Newbie (idiots) guide to handlebars & stems.

[Major Stare]

Cube Stereo Hybrid 160 HPC (2021).
Current bars and stem are:

• Stem: Cube Performance Stem E-MTB, 31.8mm
• Handlebar: Newmen Evolution SL 318.25, 760mm

How do you work out if a new bar and stem improve your ride, be more comfortable, improve handling?
I dont want to spend a couple of hundred ££ to find it makes things worse or no improvement.
Length, rise, back swept etc etc, so many things to consider.

Friend of a friend is offering me a never fitted Renthal Fatbar Lite, 740mm length, 20mm rise, 31.8 bar diameter and Renthal 50mm STM-100 stem for a really great price. But i havent got a clue what difference this would make over my existing bar?

 

[dobbyhasfriends]

do you have a problem with your existing bar and stem ?

 

[Major Stare]

do you have a problem with your existing bar and stem ?

I sometimes feel cramped in the bike or hunched in, like the seat needs to further back/bars further forward (if that makes sense).

 

[dobbyhasfriends]

Sounds like you have three wrong size bike. Wider bars can help, I had to get wider and higher bars myself to get the fit right

 

[Gary]

The fatbar lite is a decent bar with a decent shape but 740mm is quite narrow
Renthal stems on the other hand are all awful overly complicated/engineered and weak
I'd avoid your friends offer.

What length stem do you have just now? (You have only given bar clamp diameter)
Your friend's Renthal bar is 5mm lower rise but you could probably lower your current bars by 5mm by removing a spacer if you needed it)

 

[Major Stare]

The fatbar lite is a decent bar with a decent shape but 740mm is quite narrow
Renthal stems on the other hand are all awful overly complicated/engineered and weak
I'd avoid your friends offer.

What length stem do you have just now? (You have only given bar clamp diameter)
Your friend's Renthal bar is 5mm lower rise but you could probably lower your current bars by 5mm by removing a spacer if you needed it)

Thanks for the advice.

Spec is stated as:
Headset: Acros AZX-1030, Top Zero-Stack 1 1/2" (ZS 56mm), Bottom Zero-Stack 1 1/2" (ZS 56mm)
Stem: Cube Performance Stem E-MTB, 31.8mm
Handlebar: Newmen Evolution SL 318.25, 760mm

Does a flatter or lower bar give more room in the cockpit then?

 

[steve_sordy]

This may prove a useful background.

MTB Handlebar Buyers Guide (Everything You Need to Know!)[Video]

The handlebars are arguably the most important contact point on your bike. With so many different handlebars available, mounting up two different handlebars on the same bike can drastically change your experience. We are here to unpack some of the details so you can find the right set of bars...

www.worldwidecyclery.com

 

[Mikerb]

Cube bikes tend to be quite sort as far as reach is concerned. It sounds like you need more reach. You could start by not buying anything new. Simply loosen the stem clamp a little and rotate your existing bars forward and see how that feels. Failing that being effective or enough you next best option is to fit a longer stem. 31.8 is the bars diameter so you need to find out the length of your existing stem which will probably be c35mm...so you could go to 40mm or even 50mm.
Be aware that extending the reach using a longer stem or rotating the bars forward..or both...will probably also result in your upper body being lower over the bars so dont go mad with the changes. Small changes can make a big difference.
One other way to free up more room in the cockpit is to go a little wider with the bars. This effectively spreads your arms a little more. you have 760 at the moment.... I would not go bigger than 780.

 

[Gary]

Thanks for the advice.

Spec is stated as:
Headset: Acros AZX-1030, Top Zero-Stack 1 1/2" (ZS 56mm), Bottom Zero-Stack 1 1/2" (ZS 56mm)
Stem: Cube Performance Stem E-MTB, 31.8mm
Handlebar: Newmen Evolution SL 318.25, 760mm

That doesn't list your stem length

Does a flatter or lower bar give more room in the cockpit then?

Depends what height it's at in the first place. but 5mm lower is barely even going to be noticable.

There's way more to setting up your bike to be comfortable than simply swapping out the bar and stem dimensions.
You haven't really said what sort of discomfort you're experiencing or what handling traits you're currently unhappy with. Nevermind detailing your body size or current set-up. or even what type of rider you are. So it's impossible for any of us to offer you any decent actual advice.
Being a newb I'd advise you to look at a few bike set-up videos on youtube to familiarise yourself with how to find a neutral position and set-up and make small incremental changes from there when you feel you need to. Be aware though it's a rabbithole and there are a lot of theories, contradictions and disagreement between the thoughts of many mtb "experts"
this is a decent place to start though with good honest advice

 

[Major Stare]

@Gary

Good video, thank you.

I have been tinkering and rotated the bars, giving a little extra reach. Just small adjustments at a time but I can tell the difference already and will have a proper ride out this weekend to experiment a little further.

 

[Gary]

Fair enough just to give it a try to see if you prefer your bar further forwards or not.... But..
Altering bar roll is NEVER the correct answer to increasing or reducing the distance to your bars.
Bar roll should be set for comfort and control not distance to the bars.
Stem length should be used to increase or decrease distance to the bars.
And bar rise or stem spacers to determine bar height.

After a while your preferred bar shape (up sweep, back sweep & width) should become intuitive. And also your preferred roll on that same shape.

Control positioning, angle and bite points all also make a massive difference to control, confidence and comfort

 

[Gary]

Just like choosing a life partner. If you're happy and comfortable there's really no WRONG set up. No matter how quirky or different and no matter what anyone else thinks.