handlebars: what does it all mean?

Anonymous
Posts: 79,665
im after some wider bars, i am a big old unit so think i want osme 46cm numbers but there is so much new info i need to learn (i normlly ride mountain bikes which seem a lot simpler)
what do the following mean and what difference do they make to the bike:
anatomic
shallow
wing
what do the following mean and what difference do they make to the bike:
anatomic
shallow
wing
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Comments
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Anatomic: They have an extra 'bump' or bend in the drop part of the bar like this instead of just being a continuous cruve like this. It's meant to put your wrist at a more comfortable angle when riding the drops but how effective this is depends as you'll find a lot of pros riding regular curved bars.
Shallow: Simply the distance from the top of the bar to the bottom of the drop is less than on a regular bar. Good for folk with less mobility (or big guts like me) as you don't need to bend over as far to reach them. A lot of manufacturers make models in both regular and shallow drop.
Wing: They have flat edges on the top of the bar which makes it more comfortable to grasp as well as sometimes giving a more comfortble transition into the hoods. They look like this0 -
outstanding, thanks for a very good reply.
is shallow drop the same as a compact bar?0 -
sheepsteeth wrote:is shallow drop the same as a compact bar?
Compact bars can have both shallow and regular drops. Compact tends to mean that the distance from the back edge of the top of the bar to the point where the brakes fit and the bend starts, is shorter than on a regular bar.. They're good for smaller riders to help shorten the reach to the hoods without the need to use tiny stems which can affect the handling.0 -
now it all makes sense, thanks very much for the help.0
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No worries.
You may already know this, but a good idea for judging how wide your bars should be is to have someone measure straight across your back between the two boney protrusions on the top of your shoulders as you stand with your hands at your sides. That's the point your arms rotate from and getting as close to that measurement as possible is a good starting point.0 -
It may also be worth noting that most manufacturers measure their bars width centre-to-centre, however some measure theirs outside edge-to-outside edge.Cycling weakly0