Handlebar width

[Clean39T]

For the last few years I've liked 40/42s on the road, with a 120 or 130 stem and more drop. As I've tried to get into gravel territory though, I'm finding 44/46s are better for me - plus some flare - and with a lot less drop. For all-road, somewhere in between. The tricky thing is understanding what that does to reach and sizing of the frame, plus handling. I'm afraid I'm starting to have significant hand/nerve issues as I get older and spend too much time at a computer. For me, the drop situation isn't about back strength or breathing, it's simply that too much weight on my hands is a really bad combination these days. And I feel like wider bars just work better when there is less drop - for me anyway.

[93KgBike]

A [rider's]shoulder's width still makes sense.

Not, like cranks, where it's free for all.

[Nomadmax]

Narrow is the "new" wide. The way I see it, you can alter your aerodynamic profile on a set of wider bars by pulling your hands/arms closer together. What you can't do is make a narrow bar have more leverage on a climb or in a sprint.

My thinking on that also relates to road bike gearing. You'll lose less time by having a gear low enough while sacrificing a high gear that might be overcome on a descent with an aero tuck or faster cadence.

Mind you, this is the inter-net and it's rife with idiots; I may be one of them

[DeBike]

I have used 42's my whole life and very comfortable with them. I have shoulder issues now and I have recently been using 44's to open up the shoulder area a bit. I like the wider stance and it has helped the shoulders and decreased the stress on my neck and numbness in my hands.

As stated above, different manufactures measure differently. Different riders of the nearly same physical dimensions prefer different widths. As with much in bicycle fit, it is very personal.

[pdonk]

I went from riding 44s forever down to 40s last year on my new bike. I had never ridden narrow road bars before my trip to Portland when Clean lent me a bike. 40s seem to make bike feel faster in terms of handling.

After a season on the 40s with a few rides on the bike with 44s I want to try 42s. The 44s feel too wide, the 40s a bit too narrow.

I assume Sacha put me on 40s based on a measurement of my shoulder joints he did when I got fit.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by wc1934

How important is handlebar width? How or does handlebar width really matter?

I have some nice carbon fsa's which are labeled as 40's (which I believe is my size) but they measure closer to 38's. They seem narrow and my shoulders are scrunched. I am now looking at another brand but am leaning towards 42. Am I inviting another problem - within reason, can handlebars be too wide.

I've read where bars = shoulder blade width, but that larger bars allow you to open up your chest more - breathing etc.

Does stem length come into play?

Thanks all!

In the shop, we used as a general rule of thumb..easure the width of the 'points' of you shoulders..basically the center of you upper arm as it enters your chest..take that measurement and add 2cm..
Remember, in this world of non standard 'standards', handlebars are measured either outside to outside or center to center. FSA measured outside to outside, probably BUT, you answered your own question,

They seem narrow and my shoulders are scrunched

No anything etched in stone. I use 42cm TTT on one bike and 44cm, both ctr-to-ctr, and they both work, feel fine. BUT it's about how it 'feels'..

[AngryScientist]

i've experimented a bit, settled on 42's across the board for me.

that's wider than my shoulders probably, and probably not good for aero points, but thats what feels most comfortable/natural to me.

[sparky33]

I tried and liked wider bars over the last year, using 42 for road and 44 gravel (previously 40 and 42). I am a medium sized person, and this feels less cramped and slightly less weird when going back and forth between my mtb and drop bar bikes.

The recent trend to super wide bars is tempting to a point. Perhaps I'll try some 46 or 48 for gravel.

[Hilltopwalters]

I've always found that I start with a size too big (42) and end up with a size smaller (40). For me, I always look for comfort and to make sure my chest feels open. I just ordered a pair of the Velo Orange Crazy Bars, I can't wait to see how those feel.

[alwayssnacking]

i've been riding with 46 salsa bell lap bars, and they ride better than the compacts i was using riding the singletracks where i'm at.

[bikinchris]

Some of the strongest track racers use 38cm wide bars and go FAST on them and sprint like nobodies business.

You measure from the center of the shoulder joint to the other center of your shoulder joint. That width should be the center to the center of the bars.

I think its weird how companies spend tons of money making aero frames, aero pedals, aero brakes, aero wheels and encourage riders to think aero, think of every thing to help them go fast, wear aero clothes even. They warn about sticking ANYTHING out into the wind, then they put 46cm bars on an aero bike.

[Dave]

Excessive weight on the hands can be the result of placing the saddle too far forward. Keeping my saddle back also allows me to use a large 10cm saddle to bar drop. Too often, raising the bars higher is the solution to reducing weight on the hands.

[alancw3]

my experience has been that a wider bar size that collates to shoulder width makes total sense. but others have felt that a narrower worked better for them. I guess bar width is subjective.

[nooneline]

Originally Posted by bikinchris

Some of the strongest track racers use 38cm wide bars and go FAST on them and sprint like nobodies business.

You measure from the center of the shoulder joint to the other center of your shoulder joint. That width should be the center to the center of the bars.

I think its weird how companies spend tons of money making aero frames, aero pedals, aero brakes, aero wheels and encourage riders to think aero, think of every thing to help them go fast, wear aero clothes even. They warn about sticking ANYTHING out into the wind, then they put 46cm bars on an aero bike.

Narrower than that, even. For today's track sprinters, 37 is wide, 35 is normal, and 32 cm is common. There are also a few people out there on 28cm handlebars.

[azrider]

good info here

Originally Posted by 11.4

There are a number of long threads on "narrow handlebars" that you might read here.

The bottom line is that traditional fits use a number of dogmatic standards that don't really have much justification. Knee over pedal spindle is one. Handlebar width is another. If you watch the pro peloton, they were all on 46's a few years ago and now are all doing 38's to 42's. Just being broad shouldered doesn't mean that the center of your shoulder joint is as wide -- spot that point and you may find that you could be fitting narrower bars, but even then, nothing says your bars have to match your joint center distance across your shoulders. That's just an arbitrary way to do it.

Here's the argument, not too briefly, for narrower bars, so you can see the reasoning and how to fit your bike to you with narrower bars. It has some reason and justification to it (more than just matching your shoulder width does) but you can decide how you feel. It's an approach that's become quite popular with field sprinters, track sprinters, anyone with an aero position, and so on.

1. Narrower bars help you to pull up with your hands in more direct opposition to the downward force on your pedals. Ideally one could say that you want your pedals and handlebars at the same width for that reason, though that's probably overdoing it for pragmatic reasons. But if you think of picking up a heavy box, you won't do it with your arms spread wide apart -- you'll want to match the width of your stance. It's the same basic idea on the bike. This also helps minimize the side to side swaying that comes when you have to tilt the bike to position your left hand over your left pedal when you are pushing down with the left foot, and then to the right and back again.

2. Aerodynamics are better. With arms open you're just opening a big trap for wind.

3. When your hands come together more, you reduce the tendency of your shoulders to sag, which isn't a good thing. That in turn strengthens your back and facilitates better hip rotation.

4. You don't just want to go to narrower bars without making other changes. If you think about bringing your bar width closer, your hands will be moving a bit forward as well. If you take 2-3 cm out of your bar width, your hands will naturally be 1-2 cm farther forward. This means you need to plan for a longer stem. It'll also give you a naturally lower position and by stretching out your back a little more, enable you to tension your back a bit better for more power into the pedals.

So this is how you can think your way to narrower bars. Now it doesn't always work for everyone. It takes a couple weeks to get fully comfortable and get your bike dialed in, and you may simply do better riding with a different layout. That happens. But there's not much reasoning or serious logic to most fits. It's like the Italian CONI manual of the 1950s, which was circulated all over the US in the 70s and became the basis for fitting in Japan in the national keirin system. It's full of dogmatic standards that increasingly don't make much sense today. I'm not saying all fitters do a bad job, but in the end you have to figure out your own fit. That fitter is just a first approximation and your fit will change as you ride more. So I might suggest you stick with the bars you have now until you've sorted out other things and ridden enough so you've developed a more typical level of flexibility and strength. Make sense?