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31.8mm vs 35mm bar clamp - tangible difference

12740 Views 23 Replies 16 Participants Last post by BigHerm, Nov 15, 2021

BadgerOne

Discussion Starter · Nov 11, 2021

Apologies if this has been discussed before. The rumor is that all else being equal (and it never is), 35mm is stiffer and tends to transmit more vibration but can also lend a more controlled steering feel. And of course that 31.8mm tends to be more forgiving and damped but can create the feeling of less steering positivity.

Asking because I'm picking up bits for a build and don't know if I should bother seeking out one over the other. If it matters, I'm not interested in carbon bars, alloy only. Currently my bars of choice are Spank Oozy Vibrocore.

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Impetus

· #2 · Nov 11, 2021

IMO, it's all over exaggerated. Sure there's differences in feel, but none were a game changer.
I've ridden a giant pile of 31.8 bars over the years- both alloy and carbon, I've ridden 35mm alloy RaceFace bars,
I currently have 31.8 alloy Diety BlackBox bars on my SS, previously had Spank VibroCore. An accident forced me to cut them down to 745mm, which was too narrow for my tastes- they had to go.
My FS came with the above mentioned Diety bars, I swapped to 35mm OneUp Carbon bars.
All my bars are run at 780mm.

I personally could probably tell the differences in a "blind" ride between the alloy and carbon, I maybe could tell 31.8 from 35 on my bikes. Alloy feels to me like I have a couple PSI too much in the front tire. (?)

There is (IMO) absolutely zero difference in handling precision.

For clarity:

FS is a 160/150 alloy 'enduro bike' with I9 alloy wheels and 29x2.6 Assegai tire
SS is a titanium singlespeed with a 140 Fox 36, Spank/Hope wheels with Vittoria Martello 29x2.6 front tire.

I feel like literally every other choice of bike setup is equally or more important than bar diameter: tire choice, (model and construction), tire inserts, PSI, suspension brand, model and settings.....

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dysfunction

· #3 · Nov 11, 2021

I can feel the difference, in terms of 'buzz' and my hands etc appreciate the more compliant bars.. but I can't tell a difference in steering.

There's a very noticeable difference between say a RaceFace Next R carbon bar and the OneUp.

OneSpeed

· #4 · Nov 11, 2021

www.mtbr.com

31.8 vs 35 bars?

I'm getting ready to do a complete front end upgrade. As far as bars go, I've read tons of info on 31.8mm vs 35mm, but what are your opinions on each, good and bad, in the real world.

www.mtbr.com

www.mtbr.com

31.8mm vs 35mm bar clamp - tangible difference

Apologies if this has been discussed before. The rumor is that all else being equal (and it never is), 35mm is stiffer and tends to transmit more vibration but can also lend a more controlled steering feel. And of course that 31.8mm tends to be more forgiving and damped but can create the...

www.mtbr.com

Reactions: 1

Impetus

· #5 · Nov 11, 2021

*OneSpeed* said:
31.8 vs 35 bars?

I'm getting ready to do a complete front end upgrade. As far as bars go, I've read tons of info on 31.8mm vs 35mm, but what are your opinions on each, good and bad, in the real world.

www.mtbr.com

31.8mm vs 35mm bar clamp - tangible difference

Apologies if this has been discussed before. The rumor is that all else being equal (and it never is), 35mm is stiffer and tends to transmit more vibration but can also lend a more controlled steering feel. And of course that 31.8mm tends to be more forgiving and damped but can create the...

www.mtbr.com

Lmao. that 2nd linked thread is literally THIS thread.

Reactions: 5

slimat99

· #6 · Nov 11, 2021

The difference was rigidity at first but they've been dialing in flex for years now so 35 feels like 31.8.

Reactions: 1

BadgerOne

Discussion Starter · #7 · Nov 11, 2021

slimat99 said:
The difference was rigidity at first but they've been dialing in flex for years now so 35 feels like 31.8.

In one sentence this explains why 35mm is a solution looking for a problem that doesn't exist. At times I really, really dislike the bike industry for reasons like this.

Reactions: 4

dysfunction

· #8 · Nov 11, 2021

BadgerOne said:
In one sentence this explains why 35mm is a solution looking for a problem that doesn't exist. At times I really, really dislike the bike industry for reasons like this.

It looks cooler though.

Reactions: 1

OneSpeed

· #9 · Nov 11, 2021

Impetus said:
Lmao. that 2nd linked thread is literally THIS thread.

Bad copy and paste job.

www.mtbr.com

35mm vs 31.8 bars

I was looking at getting time new riser bars. I am going from 15mm of rise to 35mm of rise. I was looking into a race face set of bars and noticed the bar was also 35mm in tube size as compared to the widely used 31.8. This would mean I would have to get a new stem as well to match the bar...

www.mtbr.com

The point is please do a search before asking the same thing that's already been discussed to death.

Suns_PSD

· #10 · Nov 11, 2021

My opinion is if you are lightweight, a female, or it's a XC build, buy 31.8mm bars.

If you are larger and it's an aggressive trail/ Enduro/ DH bike, buy the OneUp cf bars as they offer the best of both world's. precise when steering, compliant up/ down.

GL.

dysfunction

· #11 · Nov 11, 2021

Suns_PSD said:
My opinion is if you are lightweight, a female, or it's a XC build, buy 31.8mm bars.

If you are larger and it's an aggressive trail/ Enduro/ DH bike, buy the OneUp cf bars as they offer the best of both world's. precise when steering, compliant up/ down.

GL.

I guess I'm a lightweight XC riding female, with a long travel 29er.

(end sarcasm)

Actually, I like the OneUp bars, but prefer more backsweep.. which means SQLab bars, and they're only 31.8. To be honest, it's not like there's a huge difference in control anyway.

Reactions: 1

Impetus

· #12 · Nov 11, 2021

BadgerOne said:
In one sentence this explains why 35mm is a solution looking for a problem that doesn't exist. At times I really, really dislike the bike industry for reasons like this.

I get the sentiment- I'm not a fan of the ever evolving standards, but just because I can't tell the difference doesn't mean they don't exist.

35mm bars are lighter, and quite honestly, rigidity and 'comfort' aren't interchangeable terms. flexing may or not be good, vibration is usually not a good thing.

dompedro3

· #13 · Nov 11, 2021

I have both, I cannot tell the difference. Honestly 35mm was/is never a good idea, just a way to get riders to get new stems/bars.

Reactions: 2

jeffrjohns

· #14 · Nov 11, 2021

dysfunction said:
It looks cooler though.

I swopped from 31.8 to 35mm about 2 years ago. I honesty could not tell the difference in feel, but dysfunction is 100% correct, it looks soo much cooler. I only problem I had was getting my garmin bar mount and light mount to fit the 35mm bar.

ShortTravelMag

· #15 · Nov 11, 2021

Can tell zero difference between bars. RaceFace Next, Enve, cheapo raceface Ride, no way I could tell the difference. Clamp size matters not at all to me. I stick with 31.8 because that's what I have in stems and bars. Weight and shape/rise of bar is all that matters to me.

Bassmantweed

· #16 · Nov 12, 2021

Most bike upgrades have a huge placebo effect.
People believe what they want to believe.
if you didn’t know, you’d never know.

Jayem

· #17 · Nov 12, 2021

slimat99 said:
The difference was rigidity at first but they've been dialing in flex for years now so 35 feels like 31.8.

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Steel-Onions

· #18 · Nov 12, 2021 (Edited)

Hi guys, im a pretty big chap/rider and found i could flex my Nukeproof carbon 31.8 bars (apparently a stiff bar already) by pushing down on one grip and pulling up on the other quite easily like i was twisting the stem, this also gave me a washy/weavy feeling stood up/cranking and at speed, i swapped these out for the 35mm version of the same bar and stem and found it more rigid and half the 'flex', the thinner bar made it feel like my stem was cheap and weak, but felt more stiff/solid when i sized up, like the guy above said, i think heavier/larger riders will notice it, and ofc it looks better especially for the higher rise bars, just my tuppence worth anyway, have a great day

915654

· #19 · Nov 13, 2021

Had 31.8 bars. Decided to upgrade to 35 handlebars. Started having pain in hands, and neck. Had to update to carbon fiber handlebars to eliminate the pain.

ocnLogan

· #20 · Nov 13, 2021

Steel-Onions said:
Hi guys, im a pretty big chap/rider and found i could flex my Nukeproof carbon 31.8 bars (apparently a stiff bar already) by pushing down on one grip and pulling up on the other quite easily like i was twisting the stem, this also gave me a washy/weavy feeling stood up/cranking and at speed, i swapped these out for the 35mm version of the same bar and stem and found it more rigid and half the 'flex', the thinner bar made it feel like my stem was cheap and weak, but felt more stiff/solid when i sized up, like the guy above said, i think heavier/larger riders will notice it, and ofc it looks better especially for the higher rise bars, just my tuppence worth anyway, have a great day

Out of curiosity, how "big of a chap" are you?

I'm ~185-190lbs without gear, which is usually kind of in between "truly" big guys, and your more stereotypical cyclist builds. But I've only ever ridden 35mm bars (what my bike came with), so I don't really have anything to compare to.

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