Wider bars required, any advice?

danlightbulb

Hi all,

I think I would benefit from wider handlebars. I have a RR8.1 and the bars are only 600 wide. I find myself holding them right on the edge and I've no room to move the brake levers inboard a little.

Problem is I don't know what size to get. Don't want to be bothered with cutting them down so the size I buy is the size they stay. Also I don't want to spend a fortune.

Any advice?

Thanks

Chunkers1980

I'd be bothered.

danlightbulb

Chunkers1980 wrote:

I'd be bothered.

Thanks for that.

I've no equipment to cut bars with and I hate cutting metal anyway.

Whats the difference between high rise and low rise bars, and would I need to reduce the stem length too?

allthegearnoidea

as above, be bothered to cut them down a bit if needs be,
hold your arms out infront of you, in a comfortable position and get someone to measure the distance between them, will give you a rough starting point for bar width,
600mm is Very narrow by todays standards, 710's are pretty much the std now, 740+ depending on personal preference,

high and low rise is the hight the bars come up from the Stem clamp, low rise = about an inch, High rise 2"+
you could bring the stem length down a bit too, what length have you got at the mo??

Chunkers1980

By the way, I used a pound shop hacksaw to cut my last steerer tube.

danlightbulb

Ok so I could cut them if I wanted to I guess. The thing is that I wont really know whether cutting them down is the right thing, especially if only by 10mm each side. I'm not going to be able to feel whether that's made a difference or not, and if I don't like it once i've done it i'm stuck then. I'd rather just buy the (roughly) right size and live with it.

I currently have 600mm bars with an 80mm (ish) stem and I'm guessing a low-ish rise on them.

What difference does rise make on the trail?

I'm not going to be able to feel much difference between a 700 or a 710 or a 680 probably unless I was to try them side by side one after the other (which I can't do for obvious reasons), so I just need to get something in the right ballpark. 740 seems a big jump to make.

Chunkers1980

Just position grips inwards and not use the bit you might cut off.

benpinnick

Id switch out to something in the 685-710 range with a low rise, unless you feel really over the forks all the time, then maybe a high rise.

danlightbulb

I do struggle getting back over the rear of the bike, and can't manual or bunny hop (Its something I need to work on big time over the winter). Will wider or higher rise bar help at all with this?

benpinnick

A shorter stem would be more useful as manuals and bunny hops are a weight distribution thing, but this is mainly technique and also in part down to frame design. That said, the extra stability of the wider bars will add confidence, which in turn will make doing those kind of things easier.

chez_m356

danlightbulb wrote:

Hi all,

I think I would benefit from wider handlebars. I have a RR8.1 and the bars are only 600 wide.

Also I don't want to spend a fortune.

here you go http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=67688 they even have markings at the end in case you want to cut them down

danlightbulb

chez_m356 wrote:

danlightbulb wrote:

Hi all,

I think I would benefit from wider handlebars. I have a RR8.1 and the bars are only 600 wide.

Also I don't want to spend a fortune.

here you go http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=67688 they even have markings at the end in case you want to cut them down

Thanks looks good. Do i go for 20mm or 30mm rise do you think? Im thinking 30 would help get bit bit more uprightbut will it ruin the handling?

The Rookie

Well only you can answer that....personally on the RR I'd aim for as flat as possible.