Shortening handle bars

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

Don't do it. I have 760's on my bike and no problem in single track at all. And I ride fairly tree-y stuff. Does make commuting interesting though.

[in10sive]

I bought 700mm for my 26" as the 640 I have on now does not feel "comfy" - hope was not mistake - must still get grips on them and then fit to bike

Edited July 22, 2013 by in10sive

[BergForce]

I say cut`em by 10mm each side and see how it goes, maybe cut another 10mm later if you still want to. I like it 660-680mm for 29er.

[Rushdee]

Assume the angle between hand and forearm (i.e. angle at the wrist) would also be affected. Wider the bar, the smaller/tighter the angle. Potentially resulting in strain on the wrists.

 

Also, assume the wider the bar the more your upper body will lean forward to reach the grips due to the end of the bars being further away than a narrower bar. Can be fixed with a shorter stem.

 

Everybody's anatomy is different though.

[Skylark]

700mm is just about the perfect compromise.

If you have lockon grips you can move everything in a bit without cutting or much effort and play around with the width while still safely riding the bike.

 

The way I have found to get the perfect width for your physiology is to find the place where the muscles you use to lift the front wheel is evenly distributed between your lower back and shoulder muscles. To wide and you'll feel it pulling to much in your lower back which can pull muscles or too narrow you'll feel everything in the shoulders and no lower back - you want both working evenly.

 

Wider = more control and more leverage , especially noticeable pedaling up hills.

I went from 640 to 740 down to 720, riding narrower now just feels dangerous, no control

[Wimmas]

My bike came standard with I thnk 630/640mm bars and I've never struggled with handling.

 

Never hook a tree branch or vehicle mirrors.

 

I think it's personal preference and whether you go wider or more narrow, it'll take time getting used to.

 

A wider or more narrow bar is not going to make you a better rider, it's all about what suits your needs/riding style.

 

I personally know someone who actually cut his bars much shorter due to hooking trees etc and he rides like a pro

[DR ◣◢]

Don't cut. 700mm is the bare minimum on bikes these days. Better control in the long run.

 

I run 780mm on the AM bike and even in really tight tree rich trails I make it work.

[seven]

Move all your controls closer to the centre and try it out first without cutting the bars. At least you can get an idea how the bike would handle first.

[Guest Latent Blue]

Move all your controls closer to the centre and try it out first without cutting the bars. At least you can get an idea how the bike would handle first.

 

Now that is logic talking, good thinking