Narrow Handlebars

[timeshifting]

I've just moved to my first road bike, from a hybrid bike that I always thought had too wide handlebars (but was never sure). Turns out that I actually have very narrow shoulders for a guy, with a width of 37cm between the acromion bones, so I'm wondering if I should be looking at narrow handlebars.

I'm quite tall and the bike currently has 44cm bars (c-to-c) as it's a large frame (58cm). I got a really basic fit done prior to buying the bike (just height and torso length), and believe the frame is the right size.

I do find when I'm in the drops I can only just reach the brake levers with the tip of my index fingers, but when I'm standing over the bike I can grip it much better if I lean to one side. So I think what I have currently is too wide.

My question is, do most people use a bar size that is the same as their shoulder measurement, or a little wider? I'd be interested to hear what combinations the members here use, as looking at other threads 38cm (which is what I think I need) is a common width here.

My local bike store doesn't really stock bars, and only guys work there (and they're not the most clued up either). So I'm probably going to have to order something in or online. I just need to figure out what size...

Thanks in advance.

[zoom-zoom]

I will try to remember to look at my bars tomorrow. My shoulder width measurement was 38 and I *think* that's my bar size, too. I know whatever I have is about as narrow as one can find in stock bars.

Related--mine are flat across...kind of elliptical-shaped, rather than perfectly cylindrical, then they have standard drops. LOVE them. I can't imagine perfectly round bars. The flat ones really spread the pressure out nicely.

[MartianDestiny]

I'd say the bars are too wide, but I'm also not sure that alone is going to solve all of your issues.

My shoulders measure 38 on the nose, and yes, I ride 38" bars (Specialized Ruby's to be exact). I could probably be comfortable/ok on a 40" bar as well, but nothing wider. That's a totally different story on the mountain bike, but that's another post.

Going to something narrower (maybe consider 40's in your quest as well, but no wider, IMO) will improve the bike fit and feel.

What I'm not sure it will help is the brake lever reach in the drops. This sounds like more of a drop configuration and/or hand size issue to me (without seeing you). I solved this by actually going to a bigger drop (as opposed to the popular shallow drops) that allows me to really shove my hands all the way forward in it. Others, with hands of similar tiny-ness, seem to be perfectly happy with the shallow/compact bars.

In either case I'd recommend looking for bars that are short reach and have a short reach in the drops as well (that doesn't mean shallow top to bottom, but rather shallow front to back).

Also double check the brake lever positioning. Sometimes a slight tweak of the brifters downwards or a slight rotation of the handlebars makes all the difference in being able to reach them.

Good luck! and welcome!

[OakLeaf]

I measure 38 (according to my DH anyway ;)) but I need a minimum 40 cm bars, and I can ride 42s very comfortably. But if you're really 37 cm at the shoulders, 44 is likely too wide for you.

When you're in the drops, are your wrists much wider than your elbows? When you're on the hoods, relax your wrists - do they break to the inside? That would be how I'd decide whether bars are too wide.

But, I have small hands and absolutely need the short-reach brifters, positioned where I can reach them. As Martian said, reaching the brifters doesn't have much to do with the width of the bars.

[Thorn]

I measure 38 and ride 40 but... I ride FSA Wing Pro compact bars. Those bars are slightly wider in the drops than the hoods. So the 40 measures about 38-39 at the hoods and 40 in the drops.

[maillotpois]

I measure 40 and ride 42 and 40 is definitely too narrow for me. I also just moved to a short reach bar and find that very comfortable.

[roguedog]

I measure 38 and ride 40 on one bike and I think the other is 38. I was told the 40'd give me some breathing room. Both feel fine for me.

........ Hmm.. maybe the 40s feel a tad more comfortable though but that could be due to various other factors too (diff bars, campy vs shimano, diff bike, etc.)

Occurs to me that you might want to know the bars: Ritchey BioMax (38) and 3T Ergonova Pro (40).

[timeshifting]

I'm pretty sure that about 37cm is correct, my girlfriend did the measurements as it's a bit awkward to do yourself. We measured a couple of times both across the back and chest and averaged (max was 39cm). I also tried the method described by jennrod12 here (http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=23866&p=324135), and that reliably came out at 37/38cm as well.

I asked at the bike shop yesterday about the setup/positioning. The person that normally does fitting wasn't there, but guy I spoke to put the bike on the trainer and adjusted the seat forward a little. That did help the reach on the levers a bit, though I think I might try adjusting the shifter position. I didn't ask about handlebar width, as I wasn't that confident he knew what he was taking about.

We're going to go around all the bike shops in town this morning (there's only about 4) and see if they've got narrow bars, or at least a WSD bike with narrow bars, so I can get an idea of the different width, drop options -- really hard to judge looking at pictures on the Internet. Knowing what model bars people here are using is helpful too :)

OakLeaf, yes I just got her check for me and she said my arms were making a "trapezium shape", wrists were wider than elbows. I'm a very straight up-and-down build.

I think I might consider going with 40cm bars, as that appears to be the smallest size in the standard models. The 38cm ones are much harder to find and don't appear to come in many reach/drop combos.

Martian, interesting that you mention the Rubys, as the local website that does Specialized has those on sale, $199 kiwi (~$140 usd). Sold out in the 38cm of course, but they have 40cm, though I'm not sure about 75mm reach... will have investigate that further.

Thanks for everyone's input so far, it's been really helpful.

[Catrin]

My shoulders are 37 and I have 38cm Salsa Poco drop bars (http://www.biketiresdirect.com/psbpoc/salsa_poco_anatomic_drop_handlebar/pp.htm) and also use compact short-reach brake levers (Tektro r100a). I think the 38cm Salsa bars are pretty easy to find, my LBS was able to order them quickly when we realized the 40cm bars on my new bike were just too wide for me.

[MartianDestiny]

Martian, interesting that you mention the Rubys, as the local website that does Specialized has those on sale, $199 kiwi (~$140 usd). Sold out in the 38cm of course, but they have 40cm, though I'm not sure about 75mm reach... will have investigate that further.

Thanks for everyone's input so far, it's been really helpful.

ON SALE?!?! O how I hate you! I've paid full retail (yes, $260 USD) for two pairs, and as much as I hate to admit it they are worth every penny. Too bad they don't have 38's in stock. Even if you didn't want them I'd have been tempted to have you get them and pay the shipping; they are so darn hard to find. (Specialized quoted my shop April for shipping, and that was in January! Luckily I found a pair in stock somewhere).

I think a 75mm reach is about as short as you can go (or close). If you think it will make your reach too short you can compensate with stems, otherwise it will only help your brake issues.

The big thing I think most "normal" people would gripe about is the amount of drop, since compacts seem to be so popular, but that's exactly why I love them.

[roguedog]

hey... saw this the other day and thought this guy did a really cool job.

http://ruedatropical.wordpress.com/2009/03/02/road-drop-bar-geometry/

btw, friend of mine got some salsa poco's based on the feedback on this forum and really likes 'em.

go te!

[timeshifting]

Roguedog, that link was really helpful, certainly helps to have an understanding of the different styles :)

Turns out I'm after shallow bars, as my current ones are in fact 70mm reach and 132mm drop. I'm pretty happy with the shape of the drops on these, so both the Salsa Poco and Specialized Ruby look like good options.

So yesterday I got to try out a heap of WSD bikes. First I tried 40cm bars, and you're right Martian, the width of these felt sooo much better than mine. I was also able to try 36 and 38cm bars. The 36 was definitely too narrow. The 38 felt really good, I think it was also the best fit for shoulders, elbows and wrists being in line.

I bought some cheap 38cm ones (120 drop, 80 reach), so I could try them out for width. I test rode them today, width wise they're really good, but climbing not so much, as it was much harder to get the bike to rock from side to side out of saddle. I'm not sure if that's just because I'm not used to the narrower bars - how does everyone else find climbing on 38s?

I'm quite tempted to go for the 40cm Specialized Ruby, since they're half price and some of the roads around here are rough as, plus they'll get here on same day courier ;) Several of you mentioned you ride both [widths], do you think I should run with 38s? Or would 40s be a better/worse option, esp. for climbing?

For those that have the Salsa Pocos in Alloy, can they take clip on aero bars? I know the carbon ones won't, but it might be a point in their favour if they could as I'm thinking of adding those in future and Alloy is more durable...

--

Update: Decided to go with the alloy Salsa Poco, based on the recommendations above and several other good reviews, in 40cm width for a bit more leverage on climbs. Thanks everyone for your help, really appreciated it! :)

[timeshifting]

A further update for those that might find this via search...

Changed down to a Salsa Poco 38cm bar a few months after getting the 40s. I got the 40s as 38 seemed too narrow, but I think the jump from 44 to 38 was just too much in one go, even if 38 was the right size.

Handling is fine on 38s having ridden 40s for some time, even triathlon cyclocross dismounts which I expected to problematic weren't. I have them paired with fiz:k bar gel, really comfy on the hoods, corners and drops. Done about 800km on them now.

The only consideration I'd note is with clip-on aerobars there isn't a lot of room up front. And it took careful setup to get a good aero position and not have my arms catch on the elbow pads while in the drops. I have the Profile Design T2+ with their aerobridge addon (not the short DL ones).

However the current aero position is comfortable and my fitter is happy the biomechanics, so it is possible with 38s.

M.