# why the hatred for huge bars in bmx



## Formerbmx37 (Apr 7, 2007)

i was just wondering because i know a few of you in here have bmx bikes and seem to be alot nicer than most in bmx deticated forums why is there so much hatred for biggere bars.
i recently rode my friends bike with 8in rise 28in wide bars and liked it alot and when i saw the solid bars with 9in rise and 32in wide i thought they would be pretty cool for somebody my size( im 6'2" 210) but most everything i hear about them is that theyre crap but why?


----------



## sittingduck (Apr 26, 2005)

It's just stupid, ignorant kids arguing over nothing because their lives suck.
If you want big bars, GET SOME, and rock that sh*t.


----------



## sealclubber (Apr 10, 2007)

god 9 rise and 32 wide sounds insane. id take the 9 rise but dont know if i could do over 29 wide


----------



## aeffertz91 (Aug 20, 2007)

I've seen a few bikes with huge bars, and I asked myself "Why?"

What's the point of it?


----------



## sittingduck (Apr 26, 2005)

Wide bars give you more leverage, and can make the bike feel more stable.


----------



## aggiebiker (Apr 18, 2006)

Wide bars make your dingy bigger. Thats why I have them on my bike.


----------



## Formerbmx37 (Apr 7, 2007)

is there anybody on here running a bike with anything near that
what do you have aggie


----------



## sittingduck (Apr 26, 2005)

Someone posted a pic a while back with some 30" bars, I think....


----------



## joelalamo45 (Aug 3, 2006)

It's because most bmx forums are full of 13 year old sh!ts that suck at riding so they resort to making fun of other people to make themselves feel better. End of story.


----------



## Bryan67 (Nov 27, 2007)

I`ve been riding BMX for over 30 years. I`ve seen so many trends come and go. Its like fashion or hairstyles. One year its mile high seats and big bars, then its medium seat height and super narrow bars, then its medium width bars, then slammed seats and huge bars. And I won`t even get into what angle to run your bars either. And at the time it always seemed like the right thing. I like medium seat height and tall medium wide bars myself but I`m tall and old. I think its basically just run whatever feels right to you.


----------



## cmc4130 (Jan 30, 2008)

Formerbmx37 said:


> i was just wondering because i know a few of you in here have bmx bikes and seem to be alot nicer than most in bmx deticated forums why is there so much hatred for biggere bars.
> i recently rode my friends bike with 8in rise 28in wide bars and liked it alot and when i saw the solid bars with 9in rise and 32in wide i thought they would be pretty cool for somebody my size( im 6'2" 210) but most everything i hear about them is that theyre crap but why?


big bars prevents low back strain for tall dudes and it also simply makes the bike fit you. the idea that bmx bikes are one size fits all is complete bullsh*t. every other kind of cycling believes in sizing to the body. there is no reason why you should have to ride the same setup as a dude that is 6 inches shorter than you.

plus now that everyone runs low profile front loader stems and integrated headsets, that drops your bars down by a half inch or an inch. so if you had the original S&M Slams that were 8.25" plus a top loader stem and a regular Aheadset cup, and a spacer or two, you're already at the equivalen of 9" bars with a modern setup.

i think you should give them a shot.

if you don't want to go all the way up to 9", the Terrible One Paul Buchannan bars are 8.25" rise.


----------



## DJskeet (Oct 19, 2007)

I read something on RIDE bmx and goes like this:

Imagine if you are weight lifiting, you put your hands really close together and its hard to lift, kind of sketchy like a razor. Now move your hands really far appart and its easyer to lift.


----------



## derfernerf (Jun 25, 2006)

i rode big bars when i rode twenties because 1) its what came on my bike and 2) they were comfy to me so i didnt change them


----------



## aggiebiker (Apr 18, 2006)

I have Slams, 8 by 28 inches.


----------



## The Agency (Jun 28, 2005)

joelalamo45 said:


> It's because most bmx forums are full of 13 year old sh!ts...


Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!

I rock KHE bars that are 8x28" Here at the shop I don't even sell anything smaller. 9 x 32" is big...I would have to try those. The Aaron Ross bars are 8.25" rise, I really like the feel. I'm also seeing wider and wider bars in the videos.


----------



## dirtjumper202 (May 11, 2007)

I ride 96" bars on my bmx an 18" on my DJ bike, just a personal preference


----------



## ServeEm (Jun 15, 2005)

I had the Soilds and they're great, I had Aaron weld me up some 4bar style Roseannes but I bent those. It was compeletly my fault, I boosted a spine and missed the tranny, landed left bar first and sho nuf bent em up. But when I had em they were great, only reason I'm not rocking em is cuz I had an old pair or reg Solids and just kept my set up that way.


----------



## cmc4130 (Jan 30, 2008)

heh heh. just bought the roseanne bars. gonna put them on my macneil deuce deuce (22"tt). it'll be the biggest 20" bike alive !


----------



## Formerbmx37 (Apr 7, 2007)

if i was going to use it itd be on a dk r/t frame with a 22in tt so it might not be the biggest for long


----------



## Fox787 (Jun 2, 2005)

I dont see a reason to run wider bars the people on dirtbikes do. On my woods dirtbike, my bars are about 29.5 inches and it weighs 200 pounds more then any bike and i dont have any problems with leverage, so i dont see any reason why you would need a 32inch wide bar for a bmx bike


----------



## ServeEm (Jun 15, 2005)

^^^ since you don't have any reason to run em..... don't


----------



## DJskeet (Oct 19, 2007)

Fox787 said:


> I dont see a reason to run wider bars the people on dirtbikes do. On my woods dirtbike, my bars are about 29.5 inches and it weighs 200 pounds more then any bike and i dont have any problems with leverage, so i dont see any reason why you would need a 32inch wide bar for a bmx bike


29 is fairly wide.

Wider bars definatly make your bike feel a lot lighter (due to leverage), I would know, I went from 20" bars to 27"


----------



## xxBulldogxx (Aug 9, 2008)

I have a pair of those Solid "Rosanne Bars" and I love em. I'm old school and had CW bars back in the day so when I bought myself a 20" I wanted some bigger bars. I think I'm gonna cut em down a bit because 32" wide is a bit too much. I say if you want big bars then get em. It's your bike and if it feels right to you then go with it.


----------



## TrikeKid (Sep 1, 2006)

Fox787 said:


> I dont see a reason to run wider bars the people on dirtbikes do. On my woods dirtbike, my bars are about 29.5 inches and it weighs 200 pounds more then any bike and i dont have any problems with leverage, so i dont see any reason why you would need a 32inch wide bar for a bmx bike


Most MX bars start at 32, so they would only be as wide. And my oldschool mountain bike has the bars from a 70's MX bike, that thing doesn't even fit through a standard door but it's SOOO comfortable. 
I rock some 8x28 generic bars I had laying around on my BMX. They're more comfortable, especially when riding longer distances where I'm standing for long periods of time. I'm not especially tall (5'10), but I can see how a tall guy would benefit even more from them than I would. And I'm sure you can narrow those 9x32 bars just fine. The hatred comes from people who are following the trend of trying to be un-trendy. If everyone has big bars, they'll run little bars and say how much big bars suck. If smaller bars (like my last set, 23.5x7.25) were the popular thing, the same kids would be running the biggest bars they could.


----------



## cmc4130 (Jan 30, 2008)

22"tt and 9" bars.

feels awesome.


----------



## sittingduck (Apr 26, 2005)

Looks fun. Did you leave the bars wide, or cut them down a little?
Got bar ends?


----------



## cmc4130 (Jan 30, 2008)

no i didn't cut them down. i think they are 31" wide !! my last bars were 29, and i used to run 26 or 27 for a long time, so yeah they feel super wide. my top gyro cable wasn't long enough to reach the lever ! (it is one of those split dual cable Dragonfly ones).


----------



## azn (Jan 30, 2008)

6ft tall here. and just got a bmx with a pair of six inch rise bars. 
i dunno how the hell he rode it. but just ordered a set of 8x28" bars. that should help....a lot.


----------



## juanbeegas (Oct 1, 2007)

Doesn't shorter bars make it easier to do spins and other similar tricks? I find it a little harder doing X-ups on my bike with 30" bars.


----------



## cmc4130 (Jan 30, 2008)

juanbeegas said:


> Doesn't shorter bars make it easier to do spins and other similar tricks? I find it a little harder doing X-ups on my bike with 30" bars.


i would give up x-ups for flat tables any day any day any day.


----------



## BH1 (Oct 1, 2006)

I ran Slam Bars back in 91, and I have Slams on order for my SBC 125r. 

8" x 28" has always sort of been the standard in my eyes. Although it seems as of recent people are leaving their bars un-cut. I've seen a ton of trends come and go over the years but Slam Bars have always been a respectable choice. 9" rise is getting up there though.


----------



## joelalamo45 (Aug 3, 2006)

I like pie.


----------



## cmc4130 (Jan 30, 2008)

BH1 said:


> I ran Slam Bars back in 91, and I have Slams on order for my SBC 125r.
> 
> 8" x 28" has always sort of been the standard in my eyes. Although it seems as of recent people are leaving their bars un-cut. I've seen a ton of trends come and go over the years but Slam Bars have always been a respectable choice. 9" rise is getting up there though.


that is true....but it's not as different as you might think it is. during the classic early/mid-school trails years everyone was running a 1" headset with cups and the stacking bearings and locknut that goes with that, often with a top loader stem.....plus 8" rise Slams. .... when you compare that with today's integrated headset...short steer-tube fork and low rise front loader stem... your grip height ends up being very close to the same place with 9" bars.....

PRIME EXAMPLE:


----------



## BH1 (Oct 1, 2006)

cmc4130 said:


> that is true....but it's not as different as you might think it is. during the classic early/mid-school trails years everyone was running a 1" headset with cups and the stacking bearings and locknut that goes with that, often with a top loader stem.....plus 8" rise Slams. .... when you compare that with today's integrated headset...short steer-tube fork and low rise front loader stem... your grip height ends up being very close to the same place with 9" bars.....
> 
> PRIME EXAMPLE:


valid point.


----------

