Wide Bars

nickel

I've never really paid much heed to the whole thing of using wider bars as I've got narrow shoulders and find flat bars between 560mm and 600mm comfortable for riding and so have never really bothered trying anything wider before. However, last week whilst planning my first mtb ride home in somerset after being at uni for 3 months I figured, what the hell, lets give this wider bars thing a try; and promptly ordered some cheap 680mm outland risers (probably still quite narrow compared the bars I've seen some people using!) from fleabay

First ride with the new bars on saturday and wow! What a difference! I could really muscle the front of the bike around through twisty singletrack and the added confience on steep downhills was amazing! The new bars coupled with my 80mm stem really made the turning sharp too! So I guess it goes to show, dont knock it til you've tried it!

Sorry for a rather pointless ramble, Im just a wee bit excited about mountain biking again after 3 months of road riding :P

jay12

680mm? thats not even that wide

nickel

ive been using 560mm bars until recently so to me it felt at first like being crucified :P

jay12

Nickel wrote:

ive been using 560mm bars until recently so to me it felt at first like being crucified :P

ahaha fair enough.

joshtp

tis a good difference hey?!

I find 710 to be a nice width... in fact I've just ordered some sparkly white Gravity bars in exactly that width for the new build...

toby_winkler

Nickel wrote:

(probably still quite narrow compared the bars I've seen some people using!)

jay12 wrote:

680mm? thats not even that wide

Can you not read jay

I used to have some 600mm bars on my old bike, and am now running 720mm ones and like you said, they do make a massive difference.

toby_winkler

Damn, my post would have looked much better if you lot hadn't butted in before I finished editing it!

jay12

joshtp wrote:

tis a good difference hey?!

I find 710 to be a nice width... in fact I've just ordered some sparkly white Gravity bars in exactly that width for the new build...

i find my 711 sunlines not wide enough anymore. went from 660mm to the sunlines and now i'm looking at some easton havoc dh bars which are 750mm. find them perfect for me after trying some out, but i ride with someone who has 800mm bars

ilovedirt

I'm running 700mm bars on my hardtail, which i find to be about enough, but the 680mm bars on my downhill bike really need to go, about 760mm should do i reckon, really helps you muscle it around the corners etc and just makes the whole bike more stable.

joshtp

haha, in the end it becomes fashion though... there's a lad who rides a glory in my local woods... total fashionista... if sam hill's wearing it, his uber rich parents are buying it...

totally blinged out bike... with 850mm flat bars! I'm sorry, but on a 17 year old that's just stupid... I'm fairly sure it's more about looking cool than actuall feel... it'd be OK if he was an amazing rider... but he's, well, not.

I think If I was racing Dh... about 750 is a good width... and 680-710 for trail

nickel

Given my shoulders are about 56cm wide i think 800mm+ bars genuinely would feel like crucifixion!

Pirahna

I've been chopping bits off my bars since I got the bike. Now 600mm with bar ends, just about right for getting through the trees on some the races.

Narrow is the new wide.

ilovedirt

joshtp wrote:

haha, in the end it becomes fashion though... there's a lad who rides a glory in my local woods... total fashionista... if sam hill's wearing it, his uber rich parents are buying it...

totally blinged out bike... with 850mm flat bars! I'm sorry, but on a 17 year old that's just stupid... I'm fairly sure it's more about looking cool than actuall feel... it'd be OK if he was an amazing rider... but he's, well, not.

I think If I was racing Dh... about 750 is a good width... and 680-710 for trail

I'm fairly sure nobody makes any bars wider than 800mm....

bike-a-swan

Just bought some 800s- I had planned on getting 760s, but there weren't any in stock, and as every time I've gone up a width in the last few years I've got to like it after a few rides, I thought I'd give it a try. Can always cut down. Hasn't done a proper ride yet, but my major observation is that they definitely don't fit through doors!

supersonic

I use 640mm, any wider feels uncomfortable and unwieldy. I prefer a more compact set up, actually feels more powerful to me!

hoochylala

ilovedirt wrote:

I'm fairly sure nobody makes any bars wider than 800mm....

http://www.singletracks.com/blog/mtb-gear/ritchey-syncros-1000mm-bars-fric-stem-and-carbon-29er-fork/

1m wide bars! :shock: although not in main stream production yet

I've just ordered some 711mm for my new build

mrfmilo

I went from 620mm to 685mm, then to 700mm, then got some 800mm's, cut down to 780mm now, although they're going down to 760.

Wide bars make a huge difference, so much more stable :P

joshtp

someone makes 900mm -ers. cant remember who now... but that is just stupid.

jay12

hoochylala wrote:

ilovedirt wrote:

I'm fairly sure nobody makes any bars wider than 800mm....

http://www.singletracks.com/blog/mtb-gear/ritchey-syncros-1000mm-bars-fric-stem-and-carbon-29er-fork/

1m wide bars! :shock: although not in main stream production yet

I've just ordered some 711mm for my new build

they won't be sold. they were just made as a joke by syncros as companies having been making wider and wider bars

*AJ*

I used to run 680 on my 4x bike and 710's on the DH bike.

I now run the 710's on the 4X bike and 762's on the DH bike.

The 710s now feel to narrow! so i may have to treat myself to some more 762's.... just so the two bikes feel the same.

yoohoo999

went from 760mm to 730mm.

730mm feels pretty much spot on for me.

use 685mm on the HT.

agg25

On a XC bike I find wider bars mean you'll be hitting the trees through narrow gaps with them all the time so chopped about 30mm off my Easton EA70's. I do quite a few technical races though. Depends where you ride I guess. I did try my mates Orange 5 Pro with 760mm bars last week and it felt quite weird, more stable downhill though definitely.

bike-a-swan

I've got some 580 flats too, and they always feel weird coming back to them, but you get used to it again- short bars, mid length stem and a short rigid fork steepening the head angle make for a very quick handling bike!

bartimaeus

"I dunno, next thing you know someone will come out with 820mm so they’re just a little wider than everyone else. It’s an arms race." :roll: :roll: :roll:

bike-a-swan

Bartimaeus wrote:

"I dunno, next thing you know someone will come out with 820mm so they’re just a little wider than everyone else. It’s an arms race." :roll: :roll: :roll:

I.. think.. that might just be funny!

Clark3y

Went from 660 to 711, best thing I ever did to my bike. I do brick it before passing through the narrow trees at full speed on the first part of the monkey trail though!

ollie_lucas1985

Does no-one else find the winder bars more of a slog on the climbs? I went out on a bike at the weekend with far wider bars than Im used to (First time mind) and it was hard going up the hills!

jay12

ollie_lucas1985 wrote:

Does no-one else find the winder bars more of a slog on the climbs? I went out on a bike at the weekend with far wider bars than Im used to (First time mind) and it was hard going up the hills!

wider bars were made for dowhill bikes so they'r not supposed to ride uphills. also they do need getting used to so after a few rides they will feel better

peter413

Bartimaeus wrote:

"I dunno, next thing you know someone will come out with 820mm so they’re just a little wider than everyone else. It’s an arms race." :roll: :roll: :roll:

Can I point out someone does make 820mm bars

http://dirt.mpora.com/news/reverse-820mm-bars.html

And yes they do exist, I have seen them on bikes at races

oodboo

I've gone from 680 stock bars to 700mm then to 760 fubars which I have now cut down to 740mm. Feels spot on to me.

If you think changing to wider bars feels weird then try riding a road bike all week then going out on a 160mm travel am bike with big wide bars at the weekend. Feels like I'm riding a big squishy armchair.

GHill

ollie_lucas1985 wrote:

Does no-one else find the winder bars more of a slog on the climbs? I went out on a bike at the weekend with far wider bars than Im used to (First time mind) and it was hard going up the hills!

They're normally a bit more "wandery", is that what you're noticing?