Narrow bars

[StressStrain]

Originally Posted by Turkle

I used 38cm Zipp SL-70 Ergo aluminum bars on my main bike for years. I think they are wonderful.

I'll add my 2 cents to make it 3 votes for Zipp SL-70 Ergo aluminum bars.

They are light, not expensive, and come in a variety of widths. Also, the tops have a little bit of backward sweep toward the rider that my wrists like. So many bars now have a forward sweep that is the opposite of natural wrist shape - no thanks.

[jimoots]

I have Zipp SL70's in 38cm on a couple of bikes and then I tried a Prime Primavera 36cm on a budget race bike build.

The 38's are fine, no real compromise or difference that I could feel from the 40's I had before. And for me it was just a gradual shift from 44 to 42 to 40 to 38 over several bikes.

I definitely notice riding wider bars, I have an old cross bike with 42 (maybe 44's) and it feels like a truck.

The 36's are all good in the hoods/tops, the position (with more aggressively turned in hoods) does feel faster and the ability to rest forearms on the tops in that kinda psuedo TT position is good.

I will say that a 36cm drop does feel narrow for me and I don't think that I've really gotten used to it. The idea of a 36 top with flared drop has some appeal, but I got a bit spooked when I heard someone note that it makes it a bit easier to get hooked up in a bunch/peleton racing. So sticking with the 36's for now... I don't sprint that much anyway.

[StressStrain]

Originally Posted by jimoots

I have Zipp SL70's in 38cm on a couple of bikes and then I tried a Prime Primavera 36cm on a budget race bike build.

The 38's are fine, no real compromise or difference that I could feel from the 40's I had before. And for me it was just a gradual shift from 44 to 42 to 40 to 38 over several bikes.

I definitely notice riding wider bars, I have an old cross bike with 42 (maybe 44's) and it feels like a truck.

The 36's are all good in the hoods/tops, the position (with more aggressively turned in hoods) does feel faster and the ability to rest forearms on the tops in that kinda psuedo TT position is good.

I will say that a 36cm drop does feel narrow for me and I don't think that I've really gotten used to it. The idea of a 36 top with flared drop has some appeal, but I got a bit spooked when I heard someone note that it makes it a bit easier to get hooked up in a bunch/peleton racing. So sticking with the 36's for now... I don't sprint that much anyway.

I know this feeling. I hate the steering feel of wide bars.

Yet mountain bikers run crazy motorcycle-width bars. Different for them, I guess. Not my style.

[pedalwildrako]

Originally Posted by deluz

Thanks good to know.
I think I am going with these.

Those PROs look really slick. Will you give us an update with how they fare for you after some long rides?

[Mark McM]

Originally Posted by m_sasso

No interested in flared bars in the drops as these would defeat the aero intent of a narrow bar.

Well, maybe not. Studies have shown that crouched on the hoods is one of the most aero riding position (more aero than riding on the drops) - this is why pros have been turning their hoods in, to get a narrower position on the hoods. The idea of a flared handlebar is that they allow a very narrow/aero position on the hoods, but still have a reasonable width in the drops when you need more bike control (hard cornering, emergency braking, etc.).

Aerocoach test of handlebar positions

[glepore]

The other reason for flared bars if you turn you shifters inward is that the flare allows the brake blade to still be in line with the drops.
I like to run AR style bars for this reason-I turn levers inward as it reduces wrist discomfort ( I have arthritic wrists) but the brakes remain an easy reach for my small hands when in the drops.

[rothwem]

Originally Posted by StressStrain

I know this feeling. I hate the steering feel of wide bars.

Yet mountain bikers run crazy motorcycle-width bars. Different for them, I guess. Not my style.

Mountain bikes have different steering geometry though—a lot more trail usually, which makes steering a lot heavier. Wide bars give leverage to steer against it.

This is part of the reason why I think bikes like the Chamois Hanger with drops and tons of trail are silly and why road bikes with risers are also silly. The bars correspond with the steering setup, flipping it around just doesn’t make sense.

[Pinned]

One thing I didn't see mentioned yet is how different bars measure - most Italian brands measure at the drops while American brands measure at the hoods. So a 40cm FSA / Deda / 3t tends to be 38cm at the hoods (and comparable to an Enve, Zipp, Ritchey, Pro, etc in 38cm stated size).

FSA goes all the way down to 36cm in some of their bars - those are 34cm wide at the hoods.

I can't personally ride anything that narrow, 40cm at the hoods works well for me. I was on 42cm forever and switching to 40s is a noticeable improvement in feel and speed. Also gave me enough extra reach to run a longer stem on one of my bikes, which I prefer.

[Jere]

Hi
I tried smaller bars and it worked, but if you’re looking to be faster, get a new faster helmet.
My first try was to go to the extreme and see if it made me faster or if it was safe.
Rode 42/40s for 30 years.
Made a base line crit circuit 3.2 miles long.
Held the same wattage within 5 W 296/301 watts and of course tried to have the same wind.
For me, it was virtually the same time by Strava within seconds.
Base line was 42 cm and a 32 cm for the test.
32cm were weird at first but believe it or not kind of doable.
However, I did find out I am quite comfortable with 36cm bars without trying, I would have never knew that.
My suggestion is buy the cheapest bars you can find and give it a try.
I would send Pictures of my set up but my I pad isn’t playing nice today.

[deluz]

Originally Posted by pedalwildrako

Those PROs look really slick. Will you give us an update with how they fare for you after some long rides?

Just ordered today. Coming from Taiwan so it might take a few weeks to get here. I definitely will post a report.

[m_sasso]

Originally Posted by Mark McM

Well, maybe not. Studies have shown that crouched on the hoods is one of the most aero riding position (more aero than riding on the drops) - this is why pros have been turning their hoods in, to get a narrower position on the hoods. The idea of a flared handlebar is that they allow a very narrow/aero position on the hoods, but still have a reasonable width in the drops when you need more bike control (hard cornering, emergency braking, etc.).

Aerocoach test of handlebar positions

No, you still end up with the flare hanging out in the wind, larger frontal area, so they are aero compromised. Not my jam! The Aerocoach study says nothing about changing bar types or variance in frontal area by bar type, only considers body position changes.

[Duvivr6]

I'll add another vote for the Sl70 in 38, that is what i ride on my road bike and it is great.

Mounted some FSA adventure 40 on my gravel bike they have a small flare that would work very well on a road bike. These are super cheap also.

[lorenbike]

I've found that bar width equal to your shoulder bone width works well for drop bars. For me, that's around 38-40cm on the ramps for a road bike and I might bump it up 2cm or so on a commuter bike, or add some mild flare.

When I've tried gravel bars that are 46cm+ I've found that they create a whole batch of problems in my wrists, fingers, and elbows, especially if you run any saddle to bar drop. Which I rarely can do with the 60cm bikes that I ride.

And for reference I'm a fan of 800mm+ wide mtb bars.

[Mark McM]

Originally Posted by m_sasso

No, you still end up with the flare hanging out in the wind, larger frontal area, so they are aero compromised. Not my jam! The Aerocoach study says nothing about changing bar types or variance in frontal area by bar type, only considers body position changes.

As you say, the effects of bar flare would have to be tested. But since it is the same total frontal area, I wouldn't expect there to be much difference. The primary source of drag reduction with narrow bars is reducing the width of the rider, rather than the reduction in width of the bar itself. Hence the reason that the "puppy paws" position (forearms resting on bar tops) was the lowest drag of all positions.

[paredown]

Originally Posted by rothwem

Mountain bikes have different steering geometry though—a lot more trail usually, which makes steering a lot heavier. Wide bars give leverage to steer against it.

This is part of the reason why I think bikes like the Chamois Hanger with drops and tons of trail are silly and why road bikes with risers are also silly. The bars correspond with the steering setup, flipping it around just doesn’t make sense.

I've often thought this--and the fact that a lot of trail riding is at slower speeds where you are actually having to 'steer' the bike around obstacles and such; it's not just the intuitive lean and point of road bike riding.

(My personal theory is that we are seeing a course correction--wider bars started getting popular on road bikes because people/shops were used to mountain bike setups--and now we're on our way back to narrow and aero. )