Bar width

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robbosmans
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by robbosmans

Karvalo wrote:
Thu Jun 08, 2023 2:39 pm
robbosmans wrote:
Wed Jun 07, 2023 9:59 pm
Its bikefitting 101, excessive wide bars means your wrist will be turned in resulting in having to reach around the lever.
Image
Yeah - you see the lever setup on that picture of a wide bar is horrendous. If you're doing that, you're doing it wrong. Not sure what it has to do with flare, either. Flared bars don't have to be excessively wide on the tops to be wide where you want it.

That's also a pic pushing the massively old school 'shoulder width = bar width' thing. Are you saying everyone with narrow bars is stupid too?
The levers are just there for reference, but if you look at the lines coming from the shoulder to the bar you can see that on a too wide bar the lines go outwards. This means the rider will naturally turn in the wrists to align with his shoulder. This results in all sorts of neck and shoulder issues AND not being able to reach the levers without having to overreach around the levers.

This isn't really a problem on narrower bars.

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jih
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by jih

I don't think this is as critical as people say it is. I ride everything from 38cm to 46cm, and all of those are fine.

pmprego
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by pmprego

jih wrote:
Thu Jun 08, 2023 4:20 pm
I don't think this is as critical as people say it is. I ride everything from 38cm to 46cm, and all of those are fine.
I wear 39eu size shoe but could fit a 38eu or a 42eu. But only the 39eu is the appropriate to my feet. That's some logic.

X5SAE
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by X5SAE

I felt way better after reducing my bar width from 42 to 40 centimeters. Additionally, I turn my levers slightly in to get even more comfortable. My shoulders are about 40 cm wide (or narrow) at 184 cm of height.
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TobinHatesYou
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by TobinHatesYou

I'm 178cm tall and my acromial shoulder width is 37cm. I would like to know a reason why narrow bars are a fad when according to conventional wisdom I should be on 36cm or 37cm bars anyway. I currently ride 38cm bars with the hoods/grips dramatically turned in because there are so few <38cm options. I would imagine the hood-hood width is closer to 30cm. Not only does that straighten out my wrists in a neutral riding position, increasing my positional comfort, but it has zero effect on my breathing. If you are inhaling so hard that your ribcage is expanding dramatically, you are only putting additional strain on yourself. You should be expelling CO2 with forceful diaphragm/belly exhales and you will get all the O2 you need in your lungs more-or-less passively from the resulting vacuum.

I did buy 36cm EXS Aerover bars but could not use them since they are incompatible with Rival/Force hoods/levers without modification. I considered the AeroCoach Ornix bars too, which are 32.5cm. Last Sunday I was in a breakaway for 88% of local road race, so I feel like 1) being more comfortable and 2) being faster is worth it.

Oh and I also use the "Aero Tops" position on my Coefficient RR bars regularly during these races despite it feeling a bit cramped.

jih
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by jih

pmprego wrote:
Thu Jun 08, 2023 5:28 pm
jih wrote:
Thu Jun 08, 2023 4:20 pm
I don't think this is as critical as people say it is. I ride everything from 38cm to 46cm, and all of those are fine.
I wear 39eu size shoe but could fit a 38eu or a 42eu. But only the 39eu is the appropriate to my feet. That's some logic.
It isn't really the same. I use wider bars on my bike where I carry a lot of luggage, since I want to have more leverage to keep the heavy load upright. On racing bikes I use narrower bars so I can get more aero. Both fit just as well, both are "right", they're just for different purposes. It's more like having hiking boots and trainers in the same size than it is like having shoes of the different size.

Karvalo
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by Karvalo

robbosmans wrote:
Thu Jun 08, 2023 4:08 pm
Karvalo wrote:
Thu Jun 08, 2023 2:39 pm
robbosmans wrote:
Wed Jun 07, 2023 9:59 pm
Its bikefitting 101, excessive wide bars means your wrist will be turned in resulting in having to reach around the lever.
Image
Yeah - you see the lever setup on that picture of a wide bar is horrendous. If you're doing that, you're doing it wrong. Not sure what it has to do with flare, either. Flared bars don't have to be excessively wide on the tops to be wide where you want it.

That's also a pic pushing the massively old school 'shoulder width = bar width' thing. Are you saying everyone with narrow bars is stupid too?
The levers are just there for reference, but if you look at the lines coming from the shoulder to the bar you can see that on a too wide bar the lines go outwards. This means the rider will naturally turn in the wrists to align with his shoulder.
Does not follow. Why do straight lines drawn on a picture mean correct wrist alignment? Are our arms only designed to reach directly in front of us?
This isn't really a problem on narrower bars.
But your picture say narrower bars are a problem. Do you agree they are a problem, or is your picture wrong? After all, the lines aren't straight, so what does it say about their wrists? It must be doing something bad to them, right? Or not....

And again, this picture has nothing to do with flare, nothing to do with technical riding and nothing to do with being able to use the brakes.

alanyu
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Joined: Thu Jun 06, 2019 1:10 pm

by alanyu

My shoulder width is 39 c-c. My fitter suggested 38 bar for endurance ride or 36 or short race. Actually I always use 38, even before the fitting. I also slightly turn the levers in, 35~36 hood-hood. I once tried 42 bar on a test ride bike, and I felt off as soon as I put my hands on the hoods.

pmprego
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by pmprego

TobinHatesYou wrote:
Thu Jun 08, 2023 5:58 pm
I'm 178cm tall and my acromial shoulder width is 37cm. I would like to know a reason why narrow bars are a fad when according to conventional wisdom I should be on 36cm or 37cm bars anyway. I currently ride 38cm bars with the hoods/grips dramatically turned in because there are so few <38cm options. I would imagine the hood-hood width is closer to 30cm. Not only does that straighten out my wrists in a neutral riding position, increasing my positional comfort, but it has zero effect on my breathing. If you are inhaling so hard that your ribcage is expanding dramatically, you are only putting additional strain on yourself. You should be expelling CO2 with forceful diaphragm/belly exhales and you will get all the O2 you need in your lungs more-or-less passively from the resulting vacuum.

I did buy 36cm EXS Aerover bars but could not use them since they are incompatible with Rival/Force hoods/levers without modification. I considered the AeroCoach Ornix bars too, which are 32.5cm. Last Sunday I was in a breakaway for 88% of local road race, so I feel like 1) being more comfortable and 2) being faster is worth it.

Oh and I also use the "Aero Tops" position on my Coefficient RR bars regularly during these races despite it feeling a bit cramped.
Don't you worry. The aero is everything company is here to rescue with their new super aero handlebar that has two 38cm widths bars. I just hope 75mm or 90mm stem is enough because if you need more you have to go wider in the bars. :mrgreen:

garbageman
Posts: 216
Joined: Thu Nov 19, 2020 6:08 am

by garbageman

pmprego wrote:
Thu Jun 08, 2023 6:51 pm
Don't you worry. The aero is everything company is here to rescue with their new super aero handlebar that has two 38cm widths bars. I just hope 75mm or 90mm stem is enough because if you need more you have to go wider in the bars. :mrgreen:
There's a 115mm stem length option for 38cm width as well. The sizes are sorted by stem length first. Still too short for many racers though.

pmprego
Posts: 2513
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2019 3:16 pm

by pmprego

garbageman wrote:
Thu Jun 08, 2023 6:58 pm
pmprego wrote:
Thu Jun 08, 2023 6:51 pm
Don't you worry. The aero is everything company is here to rescue with their new super aero handlebar that has two 38cm widths bars. I just hope 75mm or 90mm stem is enough because if you need more you have to go wider in the bars. :mrgreen:
There's a 115mm stem length option for 38cm width as well. The sizes are sorted by stem length first. Still too short for many racers though.
Can't find that option in any of the websites advertising the new bar. Nonetheless, better than not having it. But as you said... Too short for many racers.

Lina
Posts: 1060
Joined: Sat Sep 01, 2018 9:09 pm

by Lina

pmprego wrote:
Thu Jun 08, 2023 6:51 pm
TobinHatesYou wrote:
Thu Jun 08, 2023 5:58 pm
I'm 178cm tall and my acromial shoulder width is 37cm. I would like to know a reason why narrow bars are a fad when according to conventional wisdom I should be on 36cm or 37cm bars anyway. I currently ride 38cm bars with the hoods/grips dramatically turned in because there are so few <38cm options. I would imagine the hood-hood width is closer to 30cm. Not only does that straighten out my wrists in a neutral riding position, increasing my positional comfort, but it has zero effect on my breathing. If you are inhaling so hard that your ribcage is expanding dramatically, you are only putting additional strain on yourself. You should be expelling CO2 with forceful diaphragm/belly exhales and you will get all the O2 you need in your lungs more-or-less passively from the resulting vacuum.

I did buy 36cm EXS Aerover bars but could not use them since they are incompatible with Rival/Force hoods/levers without modification. I considered the AeroCoach Ornix bars too, which are 32.5cm. Last Sunday I was in a breakaway for 88% of local road race, so I feel like 1) being more comfortable and 2) being faster is worth it.

Oh and I also use the "Aero Tops" position on my Coefficient RR bars regularly during these races despite it feeling a bit cramped.
Don't you worry. The aero is everything company is here to rescue with their new super aero handlebar that has two 38cm widths bars. I just hope 75mm or 90mm stem is enough because if you need more you have to go wider in the bars. :mrgreen:
It's a good thing there are many narrow options that come as a bar only. So you can match them to any stem you want.

garbageman
Posts: 216
Joined: Thu Nov 19, 2020 6:08 am

by garbageman

pmprego wrote:
Thu Jun 08, 2023 7:10 pm
garbageman wrote:
Thu Jun 08, 2023 6:58 pm
There's a 115mm stem length option for 38cm width as well. The sizes are sorted by stem length first. Still too short for many racers though.
Can't find that option in any of the websites advertising the new bar. Nonetheless, better than not having it. But as you said... Too short for many racers.
it's on the Specialized website.
rapidecp.PNG
robbosmans wrote:
Thu Jun 08, 2023 7:01 pm
Sizing is weird, 580€
Image
For me, the wait continues for the "perfect" bar. The Black Inc Aero looks great aside from the weight and price - really like the design: shape of the drops, backswept tops, 3cm flare. The unreleased ENVE aero 1-piece could be a strong contender if it's ever available, though I suspect the weight and price will be up there with the Black Inc or higher.
Lina wrote:
Thu Jun 08, 2023 7:30 pm
It's a good thing there are many narrow options that come as a bar only. So you can match them to any stem you want.
I wish this were true but 36cm options are few and far between.

Mocs123
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Joined: Tue May 11, 2021 9:19 pm

by Mocs123

garbageman wrote:
Thu Jun 08, 2023 7:53 pm
I wish this were true but 36cm options are few and far between.
I see the Prime Primavera Aero bar is now availible in a 36cm bar. I'm considering swapping out my round 42cm bar with a 38cm version. I ride a 56 and they always come with 42cm bars so I've never ridden anything else. I'm thinking of trying some narrower bars to see how they feel and these don't break the bank.
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