrist in four places years back).
Not found the best width for me yet. Had some Easton 800, cut them down to 750 but that felt too short. Replaced those and left them at 800.
New bike is 820 which feels too wide so will get cut down at some point, just not sure how much by. I don't want to scrap another set if bars by removing too much.
I guess the only two critical measuments are effective width (straight line end to end).
And grip angle, which will depend on sweep/rise/rotation unless its a totally flat/straight bar.
Mine are 680mm
feels great on the descents as it is but prolonged climbs and alongs put a strain on the wrists.
Just move your hand position to wherever's comfortable on the climbs. There's very little need to cover your brakes on most climbs nevermind keep your hands in the same position you would while descending.
Also depend on where you ride.
Heavily overgrown natural trails around here in the Summer months particularly. I'll be running shorter bars next year for this reason.
I run 780 and could probably do with going to 800
710mm I think, I’ve tried wider bars and didn’t really like them. Go with whatever feels right for you, it’s not so long ago that 660-680mm was the norm.
Went from 740 to 780 then 800 but couldn't get on with them, ended up at 760. Didn't like carbon as much as alloy either, Renthal FatBars, as someone else said grips made a big difference for me. Tried loads before finding a couple I like, really thin ones work best for me.
760 for me feels good but I did initially have wrist pain until rolling the bars fwd to get more upsweep so it's worth experimenting with that. On steeper climbs I tend to move hands in more or less on top of the brake lever clamps unless it's more technical.
About 740 for me.
I tried up to 800, but it felt weird, and I kept banging knuckles on trees.
I do also like an angled bar of about 20/25 degrees. So have tried (and discarded) a lot of options.
Perfect bar for me is the On-One OG, but with a 25mm extension on either side.
Oh, and the wide Nitto bullmoose bars (B903r) that Planet X were selling are spot on too. Though I know the looks aren't for everyone.
With the integrated stem they look long, but with the backsweep they are the equivalent of running a 50mm stem.
720 ended up being comfortable for me. Tried bars uncut at 750, was too wide. 800 would feel ridiculous. That’s riding XC hardtail tho
