What's the point of wide handlebars?

OK, inflammatory thread title ahead, I get the benefit for the downhills and the high speed stuff, but say, for example, my retired father was looking at second hand 29er hardtails, mostly for exploring landrover tracks and forest roads, would the 700mm bars just be a hindrance?

I don’t really see the point if you’re just cruising on relatively tame tracks and trails, does anyone suggest otherwise?

I see your point,there are good points,for instance wide handlebars open up the breathing space for the lungs when climbing,I can see this to be a big advantage for,there will be more folk along with more advantages,hope I have helped.

And no,700 is ample.

700mm is narrow now.

I have a pair of 680’s in the shed,can’t imagine using those anymore.

Along with discs, wide bars rank up there.
Genuine progress IMO.

Less thruppeny bitting, nicer stance, better fit.

720 is plenty for me, or else I start hitting trees.

I feel like I’m more in control and less of a passenger.

…allows you to graze your knuckles on trees when riding tight singletrack. Unfortunately the foresters in these parts didn’t get the memo that said they need to move the trees wider apart.

Its a manliness gauge. Grrrr.

My ability to stay on the bike after clipping obstacles has improved a lot thanks to wide bars as I clip trees so often I’ve got the knack of managing to avoid an OTB 😀

Key to wide bars though is a shorter stem. Cuts down on the front wandering about and brings the wider reach closer so it’s not such a stretch out. Likewise if you were thinking of a shorter stem for forward reach purposes, wider bars are recommended to compensate for steering issues with short bars and short stem.

Balance innit

I think it’s related to shoulder width and torso length.

I also think that some are too wide – your elbow is nearly straight, less opportunity for bump absorption and movement around the bike.

I just put 800s on my full-sus and OMFG they feel so good it’s ridiculous. Over the last two years that bike has gone from 711 to 750 and now 800 (all with a 50mm stem actually). However, that’s a bike for riding fast/steep/techy stuff – not for pottering about, where I suspect such massive width would feel rather silly.

I think the bars on my MTB with the toddler seat (WeeRide) has 670mm bars and I wouldn’t want them any wider for that purpose. And my hardtail is getting the old 750s because that’s the sensible limit for our main area of local singletrack (which is tighter than anywhere else I’ve ever ridden).

As not everyone is built the same we all have different width shoulders, I feel so much more comfortable on the bike up near 800.then there is the control aspects.

You should tell those TdF riders, because they clearly struggle climbing hills with their 420mm bars.

What size drops do you use Aracer?

I’ve gone from 42 to 46 and noticed the same improvements in comfort and control that I did when going wider on the MTB.

I don’t do time trials BTW. 🙂

I just went and measured mine, 560mm. Works fine for me.

[Edit] As there’s all sorts of talk about shoulder width I measured across my shoulders too, somewhere between 500mm and 520mm

I possess stupidly wide shoulders – hence my preferred bar-width (prefer about 750 yet currently self-limited to 700mm as encounter narrow trails often) may not have been the ‘correct’ width for (say) Stan Laurel..

+1 for opening up the chest so lungs may breathe big and free on those climbs.

I’m on 40cm road bars (42 on the crosser and tandem), though I’ve now embraced wide on my MTB and have 600 bars on that 😉 I think 42cm is now fairly standard in the peleton – that’s apparently what Cav is using – though plenty on narrower bars than that, apparently 38 is becoming fairly common.

You’ll also not find XC pros on superwide bars – sure they’re wider than they used to be, but almost all on less than 700. Either they’re doing something wrong, or wider bars don’t really improve your performance by helping you breath easier.

I’m not a pro racer.

I don’t worry about how my seating position compares to Jenson Button’s before driving to the shop for some milk either.

That’s fine, whatever works for you, I’m not suggesting you should use narrower bars – I’m guessing you don’t suggest that your seating position helps your driving performance. If wider bars really did help open up the lungs for climbing then you’d think the pros would notice the issue.

You may well be right.

I seem to remember some pro or other banging on about the advantages of narrow bars in something I’ve read recently – David Millar?

I just find them comfier.
My lungs are screwed anyway and I have all the aerodynamic efficiency of a bungalow.

Did you ever work out where we met BTW? 🙂

Dunno why but the thing is, every time I go wider, I can’t go back. I’ve gone up about 10mm a year without fail since I got my 710mm easton wide dh bars. Bar inflation, death and taxes. 780mm seems to be my limit mind but then I thought that when I tried 760mm a few years ago.

And yep sometimes it genuinely is too wide for the trail- there’s a tree gap in the pentlands that I can’t ride any more. But I just like how it feels, it just basically feels more right and puts me naturally into a better riding position.

My hybrid has 750mm bars 😳 Going from the mtbs to commuting just felt really odd.

And yep sometimes it genuinely is too wide for the trail- there’s a tree gap in the pentlands that I can’t ride any more.

Somebody built a new trail round here, they did good reckon it’s 850mm minimum all the way 🙂 that’s the only easy bit of it

I’d forgotten we had – presumably you mentioned it before? Not on ton’s touring weekend?

You posted a pic of yourself on some ridiculous one wheeled conveyance.
🙂

I remarked that I’d met you, small world etc.
You enquired as to the circs, but I didn’t reply as I’d not noticed your response until much later.

Just trying to be pleasant to a fellow forumite. No matter.

I’ve got 740 on my HT (50mm stem), 760 on my susser (70mm stem), and 685 flat bars on my Pantera (90mm stem). At some point in time those felt spot on but they feel weird and narrow now (but totally fine for about town)

Get him to try 700mm and if they’re too big then trim them. My guess is that he’ll probs be fine with them as they are.

I don’t really see the point if you’re just cruising on relatively tame tracks and trails, does anyone suggest otherwise?

There is no point. You should ride what you are comfortable with not what others use.

I ride on easy single track and fire roads and use 600mm bars. Any narrower and I feel cramped and have less control, any wider and it feels like I am steering a ship and my arms feel splayed out.

For me 600mm gives me quick steering, good control and comfort so perfect.

I ride on easy single track and fire roads and use 600mm bars. Any narrower

You can buy bars less than 600mm??!?!?

Short stem, wide bars= more control, even just pottering along a towpath I prefer that feeling of confidence it inspires, I think the arms out balancing pic above explains it well.

I’d say it’s partly related to bike geometry/slackness, overall balance/feel, and the way the bar width creates a wider-top triangle between grips and contact patch and how the wider that is in proportion to the height the more control you can get in corners, till your bars drag the dirt. It’s also about bar shape and the rest of the bike, wide doesn’t suit some bike at all.
If I crouch down and put my fists in front of me in a stable but ‘ready’ position with muscles relaxed/neutral they end up about 750-780mm apart – a tad wider than I like on most bikes but for max tech ability that’d be right.

700mm bars were fairly common for jumpy XC bikes in the late 90s so they’ve not grown as much as it seems, maybe it was more that silly-narrow 1991 bars took ages to die out. Roadie-ism in MTB : )

In your Dad’s case, just put whatever width he’s comfortable with.

I rode my HT last night and it has a pair of old Easton Monkey DH carbons on it – felt seriously narrow after riding my FS with wide Renthals on it. Crackers really, as when I bought them 711mm was DH wide!

I seem to remember some pro or other banging on about the advantages of narrow bars in something I’ve read recently

On the road at speed, better aerodynamics from a narrower frontal area. That’s the theory anyway, I’ve no idea if it’s supported by any data, but it hasn’t stopped me putting 40cm bars on the race bike…..

To be honest, how bothered is your retired father going to be about bar width? He’s better off just cracking on than reading this thread.

For the sake of adding to the pile, I have 780 bars and 50mm stems on 3 bikes because I want them to feel the same and I like man handling them on rough trails. Narrow bars just feel dangerous by comparison but on a canal path I doubt I’d care.

So opening your arms out giving your chest more room to breath doesn’t help your breathing,what planet are you on a racer,I’m not talking about Chris froom and the likes of cavendish,I’m talking about his father that might find it a bit easier.

Surely putting your arms closer together having the effect of restricting your breathing is only an issue if you have considerable moobs/boobs?

I like to think I could ride with narrower bars and still breathe normally. That said, I have 780 bars…
Must be the moobage…
😀

I remember one of my riding buddies using Sunline 745s about 4 years ago, they just seemed utterly daft. Like steering a boat – I was on Easton 660 Monkeylites at the time. 745 is about standard now.

Moved up to 685 and it felt a little better, I’m now on 711s which seem perfect for me.

711 is unfashionably narrow now which is probably why I got rather nice Easton Haven Carbon bars for just £59 but wide enough for me

What’s New for 2013: Adam Hansen’s Narrow Bars

North wind +1.

My narrowest bar is 777mm now!

Given the amount of cynicism on the bike industry thread, i’m surprised no one has mentioned a conspiracy. It’s not like you can make narrow bars wider, you have to buy new bars 😉

I’ve 750 on my FS and alternate between 720 + 740 on the HT. The 750’s were 780 from new but i had them cut in the shop as they felt too wide (i have longer arms and torso than most and wide-ish shoulders). I do have a habit of hanging my palms off the end of my bars to help with steering (no matter how wide/narrow they are – something i picked up riding motorbikes) and there’s no way i could x-up with anything wider that 750. I guess, like all things, it’s personal.

mostly for exploring landrover tracks and forest roads…

I don’t really see the point if you’re just cruising on relatively tame tracks and trails

There isn’t any. My Singlespeed dog walking bike has 660mm Monkey Bars as there are narrow gates to go through where I take the dog. I don’t have any need for wider bars on these tracks. (Or a short stem) (Or suspension) (Or gears)

I’m guessing the bikes are being sold with the 700mm – I’d just leave them on. Cut them down if he says they don’t feel right, or get in the way.

Problem you have with this thread is that hardly anyone reads your actual post, just the title, then bangs away about how wide their bars are for shredding the gnar.