Bar width

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Kumppa
Posts: 488
Joined: Mon Oct 13, 2014 10:05 am

by Kumppa

For me 44 cm feels like driving a tractor and 40 cm was usable but 42 cm was still better. Using 42 cm 3T bars on my bikes.

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spandexboy817
Posts: 172
Joined: Fri Apr 18, 2008 12:55 am

by spandexboy817

I have been on the new(er) ENVE SES aero road bars and love them. It took a couple weeks to get used to climbing on the hoods out of the saddle, but the taper of the bar is awesome. I am on the 44cm bars which are 39cm in the hoods. Great for hard tt type/breakaways, but I use the drops all the time for hard cornering and sprinting. Pretty awesome bars. The 40cm bars they make are 35cm at the hoods btw

Nefarious86
Moderator
Posts: 3669
Joined: Sun May 25, 2014 4:57 am

by Nefarious86

spandexboy817 wrote:I have been on the new(er) ENVE SES aero road bars and love them. It took a couple weeks to get used to climbing on the hoods out of the saddle, but the taper of the bar is awesome. I am on the 44cm bars which are 39cm in the hoods. Great for hard tt type/breakaways, but I use the drops all the time for hard cornering and sprinting. Pretty awesome bars. The 40cm bars they make are 35cm at the hoods btw

How do you get around the narrow clamping area at the stem with these bars? I would love a pair but loosing my k-edge out front mount would be a pain in the arse as it's where I mount lights etc. It's a shame the mounting area isn't 20mm wider.
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CAFERACER
Posts: 55
Joined: Sun May 09, 2010 3:42 am

by CAFERACER

Nefarious86 wrote:
spandexboy817 wrote:I have been on the new(er) ENVE SES aero road bars and love them. It took a couple weeks to get used to climbing on the hoods out of the saddle, but the taper of the bar is awesome. I am on the 44cm bars which are 39cm in the hoods. Great for hard tt type/breakaways, but I use the drops all the time for hard cornering and sprinting. Pretty awesome bars. The 40cm bars they make are 35cm at the hoods btw

How do you get around the narrow clamping area at the stem with these bars? I would love a pair but loosing my k-edge out front mount would be a pain in the arse as it's where I mount lights etc. It's a shame the mounting area isn't 20mm wider.


Hi Mate, I use one of those garmin holders that mounts via the stem face plate bolts, works really well. As for lights, they wrap around the bars, so all good.

DamenH85
Posts: 33
Joined: Mon Dec 22, 2014 3:23 pm
Location: Houston, TX

by DamenH85

Just adding my experience here.

I switched from 44 to 38. I'm 2 months into the change and still not used to it, especially when standing. They feel uncomfortably narrow. I will keep them on for 4 more months, then re-evaluate.

damen

headwind816
Posts: 309
Joined: Mon Mar 12, 2012 4:43 pm

by headwind816

For me, I find bar width to be proportional to stem length. The more stretched I am, the narrower the width I want. When I am more upright and a lot on the tops, I like a wider bar. I get on with a range from 41cm to 46cm width depending on set up.

snowdevlin
Posts: 213
Joined: Sun Oct 19, 2014 2:51 pm

by snowdevlin

shouldn't people be choosing it based on shoulder lenght?

nathanong87
Resident master of GIF
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Joined: Mon Jul 18, 2011 2:44 am
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by nathanong87

snowdevlin wrote:shouldn't people be choosing it based on shoulder lenght?


Image

snowdevlin
Posts: 213
Joined: Sun Oct 19, 2014 2:51 pm

by snowdevlin

nathanong87 wrote:Image


:noidea: :noidea: :noidea: :noidea:

loooool

Ainsy
Posts: 23
Joined: Fri Jun 19, 2009 6:46 am

by Ainsy

I want from a 40cm FSA Wing Pro Compact to a 38cm FSA SLK carbon and definitely noticed that the narrower did compromise the handling of the bike. I am used to it now but would be interested to go back to a 40 to see if I prefer the more (seemingly) predictable steering input of the 40 v 38.

Bridgeman
Posts: 742
Joined: Wed Jan 12, 2005 6:04 am
Location: USA
Contact:

by Bridgeman

I've noticed a slight compromise in handling and very steep climbs, but have seemed to have gotten pretty used to the change.

I do like the benefits of a smaller bar, primarily the aero aspect and that little extra bar to bar clearance between me and the other riders.

I too would like to go back to the wider (40>42) bar to confirm what is best overall.

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