Mountain Bike Handlebar Widths

As bike geometry continues to change and bikes become longer slacker and more capable handlebar width has increased in kind.

Mountain bike handlebar widths. We d consider the following handlebar widths as wide respectively. Big whips and handlebar widths. The evolution of mountain bike handlebar width. If you ve been around mountain biking for a while then you know what a radical change it has been when it comes to handlebar width.

Because mountain biking evolved from road bikes they initially borrowed a lot of bike design concepts. It tells you that you probably shouldn t buy a bar narrower than 780mm. Handlebar width suggestions and preferences have changed often as bike geometry evolves. Mountain bike action is a monthly magazine devoted to all things mountain biking yes that s 12 times a year because we never take a month off of mountain biking.

In terms of choosing a new handlebar however our straw poll is useful. Mountain bike handlebars come in two different thicknesses in the centre to fit different stem clamp sizes. If you re a downhiller you might want to consider going wide. Oversized bars are slightly heavier than the traditional ones but they do increase the strength and stiffness.

A narrower bar tends to suit that longer stem. When it comes to mountain bike handlebars wider is better. Different disciplines different handlebar widths. Even xc riders are going wide now.

It has been around since 1986 and we re still having fun. For xc bikes using a longer stem gets you in a better position on the bike to put out more power efficiently. On average it s common to see the narrowest mountain bike handlebars on cross country bikes and the widest on downhill bikes. Handlebar width affects how your bike handles and feels out on the trail.

Adding 40 mm of spacers in this case would move the grips 36 24 mm upwards but also 16 88 mm backwards in relation to the head tube. Possibly up to 800mm. 25 4mm traditional or 31 8mm oversized. Handlebar width is one aspect of mountain biking that takes time to master and the more you experiment with different handlebar widths the better fit you will find.

The other thing we d strongly recommend is to mimic different bar widths by sliding your lock on grips in and out. For example if your bike has a 65 degree head angle a quick trigonometry equation shows that for every 10 mm of spacers you add the stem moves 9 06 mm upwards but importantly 4 22 mm rearwards.