MTB Handlebars: What Width Is Right For You?
MTB Handlebars: What Width Is Right For You?
Finding the perfect handlebar width is no easy task. What works for one, might feel completely awkward to another. While much of it revolves around height, shoulder width, and overall comfort, the type of riding you do also plays a key factor. As the lines continue to be blurred between bike categories, we are starting to see more riders spec their trail bikes with wide bars in the pursuit of added stability and control. In this video, we go in depth on what to consider when purchasing or cutting your mountain bike bars. The ideal bar width can make all the difference. Check it out!
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Easton havoc 800 on dh and raceface turbine r in 800 as well
can’t decide between 680 and 720 guess i keep both
I almost put my Renthal dirt bike handlebars on, no shit👍
I have a 2019 Trek Roscoe 7 that is bone stock at the moment. I have 720mm bars and about a 15mm stem and still jammed a few trees .
I dont miss the 100mm stems, skinny flat bars and grip shifters at all lol
Im’ old, my last bike was a 20 year old Stump Jumper, then, I managed to get a 2016 Santa Cruz 5010, this thing has changed my life! However being old as previously mentioned, I didnt understand why the bars were so freaking wide, I cut them down, to 24.5, or 622mm, I’ve ridden them for a year now and recently been wondering why I can corner nearly as well. I’m going to try 760’s now. 🙂 Thanks for the great video guys!
Jeff needs to change his name to Kyle. Or Zach. Hell even Gunther. But Jeff just doesn’t fit that guy.
Mountain bikes evolved from cruise type bikes, when opium smoking hippys started moding there bikes.
There names where Gary Fisher, Mike Sinyard (Specialized) some of there friends never made it, but that is the true history of bikes and it all happend in sunny California
I always liked short stems regardless of the other specs. My 09 Giant Trance x2 had a deity DH stem and 680mm truvativ bars. My new bike has 780mm bars and im not so sure i like it. I guess it feels a little more stable. I feel like im going to clip a tree or something (and i have) and overall it gets in the way when im making narrow turns on singletrack. Think im going to cut it down to 720.
Don’t people mountain bike in forests any more? To me that’s the main issue. My last bike came with 670mm so, after crashing into trees a few times, I cut the bar down to 597, which was always good. My new bike came with 766mm, which just seems enormous. It feels fine for riding. but the trees where I live don’t move out of the way when you come by. I’ll probably cut the new bar down to around 705, still wide, and see how it works.
640mm 26inch
damn, I thought having 600mm (right now) to a 700mm to match my carbon sets would be bad but I could add "attachments" like a cell phone holder now that I couldn’t before was bad as it could be too wide but this vid showed me 700mm is small and prob bad but 600mm is also bad but I’m not sure, it rides fine..
My new bike has 780mm bars. Feels a bit wide, I think I might like 760. I am 5′ 8". I agree though, I used to ride motocross motorcycles, so when I started mountain biking in 1988 the bars were really skinny, so it felt like I didn’t have much control. I kind of got used to it though. 780mm just seems a bit wide though.
We Love Bob cat
800 mm all the way, I can’t ride anything less without hanging half my hand off the bar XD
I’m running the stock 750mm bar on my ’17 Trek Fuel. The previous owner had 780 with a 50mm stem but I actually prefer the shorter bar with 60mm stem – especially in tight spots with trees which there are plenty of on trails in my area.
I’m 5 ft 7 in and bought first mtb since a Trek I owned in early 90’s. I was surprised how wide the bars were on the new bike – 780mm with 40mm stem. I instantly wanted to cut them down about 60mm but tried out and quite liked it. Set my grips and controls inwards to test a compromise 760mm as lot of trees over here in Scotland where I am. This vid has helped me decide to proceed with caution with the sawblade haha
got 785mm bars and sometimes have near misses
This is a great video. Gives you background, and suggestions on where to start
This is really interesting. I grew up on a road bike (narrow drop handles) and getting into mountain biking has been weird because I want to try wider handlebars but they feel so awkward. Good video! Currently enjoying 670mm width bars, but would like to go wider!
Wide bar are really uncomfortable for me on long rides I hate them.
I’m 5 4 and I run a 800
Singapore, you are expected to keep your bar 70cm or lower thank to their share cycling path by law. Something you should inform any Singaporean who intend to order bars from you
When we made our own mountain bikes in the 1970s we used motor cross handlebars.
i have 720mm and now im going to move to 800
5’10. 750mm on my XC bike; 780mm on my trail bike. Works well.
3:34 What’s a Fox 49?
I have some tendinitis in my wrists. I cut 1.5" off my bars. Pain has decreased measurably…
800mm Renthal Fatbars in gold aluminium.
lol 760mm in Australia product safety Australia says that for a bike to be safe the handlebars should not exceed 700mm or they classify that as a hazard and recall bikes.
With my Shimano di2 setup I don’t have a lot of choices. Right now I’m running 760 mm flat bars but I want a riser bar so my options are 760 mm at roughly $70 for aluminum or I can pay $200 and get 800 mm carbon fiber bars. I have a feeling I’m probably just going to go for the 760’s
My bike is a older hard tail (Gary Fisher Mamba 09) the only thing that is left stock is the frame. It was speced with a 680mm bar and a 120mm stem. Now I have RaceFace bar and stem at 780mm and 80mm and love the feel that I have more control. It does get a little scary at times between the trees on the trail.
V500 I cut kore mega 20mm rise to 612mm very comfortable for me for on very long rides and on trails, absolutely no shoulder pain nor arm pain hand pain nothing feels very comfortable and turning is very sharp.
For my OCD i got 140 mm fork, stem 40mm and 740 handlebar.
I run 650mm bars. Basically what happened, I think 700mm is about ideal for me. Where I bought the bars they had like 800mm, and 650mm, and I kept trying both, and 650mm just felt better. I was also told not to cut carbon bars, so that’s what happened (I also don’t have anything to cut carbon bars)……….I also rode, "wide" bars in the past, my friends used to comment they were ridiculously wide, so I was shooting for narrower……….The bike feels, "darty" I guess, but I just need to get used to them I think. Ideally I would say a 700mm would be perfect. Narrow bars have a lot of advantages if you can handle them I think, but they are pretty bad for stability.
I only ride wide cuz it’s cool, I hate how responsive it is too, sux.
taller the bike, wider the bar… had a fatbar lite 760 on my 180 lyrik… not stable on jumps… 800 with low stem is so much more stable now
Average shoulder width with super long arms here… I was riding 740mm bars with a 70mm stem, and noticed I was always most comfortable with my hands hanging just off the ends of the bars. Switched to 800mm bars and a 40mm stem, and the change was amazing. I felt far more comfortable and confident downhill, and just had to shift my weight forward a hair more on steep climbs. I have punched trees a few times (resulting in an amazing half rotation front flip on one occasion), but I generally don’t have issues.
Switching to ODI Elite Pro grips also helped to widen my grip and limit the amount of bar/grip sticking out past my hands. They’re a good option if you want the feel of a ~10-20mm wider bar (depending on what you’re switching from) and don’t want to buy a new bar.
I went from a 1995 Trek to a 2017 Trek… The difference is bar width was noticeable. I ended up taking them down an inch… Got some narrow trails where I ride. I like it better…
i’m 172cm tall and my bike came with 800mm wide bars. i cut them down to 760mm yesterday after riding 800mm for almost two months and it just feels better. i wouldnt go any narrower though
XC – 640mm with 45 degree sweep is my sweet spot. 6’2, 190 lbs, hardtail 29er with 100mm fork. Works for me. I came from the 80’s super narrow + bar end era, where I spent most of my time on the barends. So 640 feels wide to me, but works.
I don’t feel right on the hyper wide albatross bars of today – just a personal preference thing, I guess.
It seems most 31.8mm bars are still ~720mm wide. I’m not seeing 760mm as recommended very commonly……. thoughts? I’ve heard 35mm diameter bars can be quite stiff
This was a "darn" good video.
.. if u are a 6 feet wide shoulder Male ok…..if you are 4.9 feet pettit Asian woman wider is not better unless u talking about pennis width ..
But the wider u go the more of a chance u will be hitting trees…..??
Currently, my seat is all the way down so that I can get an almost straight leg to my peddles. I have a 17" frame on my bike and am 5’9" with ~27 inches to the bottom of my boys which sit on my bar. When I ride, I feel like I am leaning over too far and my wrists naturally want to bend to give my back a break. I feel like if my fists were closer to me I’d be more comfortable. I tried a small bike, but then when I turn my knees, they are too close to the handle bars. Perhaps I can keep my current bike and can fix this comfort problem with different handlebars? What can I do?
I’m 13 and run 690 mm
740, hardtail 120mm Shock, free ride, city riding, 60mm stem. I feel 760 would be a little too wide but not afraid to try it.740 helps a lot to slip between the cars in the city
Renthal fatbar alloy 800ml reason its makes me able to jump with confidence when going balls to the wall down a trail or riding urban mtb
I am 5foot 5 and I run 740mm on my enduro (feels perfect), 720mm on my XC bike and 690mm on my city bike. So the bike´s geometry also plays a role, and both going too wide or too narrow may hinder your riding so I recommend buying cheap bars on the internet and playing with the size, cutting them down and checking the geometry of the bars as well, trying flat bars vs ones with a lot of back sweep or upsweep. it is really fun and when you finally get it right it feels amazing. goodbye 600mm bars, you sucked XD. Great video as always, simple, funny and informative:)