Handlebar width

[jeffg]

I got sent a 42cm o-o rather than a 42cm c-c bar so the shop said I could try the bar and exchange it if it does not work.


Other than potentially impeding breathing(-)/aerodynamics (+), what
(dis)advantages are there to a slightly narrower handlebar?

[davids]

Narrow is better. I really don't think you'll be suffocating with your hands a few cms closer together.

[fiamme red]

The resident expert has discussed this subject:

http://forums.thepaceline.net/showpost.php?p=272320&postcount=6

We're fortunate that 11.4 shares his amazing wealth of knowledge on this forum.

[Hardlyrob]

Wow!

11.4 prolly has forgotten twice as much about cycling as I've ever known. But the arguments all make sense to me for a narrower bar.

Cheers!

Rob

[Fat Robert]

time for me to e-mail e-ritchie for some narrower oval deep drops

[Fixed]

Narrow is better. I really don't think you'll be suffocating with your hands a few cms closer together.
iagree
cheers

[Fixed]

I'm not very smart but i could have told you that.... ...you can fit in tight spaces with a narrow bar it can make you feel free ... urban sprinter's fav

[sspielman]

See...If I had 38 cm bars, maybe that truck wouldn't have whacked me from behind a couple of weeks ago.

[Blue Jays]

Unless you have a hulking frame, it's kind of nice to be tucked-in a little tighter. Aerodynamic efficiency is definitely boosted with arms drawn a tiny bit closer and it's something with which everyone can experiment on a quiet and straight road. Slightly narrower bars just make this easier to accomplish.

[TimB]

I'm not too Hulking, I think, but I prefer 46cm bars. Anything narrower than 44cm leads to shoulder pain.

Try the narrower bars, and trade them in if they don't feel right.

[CNY rider]

Grant Peterson loves the wide bars and sings their praises all over the Riv website and in the Riv Reader.

I'm a normally proportioned 5'6" guy, and I ride 42 cm bars. Last time I needed bars I ordered an extra set in 44, figuring I would give them a try. Never ended up even mounting them. Just holding onto them standing over the bike felt way too wide and stretched. But my failed experiment ended up being a good deal for a forumite. :beer:

[jerk]

the higher the handlebars the wider the bars. think about it. bring your hands up put more weight on the saddle and you naturally spread your arms. likewise; the lower you get the narrower a bar should be.

regarldess never wider than your own chest cavity.

40s for me only because 38s are so tough to find.

jerk

[bironi]

I was 5'-7.625" before my spine began to compress, and I have never been buff. I bought into someone's bs about opening my lungs while climbing with a wider bar. I am back where I started with a narrow bar. I spend most of my time close to the stem. It is what works for me, but the bs did convince me to go wider for a while. :beer:

[Big Dan]

I changed to 44's ctc over 15 years ago and wouldn't go back.....


:D

[t. swartz]

rode 46's until i got a 42. verdict? 42's rule...

[David Kirk]

I think I'll go out on a limb and state that there is no "correct" or "right" bar width...........within reason. I think comfort and function should be your guide.

I feel better with wider bars than I do with narrower bars. 44's or 46's work well for me. 42's feel too small.

Crazy.

Dave

[old_school]

I think it was easier when I didn't know that bars had "widths." I rode whatever bars were on the bike ... they were always perfect. Maybe you just get used to what you've got*.

*might be different in an extreme/competitive situation (I'll defer to 11.4 on that one), but for most of us ...

[RudAwkning]

I ride anything from a 39 to a 44. At the end of the day, I prefer a 42. The way I'm built, a 42 is narrow enough that my arms don't feel all splayed out in the hoods, yet wide enough that my elbows don't feel like they're poking me in the ribs/gut when I'm descending in the drops.

However, if you spend a lot of time on the flats of the bars and are using a 31.8 clamp, you may want to consider a wider bar as you lose a considerable amount of "bar" with the clamp bulge.