[singlespeed1]

I have 24" wide monkey like 3/4 rise and was curious if you all run wider bars on your singlespeed.

 

[FoShizzle]

27" on 2 of em.....28" on the other.

took the kids out on my geared bike which has 26" bars and could not believe how narrow they felt after riding the other bikes so much

 

[Nater]

26" on all my MTB's

geared or SS.

 

[Greenfix]

Center of grip.

I ride the Mary bar which is about 25.5" wide, but has a center of grip width of 22.5". The grip width is the same as a wider bar with less sweep.

 

[BrianU]

Same here.

geared or SS.

26 inches on all MTBs, anything less feels strange.

Brian

 

[smw]

27" on 2 of em.....28" on the other.

took the kids out on my geared bike which has 26" bars and could not believe how narrow they felt after riding the other bikes so much

28in on the SS, 27in on the FS

 

[SoloRider]

I just recently went up from a 25.5" up to 28". It's much better now, of course there are no trees to wind through here so I'm not concerned about getting hung up.

 

[Tracerboy]

Dumb Question

Sorry fellas but I have to ask. What is so great about wider bars and also what is so great about risers. I have been running my short flat bar pretty much since I started riding and I guess I have never had the experience of wide and rised so could you guys possiblt elaborate. Maybe I'll become a convert.

 

[smw]

Sorry fellas but I have to ask. What is so great about wider bars and also what is so great about risers. I have been running my short flat bar pretty much since I started riding and I guess I have never had the experience of wide and rised so could you guys possiblt elaborate. Maybe I'll become a convert.

Leverage and control

 

[desurfer]

22.5"...I need new handlebars! I'm just so used to it and I'm worried I'll start clipping trees with wider bars.

 

[Blowout]

Usually pretty wide

I have the 28" azonics on my Vulture right now and 26" wide 18" rise bars on my singlespeed chopper. I do hit my bars on trees every once in a while, but that just means I am getting too tired to lean the bike.

 

[brado1]

Mine (See Below)

 

[Just J]

Just cut my SIC bars down on my Dekerf to about 26.5-27".

My Race Race carbon jobbies are 26.5" on my Tracer.

Will probably go a bit wider again on my next fully...

I like to run pretty wide bars, but anything over 27" makes it difficult to ride certain tight trails and bridge I ride near me...

 

[TwistedCrank]

Dudes and dudettes: It ain't the meat it's the motion. Get over you numbers and get on your bikes.

 

[Rainman]

Jones H-Bars...perfect...



R.

 

[Sparticus]

I have 24" wide monkey like 3/4 rise and was curious if you all run wider bars on your singlespeed.

I recently cut my bars down from 32" to 30".

I agree, narrower is better.

--Sparty

 

[Joe Sausagehead]

Whatever the width of the On-One Mary bar is, it's perfect for me.

 

[shinewheel]

Explanation please

I've been reading on these boards for a few years now how longer bars provide more leverage to pedaling, a greater mechanical advantage. As the pedals are pivoting linkage points the only additional power to be added to the pedals is going to be tangential to the pedal's path at any given moment. Any advantage gotten by longer handlebars would add to side loading of the cranks; that's not an advantage.
I can see that having the extra room afforded by longer bars can give more space to get your body, especially when standing, how that can allow you to match your arm and leg lengths to the task and how that can feel like having more leverage. But if that's the case raise your handle bars some, keep the force vector more in line with the cranks and make it more efficient.
Granted, I am happy to be wrong about this, I am just looking to better understand. Any thoughts?

 

[BrianU]

Umm...that might be true if.....

I've been reading on these boards for a few years now how longer bars provide more leverage to pedaling, a greater mechanical advantage. As the pedals are pivoting linkage points the only additional power to be added to the pedals is going to be tangential to the pedal's path at any given moment. Any advantage gotten by longer handlebars would add to side loading of the cranks; that's not an advantage.
I can see that having the extra room afforded by longer bars can give more space to get your body, especially when standing, how that can allow you to match your arm and leg lengths to the task and how that can feel like having more leverage. But if that's the case raise your handle bars some, keep the force vector more in line with the cranks and make it more efficient.
Granted, I am happy to be wrong about this, I am just looking to better understand. Any thoughts?

You did not use your handlebars for leverage when mashing on the pedals, which is an undeniable part of riding a singlespeed. While there is no doubt some side loading on the pedals, it is still going to direct the majority of the increased leverage from the longer bars to the rotation of the crank. However you want to think about it, it is a tangable difference that is easily noticed when throwing everything you have into the pedals to clear a climb.
Looking back to the days when I ran narrow bars, I personally think that narrow bars were the result of most things people used in the late 80s, early 90s. How light was it and what did the pros use, comfort and practicality were the last things anyone considered when buying a bike or parts. And of course the industry mostly catered to that mind set. Narrow bars are right there with 1.8" tires and 2" travel forks.

Brian

 

[serious]

I run the original 24" straight bar on my Trek Fuel 98. I find this bar on the wide side compared to my old Norco hardtail where the bar was 22.5". I have a SS with a 25.5" Mary bar. I acquired the SS in January and have not riden it yet, so I cannot tell how I will react to the bar. It sure feels wide ...