Also, be aware that reducing you handlebar with has the same effect as shortening your stem. I run 38s now and going back to my old 42s feels like I'm driving a bus.
I thought it showed awareness to demonstrate the move within the camera frame. Cav's no fool he knew if he showed the move realistically we wouldn't see it.
I'm 5'5" but with dead on 42cm wide shoulders on the points where you're supposed to measure. I switched from 40cm aluminum to 42cm prime primevera carbon bars and noticed a bit less rolling of my shoulder. You wouldn't think much difference, but it's noticeable. It feels aligned now, and it makes sense. The bike steering feels more stable, and there is less fatigue or stress in my shoulders and neck, I would say. Someone might say I'm a bit less aerodynamic, but comfort is a good thing.
Each rider is so intelligent and thoughtful about their answers, and each rider imbues their personality into the conversation. Some are natural educators, giving great insights into how they approach that topic, and are very giving of their time to ensure giving a complete answer. But no two answers were the same and that was fascinating. Cycling can be impersonal because we watch the peloton from a helicopter or a motorcycle cam, but these interviews show how smart and unique these guys are in addition to being super fit athletes.
Your shoulders won’t change width with your handlebar. No valid reason to use a bar that’s any narrower than the width of your shoulders. 44cm shoulder measurement with 44cm handlebar = same drag and manouverability as 44cm shoulders with 36cm handlebar. Bars should be the same width as your shoulder measurement is c-c. BTW, LeMond rode one size wider on his road bikes. He said it made deep breathing on long climbs easier, and provided better handling while descending and sprinting.
74” wingspan and I went from 44 to 38’s. I feel it puts more effort weight your triceps to and less on your shoulders. Also kept my wrists inline with my arms, instead of having a kink at the wrist. I also opted for a 10mm linger stem to keep my back position the same, as your reach increases by default the closer your arms get to each other.
“Whatever your shoulders are, man. My shoulders are relatively narrow so I use [the widest bar anyone has mentioned so far]” - Kiel Reijnen. Basically, everyone uses whatever they like most, and then has some post-hoc justification for why they like it.
My shoulders are 40, so that’s what I run. My first bike came with a 42 and I swapped it out. 40 ever since. It’s the most comfortable for me to be straight out and down, and I believe it is better for fatigue on long rides because I’m using more bone strength than if it were wider or narrower (would involve more of the muscle). Of course, most of your weight shouldn’t be on you arms and hands. That’s the theory anyway.
Brilliant video. Interesting to hear the pro’s views on this topic. Also very interesting to see the male pro’s make use of the female toilets at the end 😂😂
Crazy that these big brands are putting tens of thousands of dollars into aero testing new bars - but nobody picks up the phone and asks the pros what size they want them in. The guy was saying that the big brands are designing the bars for the general public - but if you're spending >200 quid on a bar and stem you probably want it to be able to put you in a fast position too!
Same reason XS bikes are coming with 170mm cranks. Most of the big brands are all about marketing and bottom line now what's actually best for the rider. Having more size options means more moulds which means less profit, so just slap a 400mm on everything and call it a day.
surprised nobody made much mention of leverage when on a climb. Best comment was 'ride whatever the mechanics put on your bike and don't complain..' My kind of athlete!!!
I was running 42’s and couldn’t ever get comfortable so I went up to 44’s since I have wide shoulders and I actually was able to get into a more aerodynamic position.
Presta chuck yeah that’s why I moved up. The guy who fits me noticed without even seeing me ride (or the bike outside the back of my car) and recommended wider bars.
Ok, but what is your shoulder width? Most who comment only say what width they ride, but there's no reference if the shoulder width is not mentioned in the same breath.
Think mine are 44, tho being from the MTB world, originally, i like wider for stability, if you wanna get aero drop your upper body! forget the shoulders/arms...
Pratalax Unfortunately,for us with narrow shoulders handlebar market is pretty narrow...lol I ride 40 because i cant find long drop/reach configuration that is 36/38 or even 34. So,i’m stuck with my zipp sl88
40-42 is small for modern era bars. Definitely seems like 44 and 46 have become very popular in last 5-8 years...big push by manufacturers if you look at what bikes are coming supplied with these days. I think it's part of more comfort friendly approach to attract new riders...better seats, bike fits, etc. I'm 6'1" and rode 38 for decades...40 and 42 we're wide back then. Despite my size, jumping on a 44 feels like a MTB bar to me.
I am 6ft 1”. Quite broad. Was reading some interviews with Adam Hansen and Chris Hoy on the subject. For year I’ve been riding 42cm, at the beginning of this year I went 38cm. Now I am using 36cm! They do feel great.
No way! I just got back into it after the whole tech leap (I used to race in the late 90s as junior). I bought a race geo bike w/ 42 handlebar (also have 42-43 shoulder width) and 42 seemed too tight, so I just purchased a 44 bar but reading all this and listening to stuff I am thinking I'm making a mistake. It's just weird how much stuff got discovered. Back then I rode a 56 bike with super high seat post, 15cm long stem and 46 wide bars.
My shoulders are between 40-42 cm wide and I like a 42 cm handlebar width because it's narrow enough to be streamline yet wide enough so I can still use the tops with aerobars. If the handlebar were any narrower, then there wouldn't be enough top to comfortably rest my large hands on. I also use special aerobars to facilitate riding on the tops -- their arm rests are hinged and spring-loaded so, when I'm not resting on them, the arm pads rise up away from the handlebar. That way, the arm rests are not in the way. My current handlebar is a Profile Design Canta Ergo composite carbon (42 cm width, 125 mm drop, 70 mm reach). My aerobars are built with Profile Design flip-up F19 arm rests with Carbon Stryke bars. I ride about 5000 miles (8047 km) each year in a TT position on this setup.
I have a Felt VR endurace bike that came with huge 46cm bars with a 35mm diameter. I’ve been struggling with hand numbness. After experimenting with hand positions, I chose the Enve SES Aero with 39cm on the hoods and 44 on the drops. ($$$!) So far, these feel better stretched an slammed (which is moderate on an endurance bike) than the wide bars felt when close and high. I need more saddle time on them before I really know if I made the right decision, or if I just burned my money.
som said some years ago about breathing and bar width, none of them mentioned the topic. converging arms decrease movement of rib cage, thus inhibits respiration.. I ride 40s, I feel the bike is quicker, tighter and better lookin -)
You didn’t mention hand position. When you on tops your hands are a lot closer together comfort wise. Not squeezing through a hole. Although 1cm either side doesn’t seem like much to me.
If even most professional riders do not really care, those who might have an actual (fiancial) benefit from being faster or "more aero", why should an amateur bother to change parts that only will reduce comfort?
Shoulders are 44 so have 44cm bars which I find comfortable. Not a sprinter so finding gaps at 60kph isn't my thing. Neither are solo breakaways where being aero matters!
33's on the track and 38's on my road bike. Never had a problem with 38s they are pretty comfortable for me. I am also a track sprinter and I have no issues sprinting out of the saddle on my road bike on 38's but everybody is different. Also going from a one piece 40cm bar to a two piece 38cm bar might balance out the 'aero' loss but horses for courses.
It went together easily in less than an hour. ru-vid.comUgkxHL1v1R3NE5x4KiYfyt8dnQmyNYz7qi5L Make sure the front fork is forward or the pedals will hit the front tire. Tires are both a little soft so it needs air before I ride it. The rear wheel didn't come with a clamp regular bolts hold it on. The front had the clamp. No scratches out of box. Rims are a little off with a slight wobble. They could have spent more time with the spoke tool fixing the run out. So far out of the box I'm happy with it. I did replace the pedals with a nice aftermarket set. After riding it a bit my A$$ is a bit sore so I ordered another seat. Overall I'm nearly 60 and didn't ride a bike in 30 years. I like my new 29" Schwinn. It will be used for casual rides with my friend.
Are there certain vintage bike parts worth more than the the new parts being offered on the market today & if so what are they? Are there certain vintage bikes worth rebuilding instead of buying a new bike?? Ever think of holding a 2nd hand bike drive to get more people enjoying cycling? I forgot just how magical cycling was until I got back on a bike last summer...
I have wide shoulders and 44s always felt the best. I could probably go down to 42 at the narrowest. Also diff manufactures have sometimes noticeably different geo and measuring points for bar width so obviously there are some tolerances there.
Mechanics are well paid and guess why they get paid so well. Because the riders bring in the money, so I'm pretty sure that it should be the way of the rider gets everything possible to make them feel as fit and ready as possible. Mechanics don't see this the way you amateurs do. They're actually quite happy to fit riders with stuff that will elevate them in their performance. At least the mechanics that respect their craft. That's actually why they are there - to tailor components around the rider's needs.
I ride my wife's 2015 Avanti Questa with a 38 cm bars and like it but my dads 2007 Specialized Tarmac has 42 cm bars. My shoulders are 39 cm so I might go to 38 or 40 compacts also replacing the 100 mm stem with a 80 mm stem.
I am an average size rider and i run 38cm bullhorn bars on my fixed gear bike. Once you have gotten used to the feeling of sprinting out of the saddle on these, it's as comfortable and powerful as anything. The only problem i see is when your bikes gets thrown off line as your tires slip over a wet manhole cover in the road or even riding offroad it's a tiny bit harder to control. I might just be imagining it, but they feel very fast as well. When i go back to my roadbike now, it feels unnecessarily wide.
I switched to the narrowest ENVE Aero bars 36-37 hoods and I love them, even for long centuries. It takes a month of two to get used to the feel, but now its very natural. THe key feature is the hood to drops flare, I get a more stable wider platform by going to the drops.
I feel comfortable with my stock 42s but my 2 bike fitters told me to move up to 44s. How much of a difference would it make if it doesn’t bother me now and seemingly 42s keep me more aero?
I ran 42s for a while until a bike shop recommended I go up to 44. I no longer have the kink in my upper back muscles that feels like I just finished a push up session every time I ride. As for being aero, like some of the pros in the video mentioned it's all relative. I would suggest trying out a loaner 44cm bar and if you still prefer 42s, stick with them.
I've bought a new bike comes with 42 cm. Bike feels skittish, just bought 46cm will see if they help. Was told years ago wide bars help your lungs expand. I guess its true I was fitter 33 years ago.
I wish manufacturers would measure their bars the same. Even ignoring drop, reach, flare, etc for a moment, you can order two bars from different manufacturers in supposedly the "same" C-T-C dimension and somehow still get a 2cm difference in width at the hoods... 😕
Many amateur road cyclists think they are track sprinters or time trialists with drop bar, adapting extreme positions only to ruin their power and efficiency lol. Aerodynamics don't matter shit if you can't hold 500 watts for 10 minutes. At the end of the day brute power make pros truly great not how aero they are lol. Comfort and power is all that matters. This will be true for as long as sport of road cycling exists lol.
Handel bars are 44cm wide and my shoulders are 50cm wide. I won't go any narrower because people like to ride behind me and I don't want to spoil their fun.
I'm pretty skinny. Three years ago I got a new road bike and it had 44 and I really didn't like how it felt. I built a new commuter bike partly using some old parts I had and I used the 40 handlebars I used in the 80's & 90's. The bike felt very unstable to me, but I reminded myself those were the handlebars I used for a decade and a half. I got used to them again, and then noticed my commuter bike, with exposed cables, 36 spoke wheels, fenders & rack was faster on the flat than my road bike with internal cable routing and 24 spoke wheels. I realized my wide stance on the wide handlebars was causing enough drag to cancel out the other aero stuff. I got 40's for that bike, and now my road bike is slightly faster on the flat than my commuter bike.
I have 46 cm (center-center) bars. Really wish there was more offered in that width. All i do is climb mountain slopes, so aero isn't a important as comfort. I'd rather be comfortable for the 45 minute climb than be aero for the 15 minute descent.
My bar width is from memory 44cm. I can't check either. My bike if off the road at the moment waiting for a new groupset. So my bike is at my mom's out of the way. These bars have been on my since I built it up.
