Do wide bars really help breathing?

[Chris NewbyFraser]

A picture stays in my mind of Darren Lill in the J2C a couple of years ago. He was riding very wide bars; it just didn't look right. To me very wide bars are a huge negative. They catch on other riders in single track, they catch on trees in tight singletrack, they open your body up to cause additional wind resistance. So I have been trying bars from 620 to 780mm. I have a chest of 101cm and normal arms. The 780's were a joke so I progressively chopped these down to 660mm where I found what appears to be a sweet spot for my comfort when handling my 29'r. Did I find any change in my breathing? None! When moving hands from 780 to a 600mm spread and riding a hill, I could feel no change. I rode the Epic on a 26'r Trance using 620mm flats with no trouble and I recall being very comfy when we would race on 520mm bars in the mid  90's but controlling the bike on rough stuff needed some strength. And front suspension was best described as primitive back then.

 

So, do I have extraordinary V02 or is the hype around bar width being so great for breathing perhaps a little overdone?

Personally, I think it's BS, especially for women.

[nonky]

my gut feel is that having your elbows closer together than your shoulders (eg tri-bars) would impede your chest and thus constrict breathing...

[V12man]

One may be able to measure a difference in the lab - but on the trails there are other factors in play that are probably more important - like comfort.

 

Personally I get shoulder pain over about 700mm - and have cut all my bars down a bit to 680 odd - very happy there for the kind of riding I do - maybe would try wider if I bought a bike for Enduro racing.

[GAP]

Tried wide bars, but felt like I was riding a Harley, cut them down and very happy now.

[Hairy]

A picture stays in my mind of Darren Lill in the J2C a couple of years ago. He was riding very wide bars; it just didn't look right. To me very wide bars are a huge negative. They catch on other riders in single track (IF YOU ARE RIDING ON ST THERE SHOULD BE NO ONE NEXT TO YOU), they catch on trees in tight singletrack (YOU LEARN), they open your body up to cause additional wind resistance (ON OPEN GROND PAD I WOULD KIND OF AGREE, BUT THEN YOU COULD JUST SHIFT YOUR HANDS IN ON THE BARS). So I have been trying bars from 620 to 780mm. I have a chest of 101cm and normal arms. The 780's were a joke so I progressively chopped these down to 660mm where I found what appears to be a sweet spot for my comfort when handling my 29'r. (WHATEVER WORKS FOR YOUR BUILD)Did I find any change in my breathing? None! When moving hands from 780 to a 600mm spread and riding a hill, I could feel no change. I rode the Epic on a 26'r (LONG LIVE 26'ers)Trance using 620mm flats with no trouble and I recall being very comfy when we would race on 520mm bars in the mid  90's (I RECALL THOSE DAYS, BUT THEN WE WERE ON LONGER STEMS TOO, WHICH IN TURN USED TO "SLOW DOWN" THE SKETCHINESS WHEN USED WITH NARROW BARS)but controlling the bike on rough stuff needed some strength. And front suspension was best described as primitive back then (AMAZING HOW FAR THINGS HAVE COME....INCLUDING BRAKING COMPARED TO BACK THEN).

 

So, do I have extraordinary V02 or is the hype around bar width being so great for breathing perhaps a little overdone? (KEEPS MY CHEST OPEN AND GIVE GOOD CONTROL ON THE DH ST ..... SO THIS MAKES ME BREATH HARDER WHEN CHASING DOWN )

Personally, I think it's BS, especially for women.  (WHATEVER WORKS FOR YOUR BUILD)

Much depends your your bodies build and the type of riding you do too....but see above... my experiences are based on me believing I have rather wide shoulders to start with.

 

Bars 780mm

Stem 50mm

[raptor-22]

Tried various widths over the last few months and prefer about 670-680 mm width. So I use 700 mm wide bars to accommodate the bar ends.

Stem is 90mm. Chest is 99cm shoulders 435mm

 

 

Wider bars did nothing for my control and created more discomfort.

[TheJ]

I've got 560mm bars on my 29er, I think the narrowest they come. Used the bar for years on my old 26er. I got zero control issues in singletrack even at speed. They are slightly wider than my shoulders so why the need for these super wide bars, I have no idea.

[raptor-22]

I think someone read it on the Internet that they're great and started evangelising.

[Hairy]

I think someone read it on the Internet that they're great and started evangelising.

you realise you are about to break the internet with that statement ?!?!?

[Hairy]

wide bars work for me....tried narrower bars again and it just was not right.

 

but if you try the wide bars, you also need to shorten your stem, it is a package deal.

[JohanMalan]

If you want to ride a bike with BMX wheels, a long stem and narrow bars and V-brakes and tubes, go for it!! Narrow bars are good for a fixie bike in traffic.

Wider bars probably have little effect on your breathing but they do have more leverage and require less power to change the steering esp on bigger wheels.

This will have little effect if a lot of your riding is on open roads.

If, however , you want more leverage when climbing and negotiating rough terrain, then the wider bars do make a difference. They work well with a shorter stem as the wider bars bring your body forward. They also cause your elbows to bend and assume a better '"attack" position for technical terrain.

I would not regard bars under 720mm as wide.

I personally love them, they make me feel like a superhero.

[Hairy]

I think someone read it on the Internet that they're great and started evangelising.

is this you?

http://www.chappelli-cycles.fr/img/cms/coursier%20(Copier).jpg

[Hairy]

[raptor-22]

Attack position......

[raptor-22]

is this you?

http://www.chappelli-cycles.fr/img/cms/coursier%20(Copier).jpg

 

Yip. In fact I recently upgraded to those while shopping at the 2ndhand store. Used to have a locking shifting spanner locked onto my steerer tube.

One bar is even narrower and requires so much more skill

[Hairy]

Attack position......

just ask Fabian

 

http://ep1.pinkbike.org/p5pb11490509/p5pb11490509.jpg