Handlebar Width - Stock

[ForkeSeal]

My new reign came with 800mm. I cut them down to 780mm and I love it. You get used to dodging trees and squeezing through narrow gaps. They rarely slow me down.

 

[cabletieperformance]

Trek slash 650B 780mm bars 167cm rider height

 

[billymtb]

My old bike had 740's and I felt they were too narrow. New reign has 800mm and it was a big difference first time I hopped on the bike but now I feel they are the right width for me. No trees for me to really hit but as long as you realise the benefits and consequences e.g. wider bars allow less movement of your torso forward and back then you will know what width is right for you.

 

[EMF]

I'm going 710

People just need to improve their skills rather than blaming their equipment. Wide bars have a place with modern geometry, if your hitting too many trees, it's your skills that need a tune, not your bars. Evertime I think I'm having trouble with wide bars I see someone going faster through the gaps with wider bars than me, puts it into perspective. However, the new DH bike with 800mm bars does seem a little extreme.

Unfortunately no amount of skill could of prevented this arty:
A minor clip on the left causing major ORIF on the right :faint:

 

[BLUMAN]

....but as long as you realise the benefits and consequences

^^^ This is the key statement. I don't really care what width bars people ride, they should ride whatever makes them happy.

What I care about is when they start messing with the trails for the sake of their strava time, lack of skill, intelligence or whatever excuse they use to justify their actions....

At the end of the day if you have wide bars and have to slow down to get around the trees...then suck it up...That's the consequences of your "perceived" increased control...."Perceived" because if you can't stay on the trail how in control are you?????

 

[takai]

I use 740s and 780s regularly on different bikes. The only real time i have to slow or stop is for the 3 pole access gate things they have at the start of parks. Infuriatingly they are usually like 800mm wide C-2-C and so with the diameter of the poles ingress on the bar width.

 

[Ridenparadise]

This should get Blueman going - I ride 800mm bars and do trailwork on the Gold Coast - Nerang National Park.

I'd be interested where all the trees are being pulled out? Certainly lots of saplings are broken off by riders, even where they are not a factor for getting past. New trail sections are being made wider where speed is a factor and where less skilled riders predominate. I have zero interest in Strava etc, but I do think it is stupidity to place trail through narrow tree gaps when the trees are immature and going to triple in girth over a decade. I can think of 2 small trees we cut - one because the trail was failing at the site and another because it was frankly dangerous. Until our lovely trail saboteur booby trapped that bit of trail resulting in a fractured elbow (trying to avoid the boulder and the tree in the trail), it had been there for some time. That spot rides better and faster now though.

To be honest, if bars are available at 800mm, then I have little time for anyone arguing that gaps should be narrower than 800mm. The trails belong to all and not just those with a love of track standing and wiggling in Lycra.

And 800mm bars rock.

 

[pharmaboy]

Slaves to fashion !

Suppose you all have Victorian manicured beards as well..........

 

[kand]

I don't know how the hell people ride bars, my 710s hit more flaming trees that I can count - shits me no end - on the plus side it's easy to put seconds onto the guy behind with 750s as he screeches to a stop

Ditto dude. I put on wide bars and all I got was hitin trees...not fun man! Back to a more manageable length now

 

[Flow-Rider]

Ditto dude. I put on wide bars and all I got was hitin trees...not fun man! Back to a more manageable length now

I bought some spank spike 777s cut them down to 740 and they still felt too wide as Im only a small bloke. I notice on my local trails there seems to be a lot more tree strikes in the tight sections . I ended up going back to smaller bars having lots of clearance for errors near the trees seems to feel safer for me and I can confidently cruise through there at a higher speed also..

 

[The Reverend]

I've heard from several LBS that in Australia there is a law that mandates handlebars sold as standard on a new bike cannot be wider than 700mm, but from this thread, as well as bikes I've bought this isn't adhered too fully.
Two of my bikes run 780mm and my latest bike is running 820mm. I don't hit stuff on them and I'm a Clyde and so anything less than 760 feels too narrow.

And yes, for me they rock!

 

[BLUMAN]

This should get Blueman going - I ride 800mm bars and do trailwork on the Gold Coast - Nerang National Park.

Haha... Na I've said my piece, rationality has returned....

I pretty much agree with what you said. And I greatly appreciate all the great work you guys do out there. So I do my best to respect the work you guys do out there.... Really I was getting on my high horse for you guys.....
I trust when I see a trail correction by you guys that there is good reason, but this is usually easy to spot cause it is part in parcel with a closure and/or regeneration too.

I haven't seen trees being pulled out but recently been seeing more and more corners cut or diversions around trees that riders appear to have made of their own volition .....

 

[richie_gt]

My Remedy came stock with 690mm bars and 70mm stem, never felt comfortable with this setup!

I changed to 750mm bars and 35mm stem and I've dropped the stem height, feels much better to me!

 

[DESPICABLE ME]

My 29 Superfly hardtail came with 690 bars which i loved, however my new bike (dually with 160mm) has 760's and it was hard to go back to the narrower bar and feel comfortable when riding the two bikes back to back. I bumped up from 690 to 720 and absolutely love it. Bit more shock absorbsotion and its definately easier to get the big front wheel to lean over when its rolling fast through corners and when trying to lean the bike around a tight switchback. Wouldn't need to go any wider but definately wont be re-installing the smaller bars (one this bike or any other)

 

[Paulie_AU]

My ol mountainbike has 580mm bars. My bmx 710mm and roadie whatever a modern roadie has. Am I really missing something not running big bars in the bush?

I previously ran 660mm bars on DH and Dirtjumper back in the day (and super cut down bars on my park bike) but these mega wide bars baffle me a little. What benefit do they add if stability currently isnt an issue? Am in the market for a new bike and was thinking of maybe starting at 710 like my bmx....