Drop handlebar width?

I am in the process of spec'ing out a new road bike for the new year. :)

I would like feedback from anyone who has opinions about or experience using a wider drop handlebar than your "perfect" size per the charts.

A bit of background: I am a petite rider and currently ride a Terry (17.5" size). My bars are the Terry t-bars in the 38 cm width, which is pretty narrow. I had my husband measure my shoulder width as specified on a web site I found for determining bike size, and sure enough, my "correct" bar size is indeed 38 cm. However, I have been toying with the idea of spec'ing a 40cm bar for my new bike.

The reason for this is because I have a lot of trouble climbing out of the saddle when compared to my peers. I watch them, and it seems so effortless, but for me, the front wheel feels incredibly squirrely and I am all over the place. I've been riding for over a year now, and have put in over 4000 miles on my bike in that time, but because of the squirrelly feel, I really hate to ride out of the saddle, even though I know that it's a good way to work different muscles on a long climb, or even to accelerate on the flats. I think the squirrelliness is partially caused by the small front wheel (24") on my Terry and partially because of the narrow handlebars.

I didn't realize what a difference wider bars and a larger front wheel would make until I recently had the opportunity to ride a "cruiser" bike (with 700c wheels and fat knobby tires) on vacation all over a resort for a week. I had no problem climbing out of the saddle, and in fact, loved it and felt great (and powerful!) doing it. That's how I want to feel on my road bike!

My new bike will have 650c wheels, so that's a bit better, but now I am thinking I might try the wider handlebar too, for greater stability. I do a lot of long rides too, though, so I am unsure if it would be less comfy for that. Another advantage I can see of the wider bar is a third hand position on the top of the bar. My bar is so narrow that with my computer and HRM, there is barely any room for my hands on top of the bar before the curved part of the bar begins, so I never use that hand position.

So what do you think? Is a wider bar a good idea, or will it cause more problems than it solves?

Thanks so much!
Emily

There are so many reasons why you might feel squirrley during out-of-saddle climbs. I think your wheel size is definitely one thing. Another is your position on the bike - are you keeping your weight to the rear or are you hunched over your front wheel? The knobby tire bike will always feel more stable regardless of handlebar width. Also, the geometry of the bike might have been such that you kept your weight to the rear. Your top tube might be too short, which would also make you ride with your weight over your front wheel.

Is your bike mechanically OK? I had a bad headset on my old Trek and that bike was squirrlier than my ex-husband.
:p

Wider handlebars will slightly compromise your aerodynamics. Watch your wrist action - can you keep them straight on the wider handlebar?

Hi Dogmama,

Thanks for the reply. You make some good points. Another idea I got from another forum I posted this on was the short stem length (since I am only 5'2", I need a short top tube and stem just to have a bike that fits me). So, it is probably a combination of smaller front wheel, narrow handlebars, shorter stem, narrower tires, etc. than the cruiser bike, which was probably way too big for me but fun to tool around on.

My bike is fine mechanically - no headset problems that I know of. It's only a bit over a year old.

The aerodynamics thing is a slight concern but not a big one - I'm not a racer. On the other hand, I want to go as fast as possible. But I also want to be able to climb out of the saddle! My husband has 40cm bars on his bike, and I tried them out (just standing over since his bike is too big for me), and they seemed fine; didn't feel "too wide". But a quick test like that is not the same as actually riding a bike with them.

Emily

Emily,

Since I know the frame you are building I doubt if you are going to notice any squirreliness with it. So my recommendation is to go with the appropriate size handlebars but go with short reach. If you have Terry handlebars they are not short reach. If you do notice this squirreliness, which I doubt you will, then try wider bars.

Salsa and Deda make short reach handlebars.

I have the Deda 4 girls and love them.

Kathi

Hi Kathi,

Thanks for your thoughts! I think you're probably right that I shouldn't try to compensate for the squirrelliness by getting a too-wide handlebar. I had my husband measure me per Terry's way of determining handlebar width just now, and I came out even smaller than a 38 cm, so when I saw that I realized it would be silly to change to something even wider.

However, I am not sure about what you say about the Terry t-bar not being a short-reach bar. They claim to be. Take a look at:

http://www.terrybicycles.com/BPA/220.lasso

Am I misunderstanding what they're saying?

As for the Deda 4 Girls handlebar, where did you (or your LBS) find them? I did a google search and could only find them for ordering in the UK!

Thanks,
Emily

Emily,
Terry is adressing the issue of small hands reaching the brakes. Short reach handlebars are shorter between the hoods and the drops of the handlebar, not the width of the bar. It affects the placement of the hoods so you don't reach so far. Does that make sense?

The Deda 4 girls are about an inch shorter in length than the Terry's and smaller in diameter for smaller hands.

It's hard to explain because it seems that if your tt length is correct it shouldn't matter about the handlebar length but it does. The short reach handlebars compensate for the shorter arms that small riders have.

Before I got the new handlebars I felt uncomfortable sprinting. After I got them I started sprinting without even thinking about it. I think they give me a more natural placement of my hands so I'm more comfortable out of the saddle. And I am more comfortable riding in the drops.

My shop ordered them for me. Deda is listed under another company name and was hard to find. Salsa also makes them. My shop just preferred the Deda brand over Salsa.

Hope this helps.

Kathi,

Thanks so much for the clarification. I was able to find the Salsa Moto-Ace bars online and do think I understand what you mean. I will definitely go this route on my new Swift. I'm so excited about having it built and just want to get everything as right as possible.

Didn't you tell me before you had Campy components on your Swift? If so, are you happy with them? I am seriously considering going with either the Campy Chorus or Centaur group. I would love Chorus but have to see what the price and weight differential will be between the two. I was all set to go with Ultegra or Dura-Ace (or a mixture of the two) when I started doing some research and decided I might give Campy a try for the first time, since Ultegra doesn't come in a 10-speed, and Dura-Ace has some questionable components (from reading roadbikereview.com).

Thanks again!
Emily

Good, I'm glad you understand what I was trying to say. The short reach bars really dialed in the fit of the bike for me.

I love Campy, especially the comfort of the hoods and the brake setup. My hands are very small and the hoods feel so much better.

I have Campy record on the Aegis and Veloce on the Cannondale. The 10 speed is nice too.

My partner has Chorus on his Trek and Ultrega on his IF but likes the Campy better.

When I put Record on my bike my shop couldn't find a Campy 165 crankarm. So we went with Specialties TA. More expensive but a really nice crankset. You can also get different size chainrings. I ride a double and I have a 51X38. The crankarm shifts very smoothly with Campy.

I'm sure that you're really going to love the new bike.

Hi Kathi,

Glad you are happy with your Campy components. I look forward to giving them a try. :)

I am seriously considering a "compact double" chainring for this bike. These are pretty new and were used by Tyler Hamilton in the Tour. FSA makes a carbon one in a 34/50, which would allow me to use a double with a 13-29 in back. I need the low gears since we plan to do some events in the mountains (Appalachians). I can afford to give up some off the high end as I don't even use the highest gears I have now. I am nearly always in the middle chainring on my triple, spinning away, and I have no problems with doing a tuck-and-coast downhill if I run out of gears!

Anywho, the only drawback of the compact double chainring is that the smallest crank size it comes in is 172.5. I guess they don't expect women to try it - pooey! :(

I had been planning to try 170mm cranks on this bike as I am a really good high-cadence spinner already, and I'd read that going with one size longer cranks could help with leverage/power for climbing, which is what I need. But two sizes larger? I'm not sure. Yet when I look at a ruler, 7.5mm is not very much, so I am still inclined to give it a try. It would be an expensive mistake if it didn't work, but there's no other way to get a compact double (i.e., smaller double chainrings) without going that route that I've seen. And I'd like the carbon as well for weight savings.

So, we'll see what happens! Maybe someone else will put out a compact double with shorter cranks soon. I'm going to keep looking just in case.

Thanks again!
Emily

I've had C-Chorus on my custom bike for over ten years. I just had to replace the rear cassette. It cost $49.99. So, yeah, I'd recommend C-Chorus over anything else.

I found that it was the easiest and smoothest to shift - even better than Record. I think you'd be really happy with Chorus.

Dogmama ~ thanks for the reply and feedback on the Chorus group. That's what I want, just have to see if my wallet can afford it. I'm going to have the LBS price out the bike with Chorus and with Centaur and see what the difference is. There's a price increase for the 2004 Campy groups - I believe I saw that even Chorus is up to $999 or so for a build kit. Ouch! So, we'll see. I have heard and read nothing but positive things about Campy Chorus! :)

Emily

Okay everybody, I've lost my mind but I did it , I bought a Colnago ASso for only $1350! Complete bike!!!

Its gorgeous but the handlebars are WAY too big. I can't ride the thing yet cuz I CANT EVEN REACH the brakes with the stem/bar combo that came on it!

And its only a 52, which BTw fits find otherwise, i.e. standover and legs, etc.

Need help re: the bars. My situation is I do not wish to ride in racing position, I am going to ride quite upright. I don't care what anyone else thinks, I mean if I ride my fat butt around on a gorgeous racing bike, its my business you know??

Any how, am considering the bars you guys mentioned. Which one is best if you want to be more upright? I have a junky adjustable stem on it right now to try to fit it.

How about mustache bars? http://rivendellbicycles.com/images/.../mr/16-027.jpg

Raising the stem might help too.

Veronica

Veroniica
i've considered the moustache bars. I'm perplexed as to how and where the shifters would go. I have STI campy shifters.

Would that work on the moustache bars?

Ahh - that's one of the problems with STI - that integrated shifter and brake makes it really complicated and hard to switch out parts (or so I've heard). I use bar end shifters.

I actually called Rivendell to find out if it could be done. They said yes, but it would be ugly and not very ergonomic.


Veronica

chains of love... I have Ritchey bars that my husband flipped over for me... gives me a more upright/touring position... I'm not a racer either, and tho I like to keep my speed up I have realized being comfortable on the bike is the biggest key to me actually riding a lot... I also love the Ritchey bars because of the curve that is in the drops... IMHO they are far more comfortable for a woman than regular bars... they may at least be worth looking at for you...