My first road bike had bars that were too wide. It was a 49cm bike but it had 44cm bars. Even the bike shop guys were amazed at how wide the bars were for such a small bike. They measured my shoulder width at 39 cm and my new bike now has 38 cm bars. I no longer have back, shoulder, elbow or hand pain! I didn't notice any handling differences even with a 6 cm change...and the change in comfort was totally worth it!!