I have the same bars on both my (mountain) bikes, FSA K-Force which I think are 680mm. I must be subject to fashion/marketing as I was happy when they went on the bikes and haven’t ridden another bike in over two years but I’m beginning to think they’re not wide enough.

So…
~ how much wider would I have to go to feel a difference?
~ how wide is too wide?

Too wide depends on your body shape. I run 750s and they’re pretty spot on, and I’m not even really wide in the shoulders, but they are on my Enduro bike that also gets used for DH. I’d get some 750s or there abouts and just cut them down if you feel like you need to.

I swapped from 660 to 750. While I had one bike with each, the wider bar felt more natural even though the 660 had been on for years.

The 750 felt odd for a few minutes. The 660 feels odd all the time now. Funny, because when all I had was the 660, it felt great.

Any recommendations around 750mm then?

580mm flats ftw. Anything else is just frivolous 🙂

It depends on the geo of the bike too. A lot of modern frames are quite slack <68deg HA) so need a widish bar to get them to steer.

Personally, I ran 685 up until about 2 years ago, which felt fine but then moved to 711 which I preferred. Now I’m on 745ish which also feels fine, so hopefully I’ll stop now….

I went from 680 to 720 and noticed the difference straight away, much prefer it. I’m quite a thin chap, and only about 5ft 9. I’m assuming people who go up to 750 are a lot bigger or broader than me.

If you’re using lock on grips then why not play around a little and see if you can get an idea how wide you want to go? And remember, you can always cut the new bars down if you go too wide

A lot of modern frames are quite slack <68deg HA) so need a widish bar to get them to steer.

pppffffffhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

anything over 720 is wide. had a set of spank spike 777 and they were ace but too high rise so swapped for some ~750 raceface atlas but i don’t like the sweep as much (although i have been using em for about a year now so can’t be that bad).

go big, try, then cut em down if they’re too much. wide bars are ace. no turning back!

Try 31.5″ racwface bars, **** me!. 28″ suits well for most maximum.

At 5’6″ I fould 780s (Azonic) a bit wide.

Went down to 710 with some Ragleys.

New bike with a higher front end so went to 740 flats (Nukeproof).

Didn’t like the feel of them (width was fine but sweep just wasn’t comfortable), so have gone back to my 710s which feel just right for me.

So personally, anything over 740mm is a bit wide for me.

slainte ❓ rob

Picked up some 750mm Easton Havocs for thirty-odd quid from Merlin. Good bars, cheap enough to try &/or chop.

Hi Andy

I have some Race Face Diabolus standard clamp, 720 wide, you can have for postage if you want. I have moved up to 750

Pete

I had stock 680mm bars on my Trance X2 (90mm stem) and went up to 725mm. Feels much improved on the downhills, I would never revert now. Be sure to reduce stem size as you increase bar width though, or the steering feedback feels too slow. I tried the 725 bars with the 90mm stem and it was horrible. I switched to a 70mm stem and it handles great again. Seems like a good upgrade with few disadvantages. Some say if you go too wide with a shorter stem then it makes climbing more difficult, but it’s nothing that can’t be compensated for in my experience.

I keep going wider, then cutting bits off til I get back to 710-ish. Just got a set of Easton Havocs for the dh bike to replace a set of bent Answers, how much do you bet they get cut down?

Having said that the Camber feels like it could carry a bit more bar.

Ta for the offer Pete but I’ve already ordered some of these: http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=49613

(and my stems are all OS)

ride round on someone else bikes until you find some you like.

Far more to do with height, shoulder width and style of riding to guess at.

Or 745mm if you want an easy answer

Anything over or under 810mm is just silly.

760mm on all bikes. Arms like Mr Tickle mind.

Arms like Mr Tickle mind.

…is this your road bike?

810mm, on my Transition Covert.

I still ride with my little fingers hanging off the ends though.

I put 680’s on mine & had to cut them down by 20mm as they felt too wide.
I must be getting old:(

720 is the right width

…is this your road bike?

Also legs like Mr Tickle. If he occasionally used his toes to do his work.

Just generally tall really.

Superstars yardstick bars are defo too wide @ 915mm. does anyone actually use them at full width?? intrigued to see some pics now attached to a bike…

http://superstar.tibolts.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=72&products_id=532

Anyway 6’4″ with 800mm bars here on the nomad!
710mm on the xc.

Had 780s, but changed them for 740s (same bar – didn’t want to cut it down)

I’ve seen ONE person using the yardstick bar – at the Fort Bill DH Enduro.

He looked rather embarrassed when we politely explained they were developed to take the piss out of the wide bar trend/fashion….. not a product to take seriously….

I’m quite a broad 6fter and find 711mm better than 760mm. Just too wide for the tight stuff.

I’m quite a broad 6fter and find 711mm better than 760mm. Just too wide for the tight stuff.

You get used to squeezing it in, so to speak. Bar ends too on the XC bike…main issue there is the combine-harvester effect in narrow undergrowth lined trails. You can end up with a bit of an inbox/outbox situation on the bars, doing a bit of filing as you ride along…

I’m just over 6 ft 3 and relatively broad. Happy point for me is 780mm but may go down to 760mm so i can get some Ti bars for the rigid singlespeed.

And there’s only one set of trees which i have to slow down slightly to squeeze a 780mm through although i am getting better at flicking them through.

I’m running 2nd hand 720 Fatboys. They started at 750, but I looked and felt like I was doing a super hero impression on the bike. They also snagged on my hips, the ground and ladies with prams. I’m 5″7′, so shortish arms and 720 are just right. Never had a problem with trees, but it can be a struggle getting them through my stupidly thin front doorway and getting them up the stairs without taking all the jackets in the entry hall with me. Most people I ride/ have ridden with are on the wider bars now and agree they provide more control. Short stems are a good idea, how sort depends on the bar sweep. My suggestion, get some 2nd hand 750s and try them out. You can always trim if need be, or get used to them and go wider later.