Short bars... yes or no

Having ridden mountain bikes in the past I was always under the impression that riser bars were made wide on the assumption that the purchaser would cut them to their preferred width anyway, that's why some of them have measurements printed on the ends.

Good point.

I was in Brixton Bikes a while back and they pretty much refused to sell the dude the Nitto Drops he wanted (the narrowest width they do, cant remember what size) because they thought it wouldn't be safe for him to ride, and persuaded him into going for something wider.

I always go shoulder width, as it means i know what i can get away with

I always go shoulder width, as it means i know what i can get away with

You've got to remember that if your bars are more narrow than your shoulders you can always angle your upper body sideways and twist your bum so you can fit through smaller gaps!

Have you ever seen a cat fit under a door? It's smaller than their whiskers but they still manage it! ;)

Narrow bars are good for traffic and short rides but for decent rides (1+ hours) then they are asking for trouble. Would give neck and shoulder pain as well as potentially restrict breathing.

As the shortest rides I do are 20 miles then it is 42cm Drops for me!

I always go shoulder width, as it means i know what i can get away with

Something to remember though is that wing mirrors are at bar height...not shoulder height.

Narrow bars are good for traffic and short rides but for decent rides (1+ hours) then they are asking for trouble. Would give neck and shoulder pain as well as potentially restrict breathing.

As the shortest rides I do are 20 miles then it is 42cm Drops for me!

I just did about 45 miles on my 13" bars on saturday with no problems...did the grandslam in a day on them with no problem...if i run my drops i still spend 95% of the time with my thumbs resting on my stem...for braking and climbing too.

You can get so much more power to the pedals, when standing, with wide bars.

Go wide or go home

I just did about 45 miles on my 13" bars on saturday with no problems...did the grandslam in a day on them with no problem...if i run my drops i still spend 95% of the time with my thumbs resting on my stem...for braking and climbing too.

Good for you :-)

I know that I am a faster rider using 42cm drops than I am with a narrow riser/flat and going as fast as my body allows is what interests me.

Scott, If you are on about on your BMW they are track drops though so not a fair comparison.

I call bullshit on this narrow bars climbing thing. You (I mean this as a general non personal "you" way) may be able to climb with a narrow super narrow bar but the same person in the same condition on the same bike, on the same (proper) hill will be climbing better on a more normal width bar (38 - 45 cm) than on some really narrow bar. When comparisons are made you need to do like with like otherwise it's pointless.

EDIT I don't care if someone runs narrow bars just like everything else in life it's a compromise and to deny that there is any compromise to be made is bollocks.

if i run my drops i still spend 95% of the time with my thumbs resting on my stem...for braking and climbing too.

really? if I run my drops I spend 95% of the time in the drops.

htfu?

Something to remember though is that wing mirrors are at bar height...not shoulder height.

Yeah but my gut is pretty much as wide as my shoulders too!

And for the record....if narrow bars are so bad....how come the majority of people with wide bars have a cross top brake lever right up against the stem?
having your hands right up against the stem while doing your braking are you?...whatever next...narrow bars?
;)

Do you see any of them here? :)

guy on far right is obviously a hipster in disguise

I was in Brixton Bikes a while back and they pretty much refused to sell the dude the Nitto Drops he wanted (the narrowest width they do, cant remember what size) because they thought it wouldn't be safe for him to ride, and persuaded him into going for something wider.

I always go shoulder width, as it means i know what i can get away with

it was brixton cycles that i had the hassle.... piss off and sell me the fucking bar!

Do you see any of them here? :)

Any of those bikes fixed gear or single speed? can't see any stem-touching brake levers here either but that's beside the point:

Oh dear oh dear...some people!
Obviously when refering to people with cross top levers i'm talking about people on this forum...not the fucking peleton!

Err....so being on the drops makes you harder than me right?...good luck with that...:)

Go wide or go home eh? ok...i'll have the kettle on for you while you wait to get past the number 42 with your wide bars. ;)

Why the fuck are track drops not a fair comparison? the discussion is about narrow bars...i couldn't care less if they're track, road, straight, riser, or fucking chocolate....the type of bar is irrelevant!
Of course climbing is compromised a little...my point is that my ability to climb is affected less by narrow bars than my ability to fit through tight gaps is affected by wide bars.
We live in London...not the alps...so i'd rather have my climbing compromised slightly than my city centre riding.

You can argue as much as you like, but my point still stands...you're not a cretin just because your bars are narrow....you're a cretin if you make claims that having narrow bars is stupid and prevents you climbing, breathing, steering, lifting over potholes, braking...and all the other bullshit arguments wide bar users throw at us narrow bar lovers.

If you don't like them, fine...but don't make assumptions about what i can and can't do based on your personal dislike of them.

Oh...and stop blocking those gaps that you got stuck in too...some of us have to get home to chop our bars a bit shorter!
;)

This whole thread makes me laugh. Please everyone continue.

I ride really small bars on my fixie and 28" on my bmx and because i live in Cornwall people think why have narrow bars? but the drivers are are realy fast and reckless down here so you have to be able to skip around from twats in mercs in the town

Even if you fit a cross-top lever against the stem, you can still reach it with you hands at a more 'conventional' on-the-top-of-drop-bars position.

And bar width does make a difference to climbing - you can trust me on that one more than any other fucker on this forum :p

And what's wrong with *not *going down narrow gaps between traffic sometimes? There's nothing wrong with stopping and waiting once in a while. I prefer it when other types of vehicle do the same, rather than squeezing past parked cars and driving unnervingly close to me. If you're in such a fucking hurry, leave a bit earlier; and if you have a pathological need not to stop, you should take time to think about what it means to coexist in an over-populated city.

There's no need for cut-down empathy.

scot, 13" is not tiny.

if your hands are 7" wide then maybe, yes you are a cretin.

and it seems people have misread my comments

And bar width does make a difference to climbing - you can trust me on that one more than any other fucker on this forum :p

And what's wrong with *not *going down narrow gaps between traffic sometimes? There's nothing wrong with stopping and waiting once in a while. I prefer it when other types of vehicle do the same, rather than squeezing past parked cars and driving unnervingly close to me. If you're in such a fucking hurry, leave a bit earlier; and if you have a pathological need not to stop, you should take time to think about what it means to coexist in an over-populated city.

There's no need for cut-down empathy.

I didn't dispute that there's some difference to climbing if you read my post above.

And also...riding through gaps doesn't mean i'm in 'such a fucking hurry'...it just means i don't need to stop if i can fit through the gap...why the hell would i want to stop if it's not necessary to my journey?
If i need to i will....if i don't and i have a way to keep going then i see that as a logical way to continue my journey.

Yes for nipping through tight traffic and for looking cool, no for your back and for looking cool

What the fuck does looking cool have to do with anything? I ride a poo brown bike so looking cool is not a top priority.

it's that haunted hunched shoulder look that does it for me.
it looks cool (unless you are a posture specialist)

Unless you're aiming for respect from the poo fancying crowd, those poo fanciers would go mad for a poo coloured bike I tell ya!!