Bar measurement consistency

[sfscott]

Is it people's experience that measurements of reach and drop are consistent from manufacturer to manufacturer?

Thinking of switching to a shorter reach but would not love finding that the measurements are taken differently and end up at the same place.

Thinking of switching from a 3T Ergonova to a Ritchey. Looking to get a little closer and be more comfy in the hoods. I also am finding that the flat bar top isn't as comfortable as it felt in the shop.

[Mark McM]

Is it people's experience that measurements of reach and drop are consistent from manufacturer to manufacturer?

In a word, no. They aren't even consistent in their width measurements.

Handlebars are all shaped differently, making it difficult to come up with a consistent measurement system. Even if you could come up with a measuring system, due to the varying shapes (and the variability in the human hand), we would each hold them differently. Just like all sit on saddles differently, and therefore we can't use the same saddle setback measurement for different saddles, we can't use the same reach/drop measurement for all handlebars.

[sworcester]

I will go with, sort of. You would have to look at the drawing for each bar and understand where there points of measurement are. Biggest issue is center to center, do they measure from the bar ends or the center of the bend and the bar flares out.

[John H.]

Some mfg measure at hoods, some at drops.
Shortest bars in terms of reach are the 73mm Ritchey, Easton SLX, or Zipp Service Course 70mm.
Easton says 75mm reach but the hoods end up closer than most bars.

[zoose]

If the bars you are looking for are in the test here (https://fairwheelbikes.com/c/reviews-and-testing/road-handlebar-review/), then at least they measured consistently. I'd say that's the best way to find out the difference between two bars, find someone who has measured both themselves.

[marciero]

Another thing is that due to the different shapes, you may position the levers differently on different bars, which affects effective reach on the hoods. If you rotate the bars forward and raise the levers you can effectively shorten the reach while leaving the hoods oriented the same way, the trade-off being that the angle of the ramps has now changed. (The hoods may be a little lower but you could add a small spacer)