Anyone use 38cm bars?

Just had a bike fitting, everything was close, but switched me to a 38 cm Salsa bar from a 42 (I believe) as I have a mens frame. Seems ok, but is taking a little to get use to. Anyone else use narrow bars?

I do. When I got my Giant, I had a set of 38 Salsa bars put on it. They did seem very narrow at first, but after a ride or two, I became very comfortable with them. When I got my Ruby last month, I noted that she came with 40 cm bars, so I decided to try them, since there was *only* a 2 cm difference. That 2 cm difference was enough to bring back the old "achy arm syndrome," so I had the LBS put the Salsa bars Ruby.

KB

I do!

My old bike had 44cm bars and they were WAY too wide (though I had no idea until I came here to TE!). I was going to change them but then I ended up with a new bike all together. :o

My new bike came with 38cm bars and what a huge difference! All the constant upper body pain is completely gone!! :)

I went from 38 to 34's. I really like the smaller size. The bike handling is much better and with these I can reach the brakes from the drops, big plus.

my new bianchi has 36's but I think a 38 is a better fit for me. The men's bars are HUGE!!!!

I have narrow bars and love them.

Just don't try to put too much "stuff" on there! If I put my aero bars on, then I don't really have anywhere comfy to put my hands (even the line to the hoods gets messed up). So they can't stay on. Kind of a pain but oh well.

I didn't get 'em measured, but when I got the 7500FX my LBS dude hacked off the ends of the bars. I have skinny shoulders. I don't know if it was wider or is skinnier than my other bikes.

It did mean when I put bar ends on, I couldn't fit my hands on the grips any more... had to do some adjusting. (I have fairly big hands.)

I have Salsa Short 'n' Shallow bars in 38cm. I LOVE them. Narrower than the stock 40cm bars and I like the "ergo bump" on them!

I've ridden 38's forever. Can't remember what make my old bars on my bridgestone are, but my new bike has Specialized 38's and they are great.

I have very narrow shoulders and have always like a straight line from shoulder to bar. At first, it may feel a little narrow and feel like it gives you less leverage and it does, but remember, when you are riding, bend your elbows, relax your shoulders, hold yourself up with your strong core. The handlebars are just there to rest on not lean on excessively. You'll find that your bike feels more stable too.

;)

Yeppers, all my road bikes have 38 cm bars (one because it's a Terry and came that way, and the other two because that's what I spec'd out). I'm petite and have fairly broad shoulders for my build, but these bars fit me to a "t". My favorite are Salsa Pocos.

Emily

I have Salsa Short 'n Shallow bars as well. I don't know how narrow they are, but I know my bars look tiny compared to everyone else. I can't recall having arm pains, my shoulders and arms feel nice and relaxed on my bike. Yellow is right, I can't imagine putting anything other than a computer on my bars. It already seems like such a tiny space between the brake hoods.

If your new Salsa bars have the ergo bump you are lucky! Once I figured out it was there riding in the drop is so comfortable. :p

I am really glad you brought this up. Recently someone sent me to a website that walked me through measuring myself and finding a bike that fit. That website said i should have 38cm bars and that i should be on a $3600 Pinarello :rolleyes:

My new Bianchi has 36cm bars.

The bianchi is in the shop this week so i pulled out my raleigh hybrid and rode it to work this morning. It has straight bars that i had shortened because they were originally about 3 feet long and they are about 44cm across.

This is the first time i rode that bike since i got my bianchi and to my surprise, I found that I liked the handlebar placement MUCH BETTER. Let's face it, with 36cm bars, you just don't have much real estate for your hands; which translates into not too many different position choices.

So I might be changing the handlebars too. ahh.. in search of the perfect fit!

38's work for me!

My Bianchi Eros Donna came with 36s and they were WAY too small--made my hands tingle and go numb. The PT who did my bike fit measured my shoulders and said I need bars between 38-40. I put an old pair of 42s on and they seem to be perfect.

I'm planning 38 cm Salsa Pocos for my dream bike...

There have been some great websites listed here for information. The skinny about all of this is that the width of the handlebars should match the width of your shoulders....not only can it alleviate some of the problems listed here, it also puts you in a position to open up your lungs a bit more. Have fun!

This question doesn't mean much if people don't also tell you their shoulder measurements. While I have relatively long femurs and a short upper body, so do better on a bike with women's geometry, I have broad shoulders so prefer wider bars (WSD is not one size fits all). My shoulders are 40 cm, and my favorite bars are 41 cm, nitto noodles. My first drop bar bike had 37 cm bars, much too narrow for me, so I moved up to a 40 which I liked much better. Then on my most recent bike I fell in love with the way the nitto noodle felt to my hands, but the smallest it came in is 41 so I tried it and like it even more, opens my chest up a bit more for breathing. Also be aware that some manufacturers measure their bars center to center and others end to end, and some bars flare a bit so the center to center and hood to hood measurement isn't always the same either (like on my noodles, center to center is 41 but hood to hood is 40).

I have the 38cm Poco (Salsa) on my klein - love it. Do make sure you choose the bar size on your shoulder width. Let the bike store guy measure and tell you your size - very important.:D