Dropped bar and shoulder width ?

SuperBee

Hi guys.

I have recently fallen in love with mountain biking after not owning a bike for 17 years.
I have been riding a lot and I have found that I am best suited using a little over 800mm wide handlebars on the mountain bike as I have 64cm shoulder width which is I know .... a bit abnormal.

As I am not getting enough time to go to the trails. I was thinking of getting a Road/Adventure bike.
But the ones I have demo tested at the shops have such incredibly narrow bars.. Specialized Diverge, Giant Anyroad, GT Grade etc (Frame size 58)

Looking online for some wider roadbike handlebars. The widest I have found are just a little over 40cm.

Is this just a matter of getting used to it, or is there some sort of equation to how wide your bars should be ?


I know I am a little bit heavy compared to most riders... are there any other 150-200kg riders here that could maybe share some tips on choosing components and equipment ?


Thanks


upload pictures

Matthewfalle

44cm bars are widely found new and picked up used cheap because they are generally what manufacturers put on as standard and then people change them due to preference/fit/fashion.

Best bet is to look at a few and then if you can measure them: some manufacturers measure inside to inside, others centre to centre, others outer to outer, so one manufacturers 44 is sone else's 42. Reviews should state this.

The rule of thumb is measure centre shoulder to centre of shoulder and take that measurement as the bar width, but due to the fact you're built like a brick outhouse I'd hazard a guess as go wide as possible. Happy to be proven wrong on this though.

Component wise, I'd avoid carbon and super light ali and go mid range ali.

Garry H

Maybe even consider steel touring bikes.

Are you from Wales?

fat daddy

a lot of it is "getting used to it" ..... naturally at your size you will want wide bars for comfort, but even still the swap from MTB to ROAD bars will seem and feel off as there is such a massive difference

I no longer suffer issues going from MTB to road ..... but getting back on an MTB after using the road bike feels really weird these days, my hand are miles apart

BUT, CX bars are generally wider .. I believe 3T do a 47mm bar ... and there are loads of 46cm bars available

Alex99

There are no rules as such and since you elbows bend, bars narrower than shoulders (measured to where anyway?) shouldn't cause issues. Just go with what feels comfortable. Try a few for size if you can. That said, looking at your shoulders, see if you can find the bike that Desperate Dan used to ride in the Dandy.

fat daddy

Or you could try a midge bar .... they are WIDE in the shallow drops