Bar Widths ??

[Link]

Hi All,

I am coming from years of XC racing and a few years only road riding in between, and the thing which really surprises me about the current range of both Trail, XC and Enduro bikes on the market is that the bar widths seem to have gone up massively !, what sort of width are people running, my Rail is coming with 780, which seem colossally wide !?, i am pretty sure i will take some off that width but interested to know what people have found as their ideal.

thanks

 

[apac]

One way I look at it... if you hold your bars in normal riding position then put into full lock, if you have to lean forward or stretch to keep hold of the furthest away grip then it's too wide. A good way to notice this is on up hill switchbacks. I run 750mm, I'm 5' 10'

 

[Zimmerframe]

My previous bike was 760's , which when new felt quite wide, but I adjusted pretty quickly.

The Kenevo came with 800's. I just never seemed to fully adjust to these as as many of the trails here are exceptionally narrow, I would find myself regularly catching the bar ends. Eventually, I cut them back to 760 which feels more "correct" for me and my riding. The strangest thing was that for several days after cutting them they felt absolutely tiny !

 

[Link]

Thanks, that's my thought also, I can't imagine being able to even get through some of the trails with a bars that wide. I mocked up some bars on another MTB with 780 and it felt like I had a broom handle on the front it felt so wide ?. I will try the stock bar width and compare to some spare 635mm bars I have spare.

 

[Link]

One way I look at it... if you hold your bars in normal riding position then put into full lock, if you have to lean forward or stretch to keep hold of the furthest away grip then it's too wide. A good way to notice this is on up hill switchbacks. I run 750mm, I'm 5' 10'

Yep, totally agree with that, great way to look at it

 

[Janc]

Thanks, that's my thought also, I can't imagine being able to even get through some of the trails with a bars that wide. I mocked up some bars on another MTB with 780 and it felt like I had a broom handle on the front it felt so wide ?. I will try the stock bar width and compare to some spare 635mm bars I have spare.

Some of my local trails have very narrow sections between trees. I use this to challenge my ability to "jiggle" the bars through - it helps if they are on a bend!

 

[maynard]

I think I'm at 780 . Maybe 60 .

 

[MrPeaski]

My 2020 Cube Stereo 160 came with 800mm bars!
I cut them down as short as I was able which is 760 (RaceFace Next R 35 Carbon) and that is still wider than my regular bikes of 720/740.
The stem is a lot shorter though (40mm) so it feels the same

 

[Link]

At this point 700, maybe 720 seems like it maybe a good spot, saying that even these spare 635 bars I have to try seem wide !, I have 580 on the XC, maybe I need to get with the times ??

 

[Mikerb]

The bigger volume tyres and slacker head angle both require a wider bar to provide more leverage and steerer control so do not go too short! For most modern trail bikes the range most people use lies between 760 and 780. Longer slacker Enduro bikes probably at the wider end of that range up to 800.
Negotiating narrow trails through trees requires rapid leaning of the bike from side to side rather than steering.

 

[Link]

The bigger volume tyres and slacker head angle both require a wider bar to provide more leverage and steerer control so do not go too short! For most modern trail bikes the range most people use lies between 760 and 780. Longer slacker Enduro bikes probably at the wider end of that range up to 800.
Negotiating narrow trails through trees requires rapid leaning of the bike from side to side rather than steering.

cheers, will give it plenty of miles before changing anything

 

[Zimmerframe]

cheers, will give it plenty of miles before changing anything

It's normally harder to make them longer .. than shorter ..

 

[Link]

haha, my thoughts exactly !

 

[JetSedgwick]

i run 780.

 

[Eddy Current]

It's normally harder to make them longer .. than shorter ..

Not really, I move my lock on grips 1cm each side outwards

 

[Zimmerframe]

Not really, I move my lock on grips 1cm each side outwards

I hope you tell the trees and rocks to only interact with the end of your grips and not the ends of the bars when you're going for it !

 

[Eddy Current]

I hope you tell the trees and rocks to only interact with the end of your grips and not the ends of the bars when you're going for it !

Not to ride but if you want to try how does wider handlebar feels no prob with this trick, and you don’t need to buy none to test it