Bar Width Question
danridesbikes
Posts: 170
just building up a new bike, the bars on my old bike were 44cm - i used to get bad shoulder/neck ache, im assuming the compact geometry and wide bars didnt help, was using a 90mmm stem
had a look online for some advice that says measure between boney bits in shoulders but they are only 36cm ish - im 5'6" with a 32" inseem, i didnt really class myself as being so narrow in the shoulder department,
what would you advise? pick up some cheap 40cm bars and run them for a month before spending more on bars i want?
cheers
had a look online for some advice that says measure between boney bits in shoulders but they are only 36cm ish - im 5'6" with a 32" inseem, i didnt really class myself as being so narrow in the shoulder department,
what would you advise? pick up some cheap 40cm bars and run them for a month before spending more on bars i want?
cheers
0
Comments
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I think you may have got it in one - better to experiment on cheap bars so you can easily sell on and recoup the money. If you are lucky you may just solve the issue first time.
You might not need to make such a dramatic change though. I experienced bad neck pain too and switched from 44 to 42cm bars, the difference was instant and actually improved the handling of the bike too. Going 44 to 40cm will feel very weird I reckon, even 'twitchy' on the bike, but if you have narrow shoulders it might just be right for you.
Can you get a friend to help measure you? Aim for the middle to middle measurement of the shoulder muscle looking from the front (so roughly the bit where your collar bone sticks out!). 36cm doesn't sound wide enough, unless you are seriously slightly built - even an Andy Schleck wouldn't be that narrow!0
