38cm bars... going too far?

[SpeedyBoi123]

Details of those 32 bars please Speedy

Fouriers 320mm compact bars: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3301567 ... lsrc=aw.ds

Cheap enough that I own 4 pairs which worked out at £122 in total! They're made of heavy 6061 so sit fairly porky at 270g for a 32cm handlebar and I've been looking for some made in 7075 for a year now!!

Recently moved my crit bike to 27cm (c-c) on the hoods flared to 33cm (c-c) on the drops and can't wait for the weather to improve to try them out.

And details on shoulder width, too.

Shoulder width is 38cm but I cycle with a 'shrug' (as you can see in the photo) all the time where my collarbones almost face forward and I've got use to riding like that the past 1-2 years now.

[shimmeD]

Thanks Speedy.
From the images, doesn't like there's any flare, is that correct?

[TimmS]

27 to 32 cm
Can you share some details/ picture?
I would like to give that a try!

[jlok]

Yes narrow bars make steering more sensitive and may amplify rider's input affecting the front end of the bike, in theory. However, in reality it didn't become sensitive enough to make my ride unstable. I still riding down hill very fast and stable. It's more about the overall bike geometry rather than just considering the bar width I guess. You may grab the cheapest 36cm bar to test.

[callemacody]

Details of those 32 bars please Speedy

Fouriers 320mm compact bars: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3301567 ... lsrc=aw.ds

Cheap enough that I own 4 pairs which worked out at £122 in total! They're made of heavy 6061 so sit fairly porky at 270g for a 32cm handlebar and I've been looking for some made in 7075 for a year now!!

Recently moved my crit bike to 27cm (c-c) on the hoods flared to 33cm (c-c) on the drops and can't wait for the weather to improve to try them out.

And details on shoulder width, too.

Shoulder width is 38cm but I cycle with a 'shrug' (as you can see in the photo) all the time where my collarbones almost face forward and I've got use to riding like that the past 1-2 years now.

Have you seen anywhere on Aliexpress i can find narrow and flared bars?

[StanK]

Yes narrow bars make steering more sensitive and may amplify rider's input affecting the front end of the bike, in theory. However, in reality it didn't become sensitive enough to make my ride unstable. I still riding down hill very fast and stable. It's more about the overall bike geometry rather than just considering the bar width I guess. You may grab the cheapest 36cm bar to test.

One need to adapt, that's whole story here. No matter is it 48, 38 or 28cm bar.
Everyone has to decide what is worth/works for him (for whatever reason), or not.

[callemacody]

i found this, 35 cm at hoods 40 at drops, should be a good sprinters handlebar no?

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001 ... 5176%23441

[pmprego]

i found this, 35 cm at hoods 40 at drops, should be a good sprinters handlebar no?

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001 ... 5176%23441

They are clearly copying enve bars. Now is up to decision if the quality is there or not. For each one to decide.

[rides4beer]

Been riding 42cm bars on my gravel bike with no issues (which is narrow by gravel standards lol), gonna drop down to 38s on the new road bike. I've never had any issues with the narrow position using clip-on aero bars, so I don't think I'll have any issues with narrow bars.

[Roadrocket]

During two years I went from 44s to 42s and then to 40s and no comfort or handling issues at all. I just feel more ´folded´ on the bike in a good sense.
If we are able to spend a lot of money for the aero equipment which saves fraction of watts, why not to go for narrower bars which can save maybe 10+ watts?

[pmprego]

During two years I went from 44s to 42s and then to 40s and no comfort or handling issues at all. I just feel more ´folded´ on the bike in a good sense.
If we are able to spend a lot of money for the aero equipment which saves fraction of watts, why not to go for narrower bars which can save maybe 10+ watts?

For me it is all about confort. Being confortable trumps all the rest. Nonetheless, assuming confort doesn't change moving from 44 to 40 I doubt the effect is that large (everything else the same).

[blaugrana]

As you go narrower with the bars, anything you do to move the bars is magnified. Longer stems counteract that, less so than bar width though. The wide bars (less sensitive) and short stem (more sensitive) of said guy counteract each other to some degree.

More sensitive in the sense that you move your arms less for a given steering angle, but you also need more force due to the reduced lever arm, so I would say the result is actually more stable. That's why it's so common to grab the handlebars very close to the stem when giving hand slings on Madison events.

But in any case, most of the steering on a road bike happens at relatively high speeds, where weight shifting is more important than just moving the handlebars.

[DaveS]

Those who think they steer a bike with weight shifting and not steering have usually never ridden a motorcycle or had proper motorcycle training. A bike or motorcycle is most acurately steered with the handlebars.

As my instructor said: To make the bike turn right, push on the right side bars (countersteering). To stop turning, quit pushing on the bars and the bike will straighten itself up. No body english of any sort is required. I've ridden thousands of miles of winding mountain roads and followed that advice to make accurate turns, with never a mistake. I rode down the same 10 mile descent 100 times a year for 7 years on a rim brake bike, using very little braking.

FWIW, I've used 38cm bars and a 110mm stem on nearly all of my bikes.

[TheRich]

As you go narrower with the bars, anything you do to move the bars is magnified. Longer stems counteract that, less so than bar width though. The wide bars (less sensitive) and short stem (more sensitive) of said guy counteract each other to some degree.

More sensitive in the sense that you move your arms less for a given steering angle, but you also need more force due to the reduced lever arm, so I would say the result is actually more stable. That's why it's so common to grab the handlebars very close to the stem when giving hand slings on Madison events.

But in any case, most of the steering on a road bike happens at relatively high speeds, where weight shifting is more important than just moving the handlebars.

The steering forces are so low so the length of the lever arm is less of a factor than the difference in steering angle change per distance of bar movement at the grip point.

You don't steer by shifting your weight though, at high speeds you steer...or lean the bike...by creating an unstable condition by moving the contact patch out from under the "CG" of the bike/rider and then stabilizing the bike once the lean angle is achieved. You can do that by steering or by simply pushing the bars.

[chris14]

Hi, I have just put a set of HUP 32cms on my 54 cm frame.
https://kidsracing.co.uk/products/hup-3 ... ross-bikes
Not too expensive to have a tryout.
I was on 38 hoods with a 40cm flare from a 3t Ltds and initial thought of dropping down to 36 cm but in the end though I might as well go extreme. It looks strange and have not had a great deal of time to ride on them, but first rides seem to be ok. It feels more twitchy but I don't find that my breathing is compressed. I will see with a longer ride the effect.
As an offset on the weight of the handlebars, there was less handlebar tape and cable...