I recently got a new bike, a Sonder Signal, which is my first new bike for a loooooooong time and definitely my first foray into anything vaguely modern, including, to me, hoofingly-wide bars.

It’s all good, I’m liking it a lot, but when seated I don’t find the bars very comfortable and I think the width exacerbates this; with your hands further apart the natural angle of your knuckles sweeps back even more, and the fairly straight angle of the bar puts the wrists at an uncomfortable angle

Does anyone think similar, and use slightly more sweepy bars as a result? Or do I just get used to it?

I used fleegles for a long time, “only” 720mm wide but didn’t feel narrow (I’d normally choose 760mm or so). Downside they were only available in 25.4mm, weighed a ton and had zero flex. If On-One could hurry up and re-issue them in a slightly wider format with a bit of rise, 31.8 clamp and butted tubing that would be great.

Sqlab 12 degree sweep 800 wide on my singletrack bike. Very comfortable.

Longer range bike has super sweepy Ritchey Koyote (24 degree?) gives lots of options for changing hand positions.

I tried using Ritchey Kyote bars on my mountain bike for a while. The 25 deg sweep was comfortable while riding along but I couldn’t get used to it when things got technical. I moved them over to my gravel bike where they are perfect.

I’m trying a set of Nukeproof bars with 9 degrees instead of my usual 5-6 degrees so I’ll see how that goes.

You could also have a look a SQlab bars which have bars with 12 and 16 degree sweep.

I’ve used Jones Bars for a long time and recently got some Stooge Moto bars, with17 degrees sweep.

I think the angle of the bars in the stem is much more important with swept bars, so it may be worth experimenting with that. When I first put the Moto bars on they did not feel good but they weren’t rotated to quite the right position.

I’m on 12° backsweep bars and much prefer them. As you suggest, the wider you go, the more backsweep you need to keep your hands in a more natural position. I’m tempted to try 16° but not sure if that would be too much.

Mine are Ergotec, you used to be able to get them from Rose for just under £40 before they stopped shipping to the UK. Not sure anyone else does them except SQ Labs which are twice the price.

I tried using Ritchey Kyote bars on my mountain bike for a while. The 25 deg sweep was comfortable while riding along but I couldn’t get used to it when things got technical. I moved them over to my gravel bike where they are perfect.

I think the angle of the bars in the stem is much more important with swept bars, so it may be worth experimenting with that. When I first put the Moto bars on they did not feel good but they weren’t rotated to quite the right position.

This + this +1

The fleegles were IIRC 15deg which felt fairly natural without sacrificing control for comfort. I’ve got a set of jonesey knock offs and they’re too much as the controls feel more like they’re moving side to side and on any sharp corners come back behind the stem which makes the handling wierd.

And getting the angle right takes trial and error as it’s not neceserily the usual few degrees up.

OG v2s currently a tenner. I’ve been running mine, bought for the same price, for three years, and like them. Can’t lose at that price.
https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/HBOOOGV2/on-one-og-v2-handlebar?gclid=CjwKCAjwlqOXBhBqEiwA-hhitKYwGL5BvvXtevwO-FLIN5sVRgJpTbyUqJJXzvDAqkt6pjwz0Y0vBBoCaEoQAvD_BwE#HBOOOGV2-BLK

Try them out to establish a baseline, and go more Gucci/niche if you feel you need to.

I suffer quite badly with ulner nerve issues.

RSP Ego DH on the trail bike (780mm 9deg 15mm rise) is JUST about enough. Ergon GA1 grips help. Stooge Moto (800mm 17deg 38mm rise) on the Fatbike is lush and for fatbikepacking it’s a (710mm equiv 25deg 38mm rise) OG + Ergon GP2 for all day loveliness.

Jones/Geoff was just too much.

whatbars.com is invaluable for geeky comparisons

Try Ergon GE1 grips. These give a couple of degrees extra sweep to any bar. You mind find it’s just enough.

On one bike I have 12 degree Thomson bars. They’re just about perfect (though expensive new). I’m considering the SQ Lab bars for a couple of other bikes. Procraft do a 9 deg bar but only available in Germany.

I love high sweep bars in my adventure rigid bike (2 degree 710mm Salsa Bend 2) but I have normal risers on bikes set up for tech riding.

Try a shorter stem first?

Ritchey Kyote with Ergon GS1 on my bike. They work well for me and I also have some Geoff bars which are the most comfortable of all to use. It’s a rigid bike so I’m not flying down anything fast and I’m certainly not doing anything technical, just all day xc riding

Hi had Richey Kyote’s to try on my fatbike, never really got on with them, but they are cheap enough to try at £35, Iirc i sold them for close to £30 so I wasn’t to out of pocket.

I just preferred a regular riser over them tbh, would love to try the igh ride sqlab 12° as a mid point, but it’s alot of money for a try out

I got a pair of the OGs referenced above.
I suffer from dodgy wrists which ached after a few miles on straight bars. The sweep on the OGs really helps especially on the bike I use for longer distances

SQ labs with 16 degree sweep (770 wide) on my enduro bike, feels a lot more comfortable for all my riding than straighter bars, I’ve been using them for four + years at a guess 🙂

Ritchie Kyoto bars hete. Love them. I did have to narrow them down

Another sq labs fan here. Got them on both mtbs. And a friend switched after borrowing my bike for a ride when his was off the road

Although considering getting stooge Motos for my stooge.

12 deg Syntace Vector carbon here. Good fit, feel and build quality. Not cheap though.

The Bend 2s are pretty pricey at £70 for a plain alu bar, to be fair.

Stooge Scrambler bar is also worth a look. Expensive, steel and heavy but so comfortable. I miss my Stooge.

I came across this video the other day. Bar sweep

Seems different people will fit different sweeps. Worry trying out before splashing out on new bars

Recently borrowed a bike with some jones knockoffs, i did NOT get on with them at all

I rode with Jones Loop bars on my first Fatbike for several years. They worked really well. I tried them on a second bike and removed them after a few months. When I got my new Fatbike I tried them again but soon replaced them with standard bars. I think there was something about the geometry and handling that affected how they worked for me. The second Fatbike feels more like a big mountain bike than an “adventure” bike with its handling and suspension so maybe that’s a factor.

I have just bought some Tumbleweed Persuader bars. 30 degrees sweep and 800 wide. Only riden twice but feel good. I may need a longer stem as the sweep brings the grips back. Not cheap at £125 and difficult to get. Mine came from Wizard Works. Previous to these I tried Richey Koyote which I like but very little rise and Stooge Moto bars which I like although I wanted a bit more sweep.

i believe ergotec bars are available from bikeinn. they are good value 12° and 16° mtb bars.

OG bars with Ergon GP2 copies here help my knackered wrists.

OP that video linked above is worth a watch.

when first using modern wide bars (760) i felt the same, when seated, but when in a more forward, elbows-out position, my hands tend to rotate inwards and the minimal sweep makes a lot more sense.

also, i initially set up my saddle where i would have had on my old 26er. my front wheel was then really light and i had wash-out issues. once i’d moved the saddle forward, dfitted a lower stem, and improved my cornering by weighting the front more, i stopped thinking about bar sweep. The minimal sweep felt more comfortable.

Salsa Rustler Deluxe bars for me on my singlespeed. Just that little bit more of backsweep than enduro bars and are still nice and wide at 800mm.

I’ve gone sweepier as I’ve gone wider currently on 9 deg and 780mm from 5 deg and 720mm