Choosing women's handlebars vs standard

[pinkpedalpusher]

I tried out a Trek with Bontrager women's handlebars. I loved them.

How do I measure my current handlebars?

What does Anatomic 75mm and VR85 mean? Where do you measure to find out if they should be 400mm, 420mm, 440mm, 460mm, or 380mm?

How can I be sure my brake levers will fit? Do I have to consider changing any other parts, headtube?

[MartianDestiny]

You can measure yourself, shoulderblade to shoulderblade, or hand to hand if you were to hold both hands out comfortably like you where shaking hands (elbows bent at least slightly). That will give you an idea what bar width you will need (400, 420, etc.). Don't be surprised if you actually need a 380 or even 360mm ideally. After getting the initial measurement some of it is personal comfort (some people prefer a size wider than their actual measurement, and that's ok).

Your brake levers will fit. All bars fit any standard brifter as far as I know. You will want to check your stem vs. the bar width at the stem as there are two sizes. Oversized (31.8mm, I believe) and standard. You'll either need to get bars to match your stem or plan on changing the stem as well.

75mm is likely the reach (measurement from back of the bars to where it starts curving downward (where your brifters will fit). There's also a drop measurement; this *may* be the 85 number, but I'm not sure. If it is the 85 then they are very shallow drop (my drops are 142mm), which is becoming the popular choice. Both of these are more or less irrelevant if you've tried the bars and like them, but you can compare them to the numbers on your current bars (they may be marked up by where the stem connects, you may also find the necessary stem measurement here as well).

Anatomic is a type of drop. There's a standard "old school" round drop, an anatomic drop (I believe this means it's flat or flatish in the forward most section), and ergo drops (have "bumps" that are supposed to be contoured for your hands).

[SadieKate]

You will want to check your stem vs. the bar width at the stem as there are two sizes. Oversized (31.8mm, I believe) and standard. You'll either need to get bars to match your stem or plan on changing the stem as well.

This would be the clamp size, but not the width.

I just copied this from wikipedia because I'm lazy. The one thing I would add is that sometimes bars (especially those with shallow drops) are flared (a la randonneur style) so the width of the drops is greater than the width at the hoods. Personally, I prefer to know the width at the hoods because that is where I spend 90% of my time.

From wikipedia --

Width
Drop bars come in a variety of widths from 36 cm to 50 cm. Usually a rider will pick a bar that approximately matches their shoulder width so that their arms can be approximately parallel. The width is measured at the end of the drop section but the exact method varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. Some measure from outside edge to outside edge (e.g. Deda, ITM, TTT) whereas others measure from center to center (e.g. Cinelli, Profile Design, Ritchey, Salsa).[1] The figure returned by measuring outside to outside tends to be 2 cm greater than measuring center to center for the same handlebar.

Clamp diameter
Care is needed when choosing a handlebar to match a stem, or vice-versa, as there are several standards. The ISO standard for the clamping area of a handlebar is 25.4 mm (1"), which is used on the majority of mountain bikes and many Japanese-made road handlebars. However, the Italian unofficial standard is 26.0 mm, which is the most common clamp size for road bars. There are also intermediate sizes such as 25.8 mm to try and achieve compatibility with either an ISO or Italian stem, and the old Cinelli-specific size of 26.4 mm. In practice, many modern stems with removable faceplates are quite accommodating of slight differences in handlebar clamp size, but the older type of stem with a single pinch bolt must be accurately matched. In the days of quill stems, a road stem was clearly identifiable from its "7" shape, but nowadays it can be hard to tell the difference between a "road" (26.0 mm) and "MTB" (25.4 mm) stem. Manufacturers frequently omit the clamp size from advertising or packaging.

A new standard is an oversize 31.8 mm or 31.7 mm (1.25") clamp for both MTB and road bars. This is rapidly taking over from the previous mix of sizes on sports oriented bicycles, although other accessories that mount near the stem also need to be oversized to fit (some brackets are adjustable). Standard brake levers can be used as it is only the central section that is oversized. Shims are available to fit a 31.8mm stem to either a 25.4mm or 26.0mm bar, so many new models of stems are oversize-only.

[SadieKate]

What does Anatomic 75mm and VR85 mean?

Is this the model of the bars? If so, the manufacturer's website can provide the info. Always best to start there.

How can I be sure my brake levers will fit? Do I have to consider changing any other parts, headtube?

Standard road bars and standard brake lever clamp sizes should work together. It's only when you're trying to mix incompatible parts like levers meant for flat bars vs drop bars. The head tube is part of your frame. It would be a bit, um, cumbersome to change it. More likely you're thinking of the stem which may need to be changed, but if you buy a new bike the shop should work with you to give credit for parts swapped out at the time of sale, at a least a bit of credit for parts they can sell later. Some have more value than others.

[MartianDestiny]

Sorry, I misspoke, it was 8am in the morning my time...

It's a circumference, apologies.

[SadieKate]

That's why I copied rather than trying to write my own.