# New Handlebars - To Cut, or Not To Cut, That Is My Question



## Raybum (Apr 16, 2009)

Don't cut...ride first...wide bars have many advantages...love 'em for my SS....like rowing a boat.


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## marpilli (Feb 8, 2011)

My existing handlebars are 26 3/4" wide (by my measurement). The new handlebars are 28" wide (online specs said 27", suprised it was that far off).

I only ride XC and some of it is fairly tight. At times, I wish my existing handlebars were shorter. And, under normal circumstances I would have no issues with cutting the new ones down. But... I'm changing to a much shorter stem.

Old stem was 85mm and new one is 30mm. Can't run the old handlebars on the new stem due to diameter differences. 

I have a rough idea of how longer handlebars can compensate for a shorter stem. Just looking for opinions on how the bike might handle (good? bad? why?) while I sleep on the decision.

I bought a new pair of Titec Pork Rinds to put on. So, once they're on, they're on. I doubt I'll be able to pull them back off to trim the bars later.

But, I do have a scrap pair of Oury's. Maybe I'll put them on with the bar as-is and see if I get knocked around in the woods. Lookey there, I'm answering my own post. This place is great. :crazy:


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## L84AD8 (Jul 23, 2010)

marpilli said:


> But, I do have a scrap pair of Oury's. Maybe I'll put them on with the bar as-is and see if I get knocked around in the woods. Lookey there, I'm answering my own post. This place is great. :crazy:


This..
Enjoy the ride, and please report back your findings..
oh! and nice GT!


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## marpilli (Feb 8, 2011)

L84AD8, thank you for the compliment. This bike has turned out to be more fun than I had hoped. 

Rayburn, like rowing a boat? You mean when you're standing and pumping the bike?

When I hold the bars next to each other, the new bars look like they're two inches longer (one inch on each side). The tape measure says overall 1 1/4" increase. They feel w-i-d-e. I'll get the Oury's on there and try it out for a week. Thank you for the responses.


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## CharacterZero (May 19, 2004)

Keep them wide...give it a couple of weeks! A 50mm change in stem length is quite dramatic, but short stem/wide bars is a good combination.

Honestly, if anything feels wonky in a week, get a 50mm stem and try again - don't cut the bars though.

Also, watch this vid for a full understanding of what is at work:
http://www.pinkbike.com/news/Tech-Tuesday-Handlebars-How-Wide-Affects-Your-Ride-2011.html


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## Finch Platte (Nov 14, 2003)

CharacterZero said:


> Keep them wide...give it a couple of weeks! A 50mm change in stem length is quite dramatic, but short stem/wide bars is a good combination.
> 
> Honestly, if anything feels wonky in a week, get a 50mm stem and try again - don't cut the bars though.
> 
> ...


This.


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## marpilli (Feb 8, 2011)

CharacterZero, thank you but I couldn't view the video. Kept telling me to update my flash player (i did). FireFox, IE, and Chrome a no-go. Sent the link to my home email and will try after work.

The 30mm stem is because I have a short-steerer fork I'm putting on my frame. I don't have much leeway with stack height and am kinda stuck with what I have. 

I did some searching around here and found a really good (older) thread in the all mountain section.
Wide vs Narrow bars


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## Lets_Ride (Nov 23, 2009)

Try moving your grips in or out until you find the sweet spot. Once you have tried all the different positions mark the most comfortable and only then cut.


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## marpilli (Feb 8, 2011)

I played around on it a bit today (on pavement) with the handlebars as-is. I will definately mount the old oury grips and ride it for a few weeks. If I'm not bouncing off of trees on my normal trails, I'll leave it alone.


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## disfocus (Aug 26, 2009)

Lets_Ride said:


> Try moving your grips in or out until you find the sweet spot. Once you have tried all the different positions mark the most comfortable and only then cut.


This. 
Use lock-on grips so it's easy to move things in and out along the bars. Don't cut the bars until you've been for a good few rides with what you reckon will be your final positioning. When I swapped out from my old-style narrow xc bars to something wider, it felt pretty weird initially, but now I would never go back; in fact they're starting to feel a bit narrow


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## Pollution Warrior (Apr 3, 2010)

I'd say play around with it a lot and just see what happens. Go on some long rides before you cut the bars. you can always cut them, but can't makes them any longer once you do. I have really wide bars (about 28"), but I'm also 6'2 and pretty broad in the shoulders. I have a loaner bike with wide bars and short folks hate it. Do what feels good to your body and what will keep you from smacking trees.

Avoiding smacking trees may be a mental thing too. I used to drive a conventional style (with a hood) 18 wheeler where your butt sits close to the center. Then I bought a cabover where my butt sat right over the steer tire. It was really weird trying to keep it on the road for a few days till I got used to it. Having really wide bars may be a little similar. Give it a little time for your brain to learn how to avoid stuff with the new bars before you cut them.


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## Crankout (Jun 16, 2010)

marpilli said:


> I played around on it a bit today (on pavement) with the handlebars as-is. I will definately mount the old oury grips and ride it for a few weeks. If I'm not bouncing off of trees on my normal trails, I'll leave it alone.


Yup, give it some time before you get out the loppers. Typically, hands on bars should be shoulder width apart but to each his own.

I had a very wide, standard Spec bar on my new Epic 29er and lopped off just under an inch on both ends. Much better now, for me at least. More confidence in tight, techy stuff.


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## marpilli (Feb 8, 2011)

I decided not to cut the bars. When I put the Oury's on, I left about a 1/2" overhang on each side. I have only have clipped trees a couple of times. But, I think that was due to me being too tired and going too fast for my skill level. When I would repeat the same run at a later date I didn't clip anything.

The replacement foam grips (Titec Pork Rinds) will fit flush with the handlebar ends. That alone will shorten up the overall length by 1" when replaced.

Thank you all for the advice.


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## ordenseatrosy (Jul 8, 2011)

*Продам телефо*

Там можно sellyourmobile ru]куда можно продать телефон а так же много всего интересного


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## Bike Doc (Oct 2, 2007)

*No matter how many times I cut them...*

No matter how many times I cut them...they're still too narrow!


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## pfox90 (Aug 8, 2010)

Why would you put a 30mm stem on a XC bike and get wide handlebars? Someone has been drinking the "All Mountain" koolaid. But you def want to keep em now that you have that short of a stem just to balance it all out. Maybe you'll like them, they just weren't for me. The stuff I ride is way too tight singletrack and is just not realistic to get off the bike and walk.


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## marpilli (Feb 8, 2011)

pfox90 said:


> Why would you put a 30mm stem on a XC bike and get wide handlebars? Someone has been drinking the "All Mountain" koolaid. But you def want to keep em now that you have that short of a stem just to balance it all out. Maybe you'll like them, they just weren't for me. The stuff I ride is way too tight singletrack and is just not realistic to get off the bike and walk.


I have a fork with a steerer that was too short for my frame using my existing stem. I had to get a shorter stack-height stem and the only one that would fit was the Spike Spank. New stem with a larger handlebar diameter clamp meant new handlebars. It was a slippery slope. But, I'm actually much happer with how the bike handles now.

No "All Mountain" koolaid here. Just trying to fit a better fork onto my bike.


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## robncircus (Jan 13, 2011)

Just curious is there an online calculator for stem length/bar width changes? I went from a 650mm bar and a 110 stem to a 710 bar and 85 stem. 85 feels too short. GOign to try a 90 i just picked up. The logic makes sense to me, but what are the recommended calculations?


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