# I lopped two inches off my handlebars and it was life-changing



## ryetoast (Jan 24, 2016)

My dad, bless him, just got back into MTB after a 20 year hiatus, and in the course of setting up his new bike, he sent me this link:

https://www.pinkbike.com/news/finding-your-sweet-spot-handlebar-width.html

...Which told me to cut my bars to 680mm. That, I thought, was the stupidest thing I have EVER heard. I have run 680 bars and they were twitchy and uncomfortable. I rode with my pinkies dangling off the ends.

HOWEVER. Look at this video:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/o7YB3d4Hpxg3xGzD6

This is me, 5'3", with 770-ish bars. I look like I'm riding my dad's bike. Beginning to doubt myself, I moved my controls an inch inboard as a test and immediately got a bunch of downhill Strava PRs. With 720mm bars, the bike finally feels like it is the right size for me. I have a MUCH easier time moving around over it--pumping through rollers, getting my weight back for drops, preloading the suspension--and it feels more nimble in the corners, more comfortable on the climbs, and just as stable on the downhills. It was completely staggering: like, this must be how dudes feel when they ride bikes--the bike just FITS and I can throw it around however I want!

I mention this because everyone I ride with is a man running 800mm bars and I just thought that was how wide bars were supposed to be. In case anyone else is in the same boat... Move your controls in and see what happens! It's free!


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## walkerwalker (Jul 17, 2020)

If the online bike fit calculators are to be believed, handlebar width is more related to your shoulder width than what some online magazine thinks looks cool. I'm not sure what the formula is yet tho. Of course, as width everything else bike related, do what feels right to you.


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## ryetoast (Jan 24, 2016)

walkerwalker said:


> If the online bike fit calculators are to be believed, handlebar width is more related to your shoulder width than what some online magazine thinks looks cool. I'm not sure what the formula is yet tho. Of course, as width everything else bike related, do what feels right to you.


Yeah, 680mm, what the calculator told me to run, is push-up width for me. I thought it felt terrible the last time I ran 680 bars, but to be fair, that was on a terrible bike when I was a terrible rider.  It's probably worth trying again as it seems to make a big difference.


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## RS VR6 (Mar 29, 2007)

Riding a narrower bar will also have you riding a bit more upright. Your arms will be less spread out giving you a better range of motion.


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## stripes (Sep 6, 2016)

ryetoast said:


> Yeah, 680mm, what the calculator told me to run, is push-up width for me. I thought it felt terrible the last time I ran 680 bars, but to be fair, that was on a terrible bike when I was a terrible rider.  It's probably worth trying again as it seems to make a big difference.


Some thoughts about this: Be aware that shorter handlebars will affect the handling of the bike. People think that changing one thing doesn't affect everything else, and it usually does affect other things.

You may need to get a different stem size to compensate. I found that the bar width and stem length are inversely related to each other.

For example, I don't like narrow bars (to me). The push-up method doesn't work for me, and I have pretty broad shoulders and a previously broken wrist that only likes specific positions. I'm also not petite and prefer to muscle a bike around and the wider bars let me do that. Because of this, I like bikes with shorter stems. This lets me ride a size up (at 5'5", I'm usually between a small and medium), and ride the way I'm comfortable.

There are two schools of thought: Lee's tends to be more fitting a mountain bike similar to a dirt jumper, where other fitters go more towards the modern low/longer/slacker geometry. Pick your poison: not my call to judge.

I like Lee McCormack as a coach, and I know him personally. I think he's great for coaching people in a safe manner. But he and I agree to disagree about fit. I don't fit into his formulas (handlebar width, bike sizing, etc), and I ended up buying a bunch of different handlebars because of it. I prefer work with local fitters who can take your time to account for everything about your measurements and any physical limitations or mobility or strength issues you have and can adjust accordingly.

Some articles/video on online bike fitting (YMMV):
https://www.outsideonline.com/2273651/do-online-bike-fitters-really-work


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Thanks for sharing Ryetoast!


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## Suns_PSD (Dec 13, 2013)

The majority of Pro men run bars considerably more narrow than what is fashionable. 
My opinion is that overly wide bars became fashionable to compensate for way to short of bike (front to rear) and spreading your arms way out makes a bike feel longer.


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## targnik (Jan 11, 2014)

Ride what works for you.

If you're really tall you'll want wider bars.

If you're really short, you'll probably like narrower bars.

My first real mtb came with 760mm wide bars & without knowing anything, I knew they were too narrow.

I'm 6'0" w/ a 6'5" wingspan... so, wider bars work for me.

780-800 and I'm happy.

Sent from my HD1900 using Tapatalk


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## petey15 (Sep 1, 2006)

ryetoast said:


> My dad, bless him, just got back into MTB after a 20 year hiatus, and in the course of setting up his new bike, he sent me this link:
> 
> https://www.pinkbike.com/news/finding-your-sweet-spot-handlebar-width.html
> 
> ...


I'm in a similar situation. After not riding much last year, I hopped on my Chromag Stylus I built up later in the fall just before the pandemic. I went with a 40mm stem and 785mm bars with a 30mm rise. I didn't think anything of it. I'm 5'4" and ride a size small.

I took the bike out a few times this year and I just couldn't seem to get comfortable. I know my fitness isn't awesome after the hiatus, but aside from that, I felt like I had a lot of weight on my hands. My fingers were going numb and I was constantly feeling like I wanted to sit up taller and take some pressure off. My shoulders also started to hurt and feel tight.

I tried throwing on some 60mm rise bars and figured I'd balance it by using a slightly longer stem (50mm) to counteract what I anticipated in more front wheel lift when climbing. It felt somewhat better, but still not right.

I ended up trimming my 785 bars down to 745. That felt better but I thought I lost a little with the handling and still felt a little off.

So next I threw on a 42mm stem, but with a 10 degree rise. I put the 760mm bars back on with the 40mm rise and hopped on for a spin. It's pretty amazing how seemingly small changes can really affect how the bike feels. I'm hoping this is my "set it and forget it" configuration because I truly don't enjoy the whole process. When I was younger I guess my body was better able to compensate for poor fit (ok, and probably fitness 😏). Now that I'm just about at the mid-century mark, if I want things to continue to work well and enjoy my ride, I need to listen to it much more closely. I'm not going to enjoy something if I'm uncomfortable.

Great observations, ryetoast! Thanks for sharing your experience with us 😁


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## stripes (Sep 6, 2016)

targnik said:


> Ride what works for you.
> 
> If you're really tall you'll want wider bars.
> 
> ...


Yep. I think it's also a matter of how broad you vs how slender too. I am not slender (especially in the shoulders), so I like the wider bars. I also don't do a lot of between the trees riding, and I like extra width for balance.

I've run everything from 740-800mm, and 800mm feels like the sweet spot for me, no matter how odd it might look to some.


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## EpicTC (Jun 28, 2009)

I'm glad I ran into this post. 
I toyed with the idea of cutting my bars down but pushed it to the back of my mind, until I saw some pictures of me on my bike and realized that I was sprawled out like a freaked out cat. 
Cut my bars down and feel so much more nimble on the trails, my only regret is that I didn't do it sooner.


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## targnik (Jan 11, 2014)

Popped 760's on my HT whilst eldest son was riding it...

Tried a spin on this setup and hated it!!

I've got gorilla arms and wide shoulders.

800-785 is what I prefer.

PS - re, above post... Is running one side sightly longer than the other a new trend I should be looking into?? 

Sent from my Asus Rog 3


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## Crayefish (Apr 4, 2021)

I'm 6'4" (with broad shoulders) and ride the 720mm bars on my bike, though it is an XC bike. I have no trouble with the width. Will actually be going to 740mm just because that's the only width the carbon bar i bought had in stock (yet to be fitted), but I may cut down back to 720mm.

However, quite a few narrow tree gaps on my local techy tracks, so anything much wider would have me catching the bars a lot.


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## DeoreDX (Jul 28, 2007)

I'm 5'8". I've experimented with wide bars, as wide as 800mm. Felt like the negatives outweighed the positives for me. Tradeoff of trail clearance and restricting the cockpit for a slight increase in leverage and cool looks. I'm back down to a 720mm bar. Maybe if I had a super slacked out bike instead of a 66 degree HTA bike I would want more leverage to control a floppy front end.


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## OldSchoolMBer (May 25, 2013)

I'm 5'10", average proportions, and find 760mm is about perfect for trail riding. 5'3" @ 720mm sounds like it would be a good fit


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## EpicTC (Jun 28, 2009)

targnik said:


> Popped 760's on my HT whilst eldest son was riding it...
> 
> Tried a spin on this setup and hated it!!
> 
> ...


I cut the same off each end. My husband was being cute so he polished one of the ends up a bit to make me a ring so it looks a little shorter.


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## Suns_PSD (Dec 13, 2013)

I noticed my wife's hands were quite narrow insert on her 740 bars (hand me downs from me) so I took the opportunity to move her off 35mm diameter bars as they can be overly stiff for lighter people, went 5mm shorter on the new stem length, and went down to 720s which was about where her hands were settling before. 
She looks more comfortable for certain. 

Sent from my SM-G715A using Tapatalk


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