i went from 50mm stem and 670mm bars on my trail bike to 35mm stem and 740mm bars it is much more comfortable and i dont get fatigue in my shoulders and it just feels right,amazing the difference it makes
Videlin Piskov Afternoon Videlin, It really is whatever suits your riding style. I Don't think you will have any problems in narrow trees with that width bar. Marc
I have a medium-sized 26er mountain bike, I just changed my handlebar from a 740mm straight bar to an 800mm riser bar last, haven't tested it yet on the trails, but I did a road test last night, it's quite comfortable than what I previously have. Any thoughts on this? My stem is 0mm I think.
Going back to narrower bar with longer stem. The extra energy I’ve used to fight the wandering front end on long climbs is not made up on the descents. But again, my riding focus is climbing.
I love watching all your videos and many have been super helpful! This has been one of the best! Got a new bike and bars went from 660 to 760 and I'm only 5'6". I need shorter bars!!! Thanks guys!!!! Push up test was great!
I've just fitted renthal 780m bars with 90m renthal stem and I don't feel like ime driving a bus lol if anything it feels quicker than it Did with the 690m bars that they replaced. but then I do have quite broad shoulders and this is where it gets confusing as not everybody's body is the same and everybody's comfort zone in the press up position will differ. As a rule of thumb,.. wide shoulders wide bars, narrow shoulders narrow bars and how tall you are will play a roll as well. to save money buy wide cut down as ya need. well that's what I've found anyway so chears guys keep the vids coming 👍 👍
The "press-up" measuring technique is eye-opening for sure. I was going to go all the way down to 600mm for basic flat bar gravel riding, but after measuring my comfortable push-up position, I think I'm going with 630mm (the size provided on my Canyon Pathlite). Thank you!
I basically ride XC up here in Maine, USA but I do run some wider bars. I had Sunline 745mm with the larger rise mated to a 50mm Thomson X4 stem. The rise took waaay too much weight off my front for climbs like was mentioned and I had more wrist and lower back pain which I can just attribute to my positioning. I just switched to Thomsons 740mm carbon riser and its 100% better in every way. It is less than half the rise of the Sunline I had and all the wrist and back pain I was experiencing went away immediately. much better positioning for the climbs now as well. It surprised me that the small change in rise effected my riding as much as it did.
I got my first brand new bike a couple years ago, and as a 5”7 person with short stubby limbs, I found that the combination of the wide bars, low bb and long reach means I’m super low at the front with my arms out so wide! Never really realised until I watched a video of me riding g recently! Going to try cutting them down to 750/740 to move myself back and up slightly, good to see two men bigger than me (and probably better) have narrower bars!
Thanks to you guys i finnaly bought a wider bar, i was using 660 before and now im using 740 with a 60mm stem. Probably a bad combination but it feels much much better than before
Optimal bar width is largely affected by the rider's arm length and shoulder width. You said 740mm is right for you, but this is not helpful because we don't know your dimensions. Perhaps you could interview some of pros and semi pros and compare their arm-span to their preferred bar width, and include the type of riding they do. (I'm 6'1" and my arm-span is 77". I do exclusively cross country stuff. I'm open to suggestions. Thanks.)
I've kind of come up with a weird method that seems to work for me for picking handlebar width on a specific bar... No idea if it has any real significance but it seems to do the job. I just take a new handlebar to a carpeted area, put the logo side down on the ground (the side that would normally face forwards) and try pushups on it at different width markers. I find that there is a magic sweet spot where the handlebars are very stable and don't try to roll around under me as much and it seems to be accurate to within 10mm. So with that method I've landed on 740mm handlebars to suit my 5'4" frame and shoulders. 10mm wider or shorter and the handlebars get quite squirmy under pushups. I know Kate Moseley runs 735mm and she's the same height as me so it seems pretty bang on accurate.
good for some but i do push ups using me triceps, as i have a stuffed hand, and do them on me knuckles, then on me wide push up im at 660mm , not sure , but will give it a go, its a lot to loose 100mm might be good though
I ride with 780mm bars on not only my DH bike but my Enduro bike AND my jump bike. The only reason I do that is A; I have very wide shoulders and B; it means I can jump from bike to bike and their cockpits all feel the same so it makes the switch from bike to bike easier. Nice comprehensive vid on handle bars guys. Keep up the good work.
I recently replaced my 620mm flat bar on my fat tyre Ebike with 785mm with 40mm rise. I cut them down to 735mm after installing them and felt they were too wide. Heck my KTM bar is 800mm so this seems real wide for a bike IMO. Push up was a great way to show the ergonomic differences between the different hand placement. Another great video, keep them coming.
Since a short while now I´m riding a 780mm Rhental Fatbar Carbon DH bar with 30mm rise and 7° backsweep. Before that I had a 760mm with 25mm rise and 8° backsweep. When choosing my new bar I was looking for a bar that had less backsweep than the previous one to "force" me to keeping my elbows up and out. Also when riding my previous bar I noticed that I would grab my grips at the outer end. Now with the new bar I´m actually resting my hands on the middle of the grips. I had my doubts that this would be the right way but it turned out to be a wise decision. (I ride Enduro and my bodysize is 1.93m. I believe that bodysize is also an aspect that should go into ones decision) EDIT: Forgot, Starting at a stem lenght of 60mm I´m now down to 40mm. And it feels really good.
800mm risers on a bizango feels good. Went tubeless with 720mm flats & had a full on superman bail after riding tubeless. Wide bars, full rise & serviced brakes feels good to me. Wouldn't go back to flat bars in a hurry. Pad up & be safe!
I defaulted to 800mm bars because that's how they came, and no point cutting them until I give them a few rides first to see how they feel. So far they feel okay, but I jump on my rather old single speed XC bike with narrow bars and a 100-110mm stem, and I feel like I'm going to die, even when I just stand up to pedal.
If you're running a XC fork with a really rigid lockout, I think wider bars allow you to put more power into your bike when you're climbing out of the saddle. I run pretty wide bars on my XC bike (740mm, I believe) and it works for me!
Holy moly......! How dumbed down does this have to be so that everyone gets it? A) do a few, (5 or 6), push ups in your natural and comfortable position. B) measure the outside edges of your hands on the up stroke. This is how wide your bars should be for your body shape. It works for men and women and provides good chest expansion, less shoulder pain and excellent control authority.
I myself dont believe the push up theory. There is very little difference between say a 710mm bar and a 760mm bar. You would have to be extremely precise to get an absolute true measurement. Its all about preference and what sport your into. My opinion🤘
you guys should do a video on tires, what tires work for mud, dirt, and sand for us desert riders. and also explain the difference in width. Love these videos. I feel so confident that i'm going to start racing soon!
Hey Guys, I would love to see Mark Beaumont doing an comparison between 26", 27.5" and 29". He is insanely fast, and i think it would be great to see him do some timed runs with similar bikes, that use the different wheel sizes. Maybe some feedback too?
Running a 720mm Race Face Next Bars with 6mm rise with a 90mm Ritchey stem. My bike is a 2012 Turner Flux 26" wheeled bike not as long in the top tube as the newer versions, suits me well.
At 6'3 with ape hanger arms, I'm glad for the availability of wide bars. I think 780-800 is the sweet spot for me. Shorter than 780 and my arms are at too acute of an angle and i feel more fatigue. More than 800 and narrow sections become too challenging or impossible.
So I live in the US and I ride a "Giant" 29er cross country bike. Im a big guy, about 6"4 and 215 lbs. I occasionally like to jump the bike but mostly just like to go really fast down dirt trails. The stock bars that came on the bike were 690 mm but I felt like I was boxed in a bit. Now I use 800 mm bars and they feel beast-mode. I think it has a lot to do with personal preference.
I ride on a Race Face Atlas 810mm 30mm upsweep with a 50mm 7deg up on an Enduro. Sounds a bit over the top to some but I'm just under 6'5 and enjoy aggressive techy Colorado trails. Like many have mentioned your body and ride matter the most when it comes to the bike build as a whole. Not just the bars.
"If you are looking to run a wider bar, you tend to mate it with a shorter stem" Then there's Bryceland (2014 overall World Cup winner) running 800mm Enve's with a 60mm Burgtec stem. It's all down to personal preference.
+Global Mountain Bike Network The long stem really helps on those bike park style courses with lots of loose gravely corners. Keeps a bit more weight over the front end.
For me. I went from a cut down 740mm to now a my new bars at 810mm. Both carbon. But the control i get from a 810mm is way better then the 740mm. Its mated with a 35mm length stem. Which works out perfectly. Except when pedaling up hills. Which i move my weight to the bars. Over all. I dont think ill change from my 810mm anytime soon 👍
currently using an Origin 8 740mm for both trails & XC's & for me its more comfortable than narrow ones. thanks for this video! it really helps a lot! :)
I'm riding 780mm wide on a 50mm stem. I didn't think the jump from 740 was going to be that noticeable but it made a big difference. Took a few hours to get used to. Pros: I feel more stable/confident in the air. Cons: Need to watch those trees! Here's a tip (if you have lock-on style grips): If you feel your bars are too wide, before you cut them down, move your grips in a little bit at a time to find your sweet spot. It's probably better to buy too wide and work your way in.
720mm, 70mm rise DJ bars, with 720mm flats on my XC/trail bike. I just feel this size works for me in both applications but as you can tell, rise and sweep is quite a lot different.
***** Morning David, Yeah for sure the bars are very different, but the bikes are completely different styles as well. Sounds like you have them just as you want them. Thanks for your comment, Marc
Voodoo Bizango comes in with 725mm flat bar, bike has awards for being a competent trail blazer out of the box. @6ft 4inch I've opted for the Ragley Wiser 760mm, 25mm rise, might drop the stem from 60mm to 50mm, though 60 is great for trail blazing and pretty good for downhill. The rise of the Ragley is pretty much the same as turning the default flat bar vertical, though this eliminates the backsweep. Just looking for a little more comfort and 17.5mm on each end doesn't seem like a lot.
780/30 with a 50mm stem on my enduro. I think the "how wide you can go" also depends on the rider's height. I'm 180cm (5'11") with long arms and the 780 feels great.
I rebuilt an old stumpjumper, & tried to get original parts. I first brought 730 dh bars, but found then too long, slow control. But then found a pair of endoro 640mm specialized ones. Feel pretty responcive, gd control. So kept to that. I have a 90mm stem, but ordered a 70mm. We'll see
I recently bought my first MTB, from a guy who brought it back from Australia. They are limited to 690mm by law in Oz. It is still wider than anything I've ridden before, and feels OK so far.
Love it even almost 7 yrs ago Neil knew the longer bar thing is kind of BS lol ... its now 2021 and just now vids are being done on this and addressing the fact that the wider 800mm bars are not the greatest thing at the end of the day its about what the rider likes but the wider the bar the more your arm position is out of whack.. its actually been proven it can be bad for your joints....Especially if your tiny like me im 5'4" tall and my 800mm bars feel so uncomfortable
I love the push up method of checking width. There must be a sweet spot width for each individual person where you could do the most push ups with least fatigue. I think that would be the ideal width because you don't want the extra fatigue of too narrow or too wide while you are riding.
My preference is for narrower bars. They feel much more comfortable to me. Additionally, they slip through an overgrown trail better, thread between parked cars, through doorways, in and out of vehicles and in general make your biking life easier. What is the point of all that leverage? Is there a 10lb bag of cement on your front wheel?
XC: 620mm (no rise) with 100mm stem. The original width of the bar was 680mm. But I had big problems with it... So I cut of 30mm on both sides. Now I am happy...
740mm wide with 20mm rise i belive and 5° backsweep on my allmountain. And I like it a lot. On my crosscountry bike though i ride a 700mm wide flatbar (0mm rise) and 8° backsweep. I actually like more backsweep better. If you struggle with pain in the heel of your hands I recommend trying a bit more backsweep. :)
I have a wingspan of 6’2 and run 780mm with 25mm rise, although the rise is making up for buying pre cut suspension with a smaller stem than my old suspension
My 29er xc mtb is Large with a 60mm stem and 700mm cut down from 740mm and my Older 29er xc MTB is Size medium with a 70mm stem and 700mm it could go upto 720mm bars i ride mostly natural trails with some thight gaps
i guess arm lengths is a huge factor if i use wider bars my pivot is smaller particularly when turning uphill to downhill. Bought a long sweeped bar felt crossed i immediately cut it down to 720mm with a long stem. I feel. a shorter stem will more evenly distribute my weight for cruise and if i go downhill i just need to spread my elbows out for stability. Uphill i am lazy and shift to suit a relaxed pace :) bar lenght negligible as i use my legs and try to relax my arms. 5'7''
I started riding mtb in December of last year, and coming from a bmx background, when I made that switch from bmx I had no idea about mtbs, so i pick a setup closest to my bmx as possible. I normally on my bmx run really wide bars(30"), it was due to my style where I use my shoulders a lot and not my wrist. Especially on spinning or technical tricks, I I figured get the widest bar i could find which are 800mm, not sure if there are wonders bar forgive me I am still a beginner. I used to ride small bars and my bmx but I would sometimes get a lot of wrist pains especially when landing flat, which is kinda normal but I really hate riding flat. But when I run 30" bars it feels way more comfortable when I land flat. Sorry for the novel.
Went from 660 to 780. Huge difference in all aspects. It helps on the climbs because I can track the front straighter I use less energy. Switchbacks that I teetered through now feel smoother. I have clipped the bars on trees and it almost never causes me to crash. More brushing it with the very sides. The one crash was trees that were probably 640 apart on a downhill that I couldn't wiggle through.
XC I run 710mm with 6 degree rise on 70mm stem. 710 feels a bit to wide, not froma a control or comfort position but there are are a lot of tight switchbacks where I ride with very narrow close trees and you have to saw the bars back and fourth to make it through some of them, hard to do at speed. (Previously rode 660-685 6 degree risers with 90mm and 110mm stems)
I ride a 711mm bar with 20mm of rise combined with a 70mm straight stem. I didn't make a lot of research at the time of purchase, just went with the middle everything lol.
I had 720 before and now have 780 on the new bike. I'm pretty thin so my shoulders aren't that wide and I think I'm gonna cut down to 720 or maybe 740. Slightly afraid of it but I grab the insides of my grips intuitively so the bar ends hit trees and I don't use them anyways...
I bought a Trail bike off a dude a lil while back, the bars that came on it were raceface atlas's, really nice bars but the dude was running them at like 790mm, so wide infact that I struggled to get them down the passage that leads to my back garden. I cut like 30mm off either side, they still feel massive but in a good way haha.
I have three bikes of different disciplines. A dh, an Enduro and a dj/street bike. I run 780mm with 20mm rise, only 15mm of spacers, 30mm stem, nice and low. On my Enduro, I run a 160mm fork, 750mm bars with 30mm rise, with a 35mm stem, 15mm spacers, but is a large frame(longer top tube, longer wheelbase) when I am usually a medium size, so it's very nimble and stable. On my dj/street bike, I like it nice and low, 100mm fork, 3 in riser, zero stack!! (Y) jus sharing my set ups
I´m ridin´ 785mm bars from Sixpack, even as a smaller guy (176cm) i feel pretty comfortable with them even on tight trail sections. But i´m ridin a pretty small stem
+Fredrik HL Just cut my 700mm bars down to 630mm - which means I don't whack my hands on trees on our local singles. Obviously the bar is a lever. A longer bar will reduce the effect of small movements and reduce the force needed to turn the wheel to steer, but you'll have to extend more to turn.
I just got 730's with a 70m stem and it was london bus, went to older 680's and much much more nimble and better in trees for fast XC and enduro riding, cut down to 710m now with the same stem (lots of steep grade climbs to do) I think should be ideal on my 6.7" bike
Kingsoupturbo Morning thanks for your comment. Its personal preference wide wont work for everyone. just a case of having a play around see what works best for you. Marc
I ride XC and ride with 720mm bar,perfect for me at 5'9 medium build......the 10 times World Champion rides with smaller 680mm bars,that's just a tad too small for me.
My new S-Works Epic came with 720mm bars...makes quite a difference from my 560mm bars on my old S-Works. Wanted to cut them down, my bike shop guy said 'leave alone for a week'. Feels bloody weird...
I am still running 580mm bars with a 100mm stem. 25.4 clamp as well! Perfect for the tight stuff near me. Wouldn't want to go any more than 620 as they would just get in the way then. All of my bike is pretty old school but I don't think it has slowed me down much.
Oliver Butcher Morning Oliver, Really thats very narrow!! I challenge you to have a go using a wider set around 720/730 might be a good start point? Let me know if you do I would love to hear how they felt? Thanks, Marc
Neil racing in the late 90s? Dude looks like he's in his mid 20s! Unless he was a pro racer at the age of 10 or so, cycling seems to have stopped the ageing process. Cool video lads, really enjoying the channel.
After trying 740mm Renthal low rise for a while and then 740mm 3T flat bars on my 29er HT, I have gone back to Easton Haven 711mm bars and feel more comfortable, especially using 70mm stem. 5ft 10in with 42in chest and that feels plenty wide. I think the trend for wider bars gets somewhat pointless after a certain width. Funny seeing 5ft 7in 65kg 36in chested "free" riders trying to control 160mm travel full-sus 650b's with 780mm bars coz they read about it being Bike of the Century on Bikeradar.
Have a set of reverse triple xxx bars that I got in morzine originally 820mm ended fitting them to the dirtjump bike and cutting them down to 745mm ish
TheTonicro Morning, You make a good point perhaps different styles of Mountain bike warrant a narrower bar? I personally run the same width on all of my bikes. Thanks for your comment, Marc
I have a full rigid mountain bike with 720 bars and 100mm stem and I've always felt it's really unnatural to ride. I mostly ride my commute, so I dont touch the forest trails at all. I suppose I should really shorten my bars.
I ride pretty equal town/trial. So riding off drops and lots of wheelies is a normal thing. And I found 685mm bars with 40mm stem is a nice setup for everything. For me anyway.
New bike came with 780s, and as a road rider, I feel like I'm being crucified.
😂😂😂I'm dying👌
I can relate. 😅 came from fixie.
LMAO
Lol
Same here hacked em off to 700 😂
These two always look like they are coming up on an ecstasy hit.
+Bikesnstuff lol
They look so uncomfortable with each other.
Marc just seems like he doesn't fit in at all with the other presenters. he's such an abrasive person.
haha
They both love handling big bars together.
720mm came stock with my Scott Scale XC MTB and they feel really good for my 5’10” bulky build on the Scotts medium frame.
I run 800mm bars on my enduro bike i crash into trees occasionally but the airplane feel makes up for it
Ryland Shields what clamp size 31.8 or 35
If it's of any help to you, alloy bars that are 800mm wide are usually 31.8mm and carbon bars that are 800mm wide are usually 35mm.
I run 700 and 31.8 clamp wide is easier to turn and it feels much better for enduro
Me also, but I run 780 cause 800mm bars are to expensive
780mm bars 35mm stem
I'm here because my new bike came with 800 and I hit a post on a ramp and flew into the bushes. 🤙
i went from 50mm stem and 670mm bars on my trail bike to 35mm stem and 740mm bars it is much more comfortable and i dont get fatigue in my shoulders and it just feels right,amazing the difference it makes
Videlin Piskov Afternoon Videlin, It really is whatever suits your riding style. I Don't think you will have any problems in narrow trees with that width bar. Marc
i ride a hardtail 29er, i have a 35mm stem with 760mm wide bars, keep in mind, i'm 13
I have a medium-sized 26er mountain bike, I just changed my handlebar from a 740mm straight bar to an 800mm riser bar last, haven't tested it yet on the trails, but I did a road test last night, it's quite comfortable than what I previously have. Any thoughts on this? My stem is 0mm I think.
jear bagus 0mm? That would mean your bars are above your steerer tube
@@colinkramer36 what a look that’d be
I run 640mm flat bars with a 90mm stem on my xc bike, feels great and can go through anything tight.
Going back to narrower bar with longer stem. The extra energy I’ve used to fight the wandering front end on long climbs is not made up on the descents. But again, my riding focus is climbing.
Yeha, I feel the same, I have a 600mm bars and a 100mm stem on my XC
Same. I'm trying to ride 730 on my XC and I'm always over-correcting. Getting out the hack saw.
Mine are 620mm. If I go any higher, my arms get tired
I love watching all your videos and many have been super helpful! This has been one of the best! Got a new bike and bars went from 660 to 760 and I'm only 5'6". I need shorter bars!!! Thanks guys!!!! Push up test was great!
Push-up test has been debunked. Use height in cm x 4.4 as the maximum width.
this video is spot on! I just widened my trail bike bars from stock 690 to 745mm and it made a world of a difference!
I've just fitted renthal 780m bars with 90m renthal stem and I don't feel like ime driving a bus lol if anything it feels quicker than it Did with the 690m bars that they replaced. but then I do have quite broad shoulders and this is where it gets confusing as not everybody's body is the same and everybody's comfort zone in the press up position will differ. As a rule of thumb,.. wide shoulders wide bars, narrow shoulders narrow bars and how tall you are will play a roll as well. to save money buy wide cut down as ya need. well that's what I've found anyway so chears guys keep the vids coming 👍 👍
2:17 Marc "high speeds like i get up to"
Neil -Making up things again-
The "press-up" measuring technique is eye-opening for sure. I was going to go all the way down to 600mm for basic flat bar gravel riding, but after measuring my comfortable push-up position, I think I'm going with 630mm (the size provided on my Canyon Pathlite). Thank you!
Could you guys do a video on cockpit set up? ( Shifter position, stem types , bars types and grips?) That would be great!
yes
They did already
I basically ride XC up here in Maine, USA but I do run some wider bars. I had Sunline 745mm with the larger rise mated to a 50mm Thomson X4 stem. The rise took waaay too much weight off my front for climbs like was mentioned and I had more wrist and lower back pain which I can just attribute to my positioning. I just switched to Thomsons 740mm carbon riser and its 100% better in every way. It is less than half the rise of the Sunline I had and all the wrist and back pain I was experiencing went away immediately. much better positioning for the climbs now as well. It surprised me that the small change in rise effected my riding as much as it did.
I got my first brand new bike a couple years ago, and as a 5”7 person with short stubby limbs, I found that the combination of the wide bars, low bb and long reach means I’m super low at the front with my arms out so wide! Never really realised until I watched a video of me riding g recently!
Going to try cutting them down to 750/740 to move myself back and up slightly, good to see two men bigger than me (and probably better) have narrower bars!
Thanks to you guys i finnaly bought a wider bar, i was using 660 before and now im using 740 with a 60mm stem. Probably a bad combination but it feels much much better than before
I did the exact same conversion and it feels great as well. best of luck
I run Spike Spank 800 vibrocore bars on my fat tire bike, with a short Spike stem. Handles the trails just fine with no fatigue
Optimal bar width is largely affected by the rider's arm length and shoulder width. You said 740mm is right for you, but this is not helpful because we don't know your dimensions. Perhaps you could interview some of pros and semi pros and compare their arm-span to their preferred bar width, and include the type of riding they do. (I'm 6'1" and my arm-span is 77". I do exclusively cross country stuff. I'm open to suggestions. Thanks.)
I've kind of come up with a weird method that seems to work for me for picking handlebar width on a specific bar... No idea if it has any real significance but it seems to do the job.
I just take a new handlebar to a carpeted area, put the logo side down on the ground (the side that would normally face forwards) and try pushups on it at different width markers. I find that there is a magic sweet spot where the handlebars are very stable and don't try to roll around under me as much and it seems to be accurate to within 10mm.
So with that method I've landed on 740mm handlebars to suit my 5'4" frame and shoulders.
10mm wider or shorter and the handlebars get quite squirmy under pushups.
I know Kate Moseley runs 735mm and she's the same height as me so it seems pretty bang on accurate.
good for some but i do push ups using me triceps, as i have a stuffed hand, and do them on me knuckles, then on me wide push up im at 660mm , not sure , but will give it a go, its a lot to loose 100mm might be good though
what if I do all my push ups one handed? 🙂
I ride with 780mm bars on not only my DH bike but my Enduro bike AND my jump bike.
The only reason I do that is A; I have very wide shoulders and B; it means I can jump from bike to bike and their cockpits all feel the same so it makes the switch from bike to bike easier.
Nice comprehensive vid on handle bars guys.
Keep up the good work.
I ride triple suspension bmx as a road bike and i have a 985 mm wide bars with a 3,7 mm stem..
Sure, sounds right
you'll be doing quadruple backflip triple whips soon then?
@@jimslicer807 don't you mean a quad-back-trip-flip? Pfft do em all the time mate
700mm bar 25mm rise and 50mm stem is my set up and i am loving it.
I have custom built 850mm bars and they work great!
Just kidding, that would be insane!
I recently replaced my 620mm flat bar on my fat tyre Ebike with 785mm with 40mm rise. I cut them down to 735mm after installing them and felt they were too wide. Heck my KTM bar is 800mm so this seems real wide for a bike IMO. Push up was a great way to show the ergonomic differences between the different hand placement. Another great video, keep them coming.
I run 780 Deity 38mm rise
Since a short while now I´m riding a 780mm Rhental Fatbar Carbon DH bar with 30mm rise and 7° backsweep. Before that I had a 760mm with 25mm rise and 8° backsweep. When choosing my new bar I was looking for a bar that had less backsweep than the previous one to "force" me to keeping my elbows up and out. Also when riding my previous bar I noticed that I would grab my grips at the outer end. Now with the new bar I´m actually resting my hands on the middle of the grips.
I had my doubts that this would be the right way but it turned out to be a wise decision.
(I ride Enduro and my bodysize is 1.93m. I believe that bodysize is also an aspect that should go into ones decision)
EDIT: Forgot, Starting at a stem lenght of 60mm I´m now down to 40mm. And it feels really good.
I use a 640mm on my 29er XC bike, but this is wide compared to my 380mm c-c bars on my road bike.
800mm risers on a bizango feels good. Went tubeless with 720mm flats & had a full on superman bail after riding tubeless. Wide bars, full rise & serviced brakes feels good to me. Wouldn't go back to flat bars in a hurry. Pad up & be safe!
I defaulted to 800mm bars because that's how they came, and no point cutting them until I give them a few rides first to see how they feel. So far they feel okay, but I jump on my rather old single speed XC bike with narrow bars and a 100-110mm stem, and I feel like I'm going to die, even when I just stand up to pedal.
If you're running a XC fork with a really rigid lockout, I think wider bars allow you to put more power into your bike when you're climbing out of the saddle. I run pretty wide bars on my XC bike (740mm, I believe) and it works for me!
Holy moly......! How dumbed down does this have to be so that everyone gets it?
A) do a few, (5 or 6), push ups in your natural and comfortable position.
B) measure the outside edges of your hands on the up stroke.
This is how wide your bars should be for your body shape. It works for men and women and provides good chest expansion, less shoulder pain and excellent control authority.
I myself dont believe the push up theory. There is very little difference between say a 710mm bar and a 760mm bar. You would have to be extremely precise to get an absolute true measurement. Its all about preference and what sport your into. My opinion🤘
720 flat with 90 mm stem and it feels very comfortable for XC.
you guys should do a video on tires, what tires work for mud, dirt, and sand for us desert riders. and also explain the difference in width. Love these videos. I feel so confident that i'm going to start racing soon!
Hey Guys, I would love to see Mark Beaumont doing an comparison between 26", 27.5" and 29". He is insanely fast, and i think it would be great to see him do some timed runs with similar bikes, that use the different wheel sizes. Maybe some feedback too?
Running a 720mm Race Face Next Bars with 6mm rise with a 90mm Ritchey stem. My bike is a 2012 Turner Flux 26" wheeled bike not as long in the top tube as the newer versions, suits me well.
At 6'3 with ape hanger arms, I'm glad for the availability of wide bars. I think 780-800 is the sweet spot for me. Shorter than 780 and my arms are at too acute of an angle and i feel more fatigue. More than 800 and narrow sections become too challenging or impossible.
Nukeproof samhill 800mm for me along with the 35mm samhill stem, awsome combo imo 👌🏻
So I live in the US and I ride a "Giant" 29er cross country bike. Im a big guy, about 6"4 and 215 lbs. I occasionally like to jump the bike but mostly just like to go really fast down dirt trails. The stock bars that came on the bike were 690 mm but I felt like I was boxed in a bit. Now I use 800 mm bars and they feel beast-mode. I think it has a lot to do with personal preference.
I run on 780mm wake handlebars,good for handling
I ride on a Race Face Atlas 810mm 30mm upsweep with a 50mm 7deg up on an Enduro. Sounds a bit over the top to some but I'm just under 6'5 and enjoy aggressive techy Colorado trails. Like many have mentioned your body and ride matter the most when it comes to the bike build as a whole. Not just the bars.
You guys should do a video on how to get started again on steep, loose, and technical climbs.
"If you are looking to run a wider bar, you tend to mate it with a shorter stem"
Then there's Bryceland (2014 overall World Cup winner) running 800mm Enve's with a 60mm Burgtec stem.
It's all down to personal preference.
+swadd1er True, it is a little unusual though. We asked him about it here- th-cam.com/video/fWYrx4Ln4zg/w-d-xo.html
+Global Mountain Bike Network The long stem really helps on those bike park style courses with lots of loose gravely corners. Keeps a bit more weight over the front end.
You should never go full 800mm, ever.
For me. I went from a cut down 740mm to now a my new bars at 810mm. Both carbon. But the control i get from a 810mm is way better then the 740mm. Its mated with a 35mm length stem. Which works out perfectly. Except when pedaling up hills. Which i move my weight to the bars. Over all. I dont think ill change from my 810mm anytime soon 👍
currently using an Origin 8 740mm for both trails & XC's & for me its more comfortable than narrow ones.
thanks for this video! it really helps a lot! :)
Maybe you could do video about bar ends. Why aren't they popular these days? I do mostly XC and they seems pretty handy in climbs.
I'm riding 780mm wide on a 50mm stem. I didn't think the jump from 740 was going to be that noticeable but it made a big difference. Took a few hours to get used to. Pros: I feel more stable/confident in the air. Cons: Need to watch those trees!
Here's a tip (if you have lock-on style grips): If you feel your bars are too wide, before you cut them down, move your grips in a little bit at a time to find your sweet spot. It's probably better to buy too wide and work your way in.
Ryan McCluskey Hey Ryan, Thanks for your comment and great shout on moving your lock-on's in to find the perfect width bar. Thanks Marc
780, 20mm rise and 40mm stem (single crown) on the downhill bike and 750, 20mm rise and 50mm stem on enduro
Currently on 680mm considering the swap to 750
Brian Masters I run 750mm bars and they feel amazing! You will run into trees sometimes, but it's worth it.
720mm, 70mm rise DJ bars, with 720mm flats on my XC/trail bike. I just feel this size works for me in both applications but as you can tell, rise and sweep is quite a lot different.
***** Morning David, Yeah for sure the bars are very different, but the bikes are completely different styles as well. Sounds like you have them just as you want them. Thanks for your comment, Marc
Neil- "ooooosh" 😂😂
Voodoo Bizango comes in with 725mm flat bar, bike has awards for being a competent trail blazer out of the box. @6ft 4inch I've opted for the Ragley Wiser 760mm, 25mm rise, might drop the stem from 60mm to 50mm, though 60 is great for trail blazing and pretty good for downhill. The rise of the Ragley is pretty much the same as turning the default flat bar vertical, though this eliminates the backsweep. Just looking for a little more comfort and 17.5mm on each end doesn't seem like a lot.
780/30 with a 50mm stem on my enduro. I think the "how wide you can go" also depends on the rider's height. I'm 180cm (5'11") with long arms and the 780 feels great.
What's the rise and sweep of your handlebars
@@atrimehta it’s a Renthal with 30 mm rise and 5/7.
I rebuilt an old stumpjumper, & tried to get original parts. I first brought 730 dh bars, but found then too long, slow control. But then found a pair of endoro 640mm specialized ones. Feel pretty responcive, gd control. So kept to that. I have a 90mm stem, but ordered a 70mm. We'll see
I recently bought my first MTB, from a guy who brought it back from Australia. They are limited to 690mm by law in Oz. It is still wider than anything I've ridden before, and feels OK so far.
Sounds odd. I'm in Oz and recently bought a new Specialized Stumpjumper with 780mm bars.
Just moved from 690 to 720.Feels better,also changed stem from 70 to 50.Stem will stay but thinking about 740 handlebar as want more power on corners.
785mm RaceFace bars with a 40mm Azonic Stem for my All mountain bike
Love it even almost 7 yrs ago Neil knew the longer bar thing is kind of BS lol ... its now 2021 and just now vids are being done on this and addressing the fact that the wider 800mm bars are not the greatest thing at the end of the day its about what the rider likes but the wider the bar the more your arm position is out of whack.. its actually been proven it can be bad for your joints....Especially if your tiny like me im 5'4" tall and my 800mm bars feel so uncomfortable
I love the push up method of checking width. There must be a sweet spot width for each individual person where you could do the most push ups with least fatigue. I think that would be the ideal width because you don't want the extra fatigue of too narrow or too wide while you are riding.
But how do you translate push-up width to millimeters?
My preference is for narrower bars. They feel much more comfortable to me. Additionally, they slip through an overgrown trail better, thread between parked cars, through doorways, in and out of vehicles and in general make your biking life easier. What is the point of all that leverage? Is there a 10lb bag of cement on your front wheel?
Limp wrists and weak arms, so they need more leverage.
I use Ritchey wet White WCS flat bars 600mm. Ritchey P650B hardtail.
735 Raceface Evolve with a 1/4 inch rise, also running a 60mm Raceface Respond riser stem.
XC: 620mm (no rise) with 100mm stem.
The original width of the bar was 680mm. But I had big problems with it... So I cut of 30mm on both sides. Now I am happy...
740mm wide with 20mm rise i belive and 5° backsweep on my allmountain. And I like it a lot. On my crosscountry bike though i ride a 700mm wide flatbar (0mm rise) and 8° backsweep.
I actually like more backsweep better. If you struggle with pain in the heel of your hands I recommend trying a bit more backsweep. :)
I run 760 with 60mm stem with 20mm rise feels just right. Went for hit longer stem as prefer a smaller frame to throw around.
I have a wingspan of 6’2 and run 780mm with 25mm rise, although the rise is making up for buying pre cut suspension with a smaller stem than my old suspension
My 29er xc mtb is Large with a 60mm stem and 700mm cut down from 740mm and my Older 29er xc MTB is Size medium with a 70mm stem and 700mm it could go upto 720mm bars i ride mostly natural trails with some thight gaps
i guess arm lengths is a huge factor if i use wider bars my pivot is smaller particularly when turning uphill to downhill. Bought a long sweeped bar felt crossed i immediately cut it down to 720mm with a long stem. I feel. a shorter stem will more evenly distribute my weight for cruise and if i go downhill i just need to spread my elbows out for stability. Uphill i am lazy and shift to suit a relaxed pace :) bar lenght negligible as i use my legs and try to relax my arms. 5'7''
I started riding mtb in December of last year, and coming from a bmx background, when I made that switch from bmx I had no idea about mtbs, so i pick a setup closest to my bmx as possible. I normally on my bmx run really wide bars(30"), it was due to my style where I use my shoulders a lot and not my wrist. Especially on spinning or technical tricks, I I figured get the widest bar i could find which are 800mm, not sure if there are wonders bar forgive me I am still a beginner. I used to ride small bars and my bmx but I would sometimes get a lot of wrist pains especially when landing flat, which is kinda normal but I really hate riding flat. But when I run 30" bars it feels way more comfortable when I land flat. Sorry for the novel.
Went from 660 to 780. Huge difference in all aspects. It helps on the climbs because I can track the front straighter I use less energy. Switchbacks that I teetered through now feel smoother. I have clipped the bars on trees and it almost never causes me to crash. More brushing it with the very sides. The one crash was trees that were probably 640 apart on a downhill that I couldn't wiggle through.
XC I run 710mm with 6 degree rise on 70mm stem. 710 feels a bit to wide, not froma a control or comfort position but there are are a lot of tight switchbacks where I ride with very narrow close trees and you have to saw the bars back and fourth to make it through some of them, hard to do at speed. (Previously rode 660-685 6 degree risers with 90mm and 110mm stems)
I ride a 711mm bar with 20mm of rise combined with a 70mm straight stem. I didn't make a lot of research at the time of purchase, just went with the middle everything lol.
Hey guys, could you explain more on the rise for handlebars?
I had 720 before and now have 780 on the new bike. I'm pretty thin so my shoulders aren't that wide and I think I'm gonna cut down to 720 or maybe 740. Slightly afraid of it but I grab the insides of my grips intuitively so the bar ends hit trees and I don't use them anyways...
I bought a Trail bike off a dude a lil while back, the bars that came on it were raceface atlas's, really nice bars but the dude was running them at like 790mm, so wide infact that I struggled to get them down the passage that leads to my back garden. I cut like 30mm off either side, they still feel massive but in a good way haha.
I have three bikes of different disciplines. A dh, an Enduro and a dj/street bike. I run 780mm with 20mm rise, only 15mm of spacers, 30mm stem, nice and low. On my Enduro, I run a 160mm fork, 750mm bars with 30mm rise, with a 35mm stem, 15mm spacers, but is a large frame(longer top tube, longer wheelbase) when I am usually a medium size, so it's very nimble and stable. On my dj/street bike, I like it nice and low, 100mm fork, 3 in riser, zero stack!! (Y) jus sharing my set ups
Exedos Morning Exdos, Sounds like you have them exactly as you want. For me 750mm is about perfect for all of my bikes. Thanks for your comment, Marc
I´m ridin´ 785mm bars from Sixpack, even as a smaller guy (176cm) i feel pretty comfortable with them even on tight trail sections. But i´m ridin a pretty small stem
On my XC bike i use a 560mm handlebar and 100mm stem.
Fredrik HL Hey Fredrik, That seems quite narrow, It might be worth trying a slightly wider set to give you a little more control. Thanks Marc
+Fredrik HL Just cut my 700mm bars down to 630mm - which means I don't whack my hands on trees on our local singles. Obviously the bar is a lever. A longer bar will reduce the effect of small movements and reduce the force needed to turn the wheel to steer, but you'll have to extend more to turn.
EdgeOfDarkness86 I am all rigid 29er, 110 stem & 600 bar. Feels fine...
Exactly my setup on 26er. I don't get the, strength-lever point, I'm turning with my body not my hands.
I use 58 mm handlebar on a 26 and i feel fine.
I just got 730's with a 70m stem and it was london bus, went to older 680's and much much more nimble and better in trees for fast XC and enduro riding, cut down to 710m now with the same stem (lots of steep grade climbs to do) I think should be ideal on my 6.7" bike
Kingsoupturbo Morning thanks for your comment. Its personal preference wide wont work for everyone. just a case of having a play around see what works best for you. Marc
Just got 720wd. 40mm rise Easton Carbon bars. Fantastic
40mm renthal duo stem with 730 mm wide with a bit of back sweep with a tiny bit of rise.
I ride XC and ride with 720mm bar,perfect for me at 5'9 medium build......the 10 times World Champion rides with smaller 680mm bars,that's just a tad too small for me.
Is 680 mm bars good for xc???
My new S-Works Epic came with 720mm bars...makes quite a difference from my 560mm bars on my old S-Works. Wanted to cut them down, my bike shop guy said 'leave alone for a week'. Feels bloody weird...
20mm direct mount, 780mm and 15mm rise on my commencal supreme, feels very nice
700mm,35mm rise on a 50mm stem. Very comfortable for me.
I am still running 580mm bars with a 100mm stem. 25.4 clamp as well! Perfect for the tight stuff near me. Wouldn't want to go any more than 620 as they would just get in the way then. All of my bike is pretty old school but I don't think it has slowed me down much.
Oliver Butcher Morning Oliver, Really thats very narrow!! I challenge you to have a go using a wider set around 720/730 might be a good start point? Let me know if you do I would love to hear how they felt? Thanks, Marc
Neil racing in the late 90s? Dude looks like he's in his mid 20s! Unless he was a pro racer at the age of 10 or so, cycling seems to have stopped the ageing process. Cool video lads, really enjoying the channel.
VM38 Ha I will take that as a compliment. Im 33, started racing in 1995, turned pro in 2000. Cheers, Neil
I have 685mm bar on my GT Avalanche and I am about to cut it 20mm from each side, cause I ride uphill a lot
After trying 740mm Renthal low rise for a while and then 740mm 3T flat bars on my 29er HT, I have gone back to Easton Haven 711mm bars and feel more comfortable, especially using 70mm stem. 5ft 10in with 42in chest and that feels plenty wide. I think the trend for wider bars gets somewhat pointless after a certain width. Funny seeing 5ft 7in 65kg 36in chested "free" riders trying to control 160mm travel full-sus 650b's with 780mm bars coz they read about it being Bike of the Century on Bikeradar.
Had 800mm first , did cut it down to 740 felt really good for my length
Have a set of reverse triple xxx bars that I got in morzine originally 820mm ended fitting them to the dirtjump bike and cutting them down to 745mm ish
I use 736mm wide bars on my trek stache. If I went any wider I would crush my hands on the trails I ride. They give me enough width to feel stable.
i run raceface atlas monster green bars, 820mm wide with a little rise, i love them
SuperNova Hey Supernova, There is nothing wrong with running your bars wide its very much personal preference. Thanks for your comment. Marc
What you really want is a huge stem, really wide bars, and the biggest bar ends you can find for them.
riding 750 on my stumpy evo, 680mm on my old ht xc, 420mm on a road bike
feels good for now
TheTonicro Morning, You make a good point perhaps different styles of Mountain bike warrant a narrower bar? I personally run the same width on all of my bikes. Thanks for your comment, Marc
I have a full rigid mountain bike with 720 bars and 100mm stem and I've always felt it's really unnatural to ride. I mostly ride my commute, so I dont touch the forest trails at all.
I suppose I should really shorten my bars.
I ride pretty equal town/trial. So riding off drops and lots of wheelies is a normal thing. And I found 685mm bars with 40mm stem is a nice setup for everything. For me anyway.