Roadbike Handlebar Width (What are you using and why?)

Ages ago, my Cinelli 66s were 44cm. With modern components and a more knowledge about aerodynamics, I now use 40cm compact bars.

I use 40cm compact bars (FSA). I always have; wider bars feel too wide. I haven’t tried narrow bars, though the ones I’m using now are closer to 38cm center to center.

I use 44cm after using 42cm most of my life (due to them being stock on most bikes I bought). When I got fitted for a bike last year, my shoulder width measurement indicated that I should be using 44’s – and when I tried them out it was a revelation. So much more comfortable. No more hand numbness. No more shoulder pain. Couldn’t believe 2cm made that much of a difference.

I understand there is an aero penalty…but consider the following:

  1. I am very rarely off the front in the races I do. When in a group, there is no aero benefit.
  2. When I ride solo, I’m training or just plain riding, so the aero drag is fine. I’m out there to push watts, not maximize speed.
  3. The aforementioned comfort factor. Most of my rides and races are in the 2+ hour range…and my A race is 4 hours-ish. Over that duration, I believe comfortable is faster.

Most folks on this board seem to really push the boundaries of marginal gains in aero benefit – and for a TT bike I completely agree, no argument there. But a great fitting bike this manages the balance of speed + comfort is a truly sublime ride. And at the end of the day, I believe it’s faster.

It’s kind of like a full suspension XC mountain bike. Is a hardtail technically lighter and faster? Yes it is. But you’ll likely go faster over longer duration on a full sus rig (as noted several times on the podcast) because you won’t be as beat up, and you’ll have watts to spare that you won’t have burned by trying to remedy a stiff back, sore shoulders and a red ass :wink:

Good luck!

PS - If you haven’t checked out the Thomson carbon bars, I can’t recommend them highly enough. Featherweight and ergonomic. I ditched a really expensive set of Enve aero road bars for them, and haven’t looked back. Legitimately sublime. I’m going to ride my bike now…all this talk has made me miss the road :metal:

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35cm (hoods) ENVE SES handlebars. I am 182cm and 86kg. I have now finally removed the C7-T1 vertebrae muscle pain I would get on long rides. I wish I went narrower earlier. I have since read narrower bars can help remove pain around that area of the upper back. I wish I had read that years ago.

I have previously ridden 44cm, 42cm and 38cm. 35cm is just so good for me, I feel I can rest on my skeleton, remove all tension through my upper body. Almost as comfortable as aerobars.

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I used 44cm bars from 81-2012 because that’s what the old “width of your acromion bones” fit rule said I should (Cinelli 66, then ITM Pro 260, then Deda 215 Belgian drops, then TTT Rotundos).

I went to 40cm seven years ago. I have not noticed any difference in comfort. They are definitely a little more aero, especially when I’m tucked on the hoods.

I have a whole selection of handlebars and stems (lots of money spent), I like empirical approach rather than calculations. I don’t think the formula shoulder width = handlebar width is the holy grail, same as with MHR calculation, it doesn’t suit everyone. Anyway, all my bikes came with 44 bars, I’ve been trying different configs stem lengths from 70 to 140, bar widths 36 to 44, that was in the span of over 2 years.

Over that time I understood couple of things…
It all depends on your goals. My goals were to get more solo speed without sacrificing too much climbing ability in races at some expense of comfort. Changing a single thing will impact numerous other things, like saddle tilt, bar height, weight distribution, etc, and while some changes are a clear yay or nay right away, other require to ride for a good while and test in action the setup to understand the real impact of the change. Few things for sure, do not: change many things at once; change things before the event; shorten cables right away; cut the steerer :slight_smile:

But in summary, observations on bar width. Narrow bar is sure more aero, but bike control degrades, especially out of saddle and sprinting efforts will feel lacking control resulting in less power produced. Narrow bars also feel stiffer and more secure when shoulder to shoulder contact is likely to happen - not the bars. Easier to squeeze into tight gaps. Going wider is opposite, so there is a balance there somewhere.

Major changes to bar width and design may require stem change. That may require adjustments to the bar height. Longer gives more stability in straights, but it may upset weight balance and bike may feel twitchy and even cause a so called death wobble, especially when there is too much weight on the front wheel and bar offset approaches or exceeds the trail of the fork. There is also a lot more weight to bear on hands that cause shoulder/neck and hands fatigue. Stem too short will result in more upright and comfortable position. My goal here was to be able to get as aero as possible, but also have straighter back and forearms, good clearance of elbows and knees.

After going to extremities, being 6’2 and wide shoulders I ride 40 bars and 110 stem, giving me a good overall balance on a Large 58 frame.

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I have to say I have beaten my solo time by a margin on the local century course here using the 140mm stem, but boy my back and arms were shot. And descending was scary and harsh due to all the weight in front. I suppose the sacrifice is justified if it results in faster time…

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I found the opposite. Narrow handelbars have seen me produce more power in sprints. Subjectively I agree, it feels like I can rip the bike side to side easier too.

Nate and Pete mentioned some time ago on the podcast what size bars they run. Does anyone remember what size they were? Pete has a similar build to me.

I have 42cm bars now and they seem the perfect width. Would like to try 40cm but i’ve been eyeing the Enve aero bars and they are either 39cm at the hoods or 41cm(their biggest size).

39cm seems like a big change and really small and it seems weird though to buy their biggest size to go for the 41cm.

Or i could go for their road bar at 40cm. But i would like the aero benefits since i race crits and the avg. speed stays high.

Went from 42s that came standard to 38 (actually a cm or two narrower at the hood c-c). Much more comfortable as I’m narrow shouldered, and generally feels right. Except when I jump out the saddle, either going uphill or for a sprint. Definitely more skittish throwing the bike side to side, which I’ve gotten used to on the climbs, but I’ve lost about 100w on my sprint from the lack of leverage. Thinking about flared bars for best of both worlds now.

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I’ve got the ENVE aero bars that are like 37.x on top and 40 in the drops. It’s perfect.

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40, aero!

35 on the track, 38 on the road, 40 for cx. Every time I hop on the 40’s at the start of cross season I feel like my arms are just completely open wide and totally un-aero, but I like the low-speed control they give me.

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Where is the standard for measuring handlebar width? Is it center to center from the top of the bars, center to center at the hoods or center to center at the ends of the bars at the drops?
I am looking at the FSA energy compact alloy bars and it lists the width at “center/center from the handlebar tails” which I take as meaning at the ends of the bars in the drops?
My shoulder width measures 41 cm across the top/front of my chest to the boney processes at the shoulder.
I believe my bars are too narrow and am curious on what size of bars to try.
I did a bike fit and the fitter is suggesting 44’s.
However, I am second guessing this as I think it may be too big of a change from my current (and I also find it hard to believe I would need the widest width available as I there are a lot of people with wider shoulders than me).
As a starting point should I try bar width that matches my shoulder width but at what point, tops, hoods or drops?
Thank you for any feedback.

Correct.

I don’t believe bar width is as much a fit issue as it is a control issue. Some people can transition and adapt between different bar widths just fine. For others it can sketch them out.

Narrow widths tend to be more aero as it makes your torso less of a parachute. Some folks believe this can restrict breathing. It may or may not. We’re not talking about a TT position here, so IMO it shouldn’t, but YMMV.

Some bars like the Enve Aero Road bar have a slight flare, like a gravel bar but less pronounced. The 42cm version measures 42cm center-to-center at the bar ends (tail of the drops), but narrows to 38mm at the hoods. The idea is to give you the aero benefit on the hoods but the better control in the drops. This is my preference. Others might not like it that way.

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Was bar width the only thing he changed?

My road bike setup is “44 cm” as recommended as a result of a Guru bike fit, but my Cross bike is a 42 which seems okay. I think I could get away with converting my road bike handlebars to a 42 without compromising leverage, power, or cornering confidence. However, I could see that the 44 may make a positive difference during long days in the saddle. That is rare for me, so I’m likely to go down to a 42 on the road bike!

The reason that I ask is that, if multiple things were changed, it’s not so easy to say that the change in bar width is what gave you the benefits you describe.

Yes.

Seriously though…it depends on the supplier. All 3 measurements are used by different brands (although maybe not at the top of the bars…usually at the hoods or at the end of the drops)

I run the 40cm ergonova, ~39cm at the hoods, works for me. I have also tried angling the hoods in on the most recent build. Has taken a good 3-4 months to get used to it, but now the other bike feels wrong

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