I agree that the best width is very close to your natural push-up hand width, easy to play around with and take measurements. I've tried going wider and had several bad crashes hooking a bar on branches and also experienced pinched nerves in the shoulder from going too wide that were seriously debilitating. It's an ergonomic issue that relates to shoulder width. Ever seen some big dude's girlfriend trying to ride 800mm bars cuz its what's cool. It looks really un-natural and will probably create shoulder problems. Initially, the beauty of wide bars was that it brought the riders weight forward even though they had transitioned to shorter stems which steered better. Everything in moderation, Grasshopper; find the balance for your body on each bike, as they all have different reach/stack dimensions and of course, you have a quiver of bikes to suit different biking disciplines. Some are tuned for climbing, others for descending and then there's that perfect "Trailbike" that does it all on your home court. Bottom line: trends can be good but not gospel. Gotta tune things to your own ergonomics and the focus of a particular steed...
For me, The wider "trend" are Great, being 1.92cm tall with wide shoulders, long arms, i feel that 800 is perfect, below that width i feel "cramped". Being a average size human, you dont know how Hard it is to get a mtb that fits perfect, but it has gone in The right direction for taller riders, 29er was a game changer, i think greg minaar said that he finnaly can ride a bike that fits him.. Pretty spot on! Love The channel, Great content
Gustav Bergström are you from something like germany, netherlands, or something scandinavian because if you are then your averge other wise your really tall but the docters said im gonna be 195 cm so hahahahahhaahhahah
I liked wide bars on my aggresive hardtail as well, I feel like on the hardtail you take any stability you can get. But on my full suspension I prefer narrower (770mm) since nibleness is more of a concern than stability for my riding at least.
Me, my wife, 2 young daughters and our 2 dogs spent the weekend at a huge bike demo event in the UK, getting to ride loads of cool bikes on great trails. I got 760mm on the trail bike and 780mm on the enduro . Works for me!
Trail bike... I went from 710 to 740 and loved it. Then to 760 and really loved it. Now on 800 and love them more! However, I have noticed it's little harder to flick bike around (like table top), but waaaay easier to slam bike into corners. Think I may cut them to 780 as a happy medium. I'm 6' relatively narrow shoulders.
Also, the width of the bars changes the body position on the bike. Wider bars bring the body closer to the bar which could make the bike's reach feel smaller. On the flip side, shorter bars moves the body away from the bars making the reach feel longer.
Now that you mention it, it's obvious. I recently got a new bike that has wider bars than my old one and although the measurements of the new bike make it just as big, I feel too far forwards/cramped. like you say; will be down to the far wider bars. Thanks
I just started paying attention to bar width. My 2014 Stumpy had 750mm bars. My new Capra came with 800mm bars. I can't wait to see what difference if any the new bars make. My new bars are the first set of carbon bars I've ever run. The bikes are setup so differently with the geometry and suspension that it may not be apples to apples. It should be a really fun year figuring it all out. I spent the weekend organizing my garage. Hanging bikes, building a workbench, and making it a great place for bike maintenance!
Hi Jeff, I recently took a class from Lee McCormack and he goes into detail about the range of handlebar width compared to rider height and build as a starting point using geometry and math calculations, but I upgraded my Mojo SL bars to 750mm width with a 30mm stem (originally 680mm and 100mm respectively) and I've got a whole new bike riding experience because of it! Thanks for the great videos, and making it look so easy.
Ah yes, good ol Lee! Generally Lee has GREAT advice, and he's a super good dude. He has that bar to height ratio that he swears by. I'm not a fan of a simple ratio, while it's easy to explain to newbies, bike handling and geo comes into play. The Mojo SL is a good example- I rode that bike for a few years BITD. It has a short top tube and steep head angle. I much preferred ~70mm stems on my Mojo SLs over 40 or 50mm units. That steep head angle played nicely with a little more stem length, and that kept that bike well balanced on jumps and in corners. If you have the budget for it, try splitting the difference on the stem between the 30 and the 100 with something around 70mm. If the bike doesn't feel too big like that, stick with the 750 bars, and feel free to slide your lock on grips inboard to see if you'd prefer them ever so slightly narrower. And if you're happy with it as it is, then just keep on keeping on, and feel free to ignore me! hahaha!
Thanks Logan great filming and Jeffe looks like super fun trails love that natural double sweet , I am 188cm tall and love the long and loooongeeer bikes like the mondracker must aggree maximum dropper post is a must .✌👍🤘.
Copped a Selcof 740mm carbon riser bar recently from PlanetX (They claim it's a 50mm riser but in reality looks more like a 25mm riser). Priced about 100bux, super light at 160grams but still really stiff with better ride compliance than my previous aluminium bars. Could not imagine going any wider either (I'm 172cm/5'7)
My sis used to live in Bellingham. We did the tour around the San Juan's and spent the day on Orcas Island. It was amazing! I'm running 780mm carbons on my '19 Bronson, but have been considering going back to 760mm. Good to know it helps with playfulness. Although I love the DH stability of the bike, the lack of agility and playfulness have been my biggest gripe..
Nice tour on the islands man! An easy hack to try narrower bars is to slide the grips in a little. Just be careful not to get impaled should you crash!
Hey there all... my weekend... Sat: Sedona pump track with the kids (3 and 7)... they ripped it! Sun: Ski with the Fam at the Arizona Snowbowl, little side county tour and beer, Mon: Ski with my little boy (Henry is 3)... He wanted to do Volcano bumps and Agassiz lift (the big chair) line bumps twice... he was TOTALLY rippin' it! Super weekend!
My turbo Levo comp came with780’s. After riding this stock for 3 months it seems that the tight trees of the Northeast trails kept grabbing my bar ends causing crashes otherwise that would not have happened….ouch. So I cut them down to 760mm and will see if that makes any difference on the trails. From what I’ve seen on CZcams 760 is still wide for a 5’9” average rider. Funny how much 20mm cut off seems like a lot , only riding will tell. Your video was great…will subscribe!!
Watching that Lee macormacks latest video on push up width he says don't do that it was an old didn't know better at the time technique! I just put Burgtec ride high 38s on my bike they came as 800mm and to be honest they feel fine but think they just look that to long taking the aesthetics away from the coolness of the cockpit! Might even take them down to 795 first really on the fence with it! I'm 5.8 but bigger wider say fat guy now as been off a bike for years after my accident I have the original 780mm carbon bars there but different rise and backsweep all this matters to when cutting your bars! More back sweep I'd only take 5mm off a time as when gets past that 20mm the backsweep severely changes then there buggered!
Went to south mountain and all I could think about is how you tore it up out here a while back 🤘😎My current bar width is 760mm, I've tried 780mm and 720mm but the bike either felt a little sluggish or too narrow for my liking but it is worth trying multiple sets if you have the ability to try different widths. All in all 760mm feels just right in my opinion for the trails I ride.
5’11”, 800mm bars on a Ripmo V1. When I’m going down the mountain through chunk it just feels so stable. Might go down to 790mm as there have been close calls with trees.
Ok... as a guy who went from an early 90’s Gary Fisher to stepping away from the sport and back again 3 years ago. I know suspension technology has gone through the roof from the 90’s as well as frame geometry is drastically different. I have said that the greatest advancement is handlebar width hands down. I totally get this video as I didn’t go through the width progression. I went straight from 1993 to 2016. Wow is all I have to say and I say that because of handlebar width.
I'm 5'9" have been running 780 to 760 bar but gone down to 750-740 maybe eventually down to 730. Got tired of clipping trees and branches. One of the clip cost me AC seperation on my left shoulder, super bummed. Going back down in width in small decrement so I can I acclimate back to narrower setup. Plus I want nimbleness back on my bike and be able to chage direction quicker.
I am 173 cms tall and i have the medium GT force 29'', feels huge compared to my merida 120 that i had. I changed the handle bar in the merida to a 760 mm and this one is 800 mm. Ia great going downhill but the curves and berms still feel strabge, because of covid i only got 3 rides and now we are getting some freedom so it feels like a new bike again 😄
I had 750's on my freeride bike but after spending a year riding just my rigid DJ bike they felt too slow and cumbersome so I brought them way down to, like, 700. It was the best thing I ever did to that bike.
Mine are 780mm, but I am 6'2 with long arms, legs and wide shoulders, so from a proportion standpoint, I guess that isn't excessive. It feels quite comfortable actually.
Last weekend I rode up Mt Ashland from Lithia Park up to Four corners . Its steep and long and never gets easier ! But in my fifties that's ok ! Got to ride the cool trails back down !
Funny you make a video about bars the day after I threw a new one on to try out. I’m 5’10” riding a 2016 Trek Slash 8, 27.5. 160mm rear, 180mm front. Stock bars were 750, 15mm rise, 9D bend and 4D upsweep. I felt a little hunched over when seated and my hands took on the weight and would end up hurting half way through my rides. Picked up a Deity Blacklabel aluminum 800mm, 25mm rise 9D bend and 5D upsweep. My initial thoughts were to cut them down straight away to 760ish. I later thought, let’s not be dumb and just chuck them on there at full length and test it out for a bit and go from there. One 6-7 mile trail ride on the local north jersey trails and I quickly felt the bike had transformed. I may have been feeling strong that day, but I felt I could pedal so much better, possibly because of my body position being slightly more upright when seated. Going uphill or in any long pedaling section, hands felt so much better. Going dh, the bike ripped. Felt so freaking good! As of now, they’re spared a sawing. Great video yet again Jeff!
Hey Nick thanks for the info on the handle bars. I have a 2019 fuel ex 5 29er with 720 15mm rise and 4 degree upsweep and 9 degree backsweep and I feel the same way when I ride my shoulders hurt a lot I feel like putting most of my weight on my upper body. Any recommendation for me? I'm 5' 10 by the way thanks in advance.
Much like Jeff says about his bikes, it will depend on the type of bike and your riding style that will dictate your bar width, rise and sweep. As I mentioned, I felt as if my upper body weight was all on my hands and it would hurt my lower back after awhile. I don’t know the exact height my stem is at, but I have two spacers underneath using a hope 35mm length stem with 0 rise. I felt like I needed a little rise on the bars to move my weight back slightly and the width part was experimental and so far it feels great. This is what I read before moving on and making my decision. mbaction.com/handlebar-rise-the-science-of-picking-the-right-height/
Dude love your videos and thanks for making this video ! this will laminate my point of cutting my bars down , I thought I was the only short guy who thought that narrow bars are a good thing .
Super interesting to hear you haven't standardized bars. I always presumed a person would have a 'comfortable' width that was their go-to size for everything (except for gravel bikes, commuters etc). Thx for the info!
I always thought I'd end up with same bars on all the bikes too, but then I started getting creative a few years ago and found they can change the bikes handling in some cool ways.
5'10" and normally run 780s. Just building a Ripmo and purchased set of SQ Lab 780s with 12 deg backsweep instead of 9 deg. Interested to see how that changes things.
I’m 6’4” with a pretty wide stance. I’m running Renthal Fat Bars at 800 mils wide with a 40 mil rise fitted to a Renthal 40 mil Apex Stem. This is on my Santa Cruz 5010 size XL. I feel that they are a bit wide and may knock them down to a 785 or 780 mil. Great video and love the IG account as well!!!!
Stem length matters too when talking about bar length. I have tried a few lengths on my trail bikes and find that at 5"10 a 760 is best for me with a 35mm stem on a large Transition Patrol. On my old medium felt decree I liked the same bar but with a 50mm stem. I've got four spacers and it's a 30mm rise bar as well.
Glad to see your intentions re a Trust Performance Message evaluation, Jeff - I’m interested too. Great videos! ...they always leave me with a smile on my face!
The weather finally got good around here. My buddy and got to go out and ride, but since it is early in the season.....we rode to the bar and got a beer.
You can put longer grips say 145mm or BMX grips and keep the bars wide around 780. The benefit would be you can move around a lot more freely without hassle.
Very interesting man! I ride a medium Evil Calling with a 150 mm fork and cut down my bar to 770mm wide. It S a Deity bar that was 820mm wide with grips. Can you discuss bar rise? That would be also interesting . Very good content man ! Love your channel 👊🏻
I have 780mm bars now and its a problem for me. I have 190cm, but i previously rode my 660mm hardtail and now i cant get used to wide bars on my full suspension bike. Its funny, but when I hop back on my 660 hardtail I feel a lot more alive on bike and turns are easier for me.
Catching up on some of your older videos. Always great content! Plus, it makes me miss the City of Subdued Excitement... it's home. Anyway, I am 6'2" and have a long torso, so sizing can sometimes be a pain, but I generally run really wide bars. I'm looking at an 800 range for my next bar on my xc fatbike (year-around riding in the Nor-Cal Sierras) just for the comfort factor, since I use it to haul my littlest around, but I'm not sure yet. I don't have a more gravity-oriented bike at the moment, but definitely as wide as possible for that when I do! I'm saving an older Deity Black Label for a jump bike build, but I may cut it down a little - it clocks in at 787 stock. We'll see.
Really interesting! I'm 5,8" also and definitely don't feel going any wider than my 760 bars! Bar height though is something I'm still experimenting with, currently at 1065, but in some cases I feel 1075 might be better? What do you think?👍
Great vid, but I thought I'd fill in a little history gap 😉 After Answer started to shrink in the early 2000s, the Truvativ Holzfeller bar reigned supreme at 730mm from 2002-2007 and than I believe the Deity Dirty Thirty and Truvativ Boobar came out in 2008 at 760 and 780 respectively. After that the flood gates opened 😛
800 on my intense, 785 on my pivot. I’m ok with not being nimble in corners because with the wider bar I can slam into corners and maintain the stability.
Just got back into mountain biking after a 30 year absence. My 1988 specialized stumpjumper comp I built up (and still have) has 19 inch bars. That's 482.6mm now that's narrow. The bars on my Bronson feel SOOO wide to me. It's taking a lot to get used to and I'm constantly thinking of cutting them way down. My how times change...
I'm running 785 on my aggressive Hard tail NS Surge steel frame with 160mm forks.. my Girlfriends bars are cut at 670mm also on an aggressive Hard tail seams a bit short but she is only 5.6 and 110lbs narrow shoulders she seams to like them..
Hi Jeff, i like that video about handlebars, but why not to go ahead an make one about the rise or even maybe more important... bent/swipe? Always happy to watch your new edits🤘 All the best!
I find the longest reach will be during a tight turn with the one side of the bar forward. Ot shouldnt feel like its tucking or working against your arm. Shouldnt it be set by arm length? That said im 6'3" with a wingspan and dont like more than 740, arms out wide leaves me feeling like id go over the bars given a misstep, 740 is my pushup position pretty much. Thats been my go-to measurement. Throw yourself at a wall and where your hands land is your strongest position, thats the mark I use. (I would run slimmer as I hate tucking past trees or doing that double tuck to get between two of em). I always thought the ultra wide bars was a bit...well..short bits issues 😅
Jeff, just discovered your channel; awesome work, man! I traded for a hardtail with what, to me, are crazy wide 825 (!!) handlebars. I'm a beginner, easy on the trails, and I am an athletic 5-10, wider than average shoulders. I held a cloth tape measure, between my hands, and held out my arms at a width comfortable to me. It kept coming at 745-760, the latter number kept coming up juuuust before it started to 'feel' wide. Now I need to learn how to cut them down nicely. I'm thinking a trip to Home Depot to buy a conduit cutter is in my future...It's funny how folks get stuck on that difference between 760 and 780; at some point it's just a number. If one does that math, that's just over 3/4" difference between the two. And, math again that means there is only 3/8" of a difference on each side!Thanks for your video! You have another subscriber!Your fellow PNW in Seattle.
My cool story from the weekend is I broke my Scapula at Windrock bike park haha! What a way to start the season but guess that means ill work on my bikes and make them dialed untill I can ride again.
Thank you ! Excellent topic💎coz my bike so far but i have been wondering exactly about the span of my handlebars😳🇺🇸all i know is wider bars i can get agile on the bike my old 29"er but now im on a 27.5er and better set-up. So, im learning.
I'm usually stoked on 740-780. I can deal with 720, and I've been demoing a lot of different bikes lately, so I've adapted to 800, but it's not the most comfortable.
im 6 feet tall with wide shoulders , the bars i ride now are 810 and to tell the truth it feels to wide like i cant move . I also noticed my shoulders get tired and sore easier .i think 780 or 790 mm is the sweet spot for me .
760 all the way, i have a 18 Yeti 5.5 came with 800, felt way to big for me. Just felt i couldn't lean the bike well into turns. But with 760, all day long.
My weekend. Almost exactly 1 yr after breaking some ribs on a log hop gone wrong I went OTB on a short nose manual. Couldn't get unclipped so I split my lip, but otherwise uninjured. Realized the next day my fork had < 70 psi... I knew it was low, but good reminder to check your suspension more than every few months!
Currently on my new bike i am at 785, but they will be getting cut down to about 765 soon (5'11") ... But more importantly how is that baby seat? I hate the trailer its bulky and annoying to deal with when having a compact car along with low clearance for mud puddles .. the front mount seat intrigued me but also scares me a bit, but i think my daughter would enjoy that more vs staring at my butt crack 🤣
Hey Guineson, that seat is called the Ibert Safety Seat. It's ok for around town but it's not a hardcore offroad seat by any means. On long rides, even road rides, it's pretty uncomfortable since your knees just hit the back of it the whole time. It works best on my vintage bike, but it's hard to get on/off the bike. The Mac Ride looks amazing, I'm planning on getting one of those soon!
Cool vid. Subbed :) Nice to see your experimentation with different set ups for your different bikes. Without trying to get too technical, this is how I've come to understand how the different lengths of your cockpit controls affect the handling. Handlebar width needs to combine with stem length to make sense. I find that stem length has more of an impact on the actual handling and quickness or ease of turning the bars, while the width really is all about stability and control. Imagine 780 bars with a 120mm stem. The bike will turn like a bus but shorten that stem to 35mm and you're turning like a gokart. Back in the day when we had narrow bars, the stem was long. As bars have widened, so stems have shortened fortunately. This should put your torso into roughly the same position on the bike when seated. It's up to each individual to find that ideal set up depending on their type of riding.
I run 765. BUT I found that my arms are very asymmetric as my right arm is about 1 whole inch longer than my left. So I cut the left side 16mm shorter than the right to even things up. It feels good, but I would be interested to know what you think about this "hack". Keep up the great work! Cheers!
I did a whole video about it but tried to edit some incorrect info out and deleted the vid! Will be reposting it and a ride report of. the trust fork soon.
I agree that the best width is very close to your natural push-up hand width, easy to play around with and take measurements. I've tried going wider and had several bad crashes hooking a bar on branches and also experienced pinched nerves in the shoulder from going too wide that were seriously debilitating. It's an ergonomic issue that relates to shoulder width. Ever seen some big dude's girlfriend trying to ride 800mm bars cuz its what's cool. It looks really un-natural and will probably create shoulder problems. Initially, the beauty of wide bars was that it brought the riders weight forward even though they had transitioned to shorter stems which steered better. Everything in moderation, Grasshopper; find the balance for your body on each bike, as they all have different reach/stack dimensions and of course, you have a quiver of bikes to suit different biking disciplines. Some are tuned for climbing, others for descending and then there's that perfect "Trailbike" that does it all on your home court. Bottom line: trends can be good but not gospel. Gotta tune things to your own ergonomics and the focus of a particular steed...
Dave, you do push ups??? Hahaha I kiddddd!!!
Dude... I wish I could ride like you. So fun, so sick. Love your videos, great attitude, polished production and always with a smile!
For me, The wider "trend" are Great, being 1.92cm tall with wide shoulders, long arms, i feel that 800 is perfect, below that width i feel "cramped". Being a average size human, you dont know how Hard it is to get a mtb that fits perfect, but it has gone in The right direction for taller riders, 29er was a game changer, i think greg minaar said that he finnaly can ride a bike that fits him.. Pretty spot on! Love The channel, Great content
Gustav Bergström are you from something like germany, netherlands, or something scandinavian because if you are then your averge other wise your really tall but the docters said im gonna be 195 cm so hahahahahhaahhahah
5'11'', 800mm on a 150mm all mountain hardtail. Love it!
I liked wide bars on my aggresive hardtail as well, I feel like on the hardtail you take any stability you can get. But on my full suspension I prefer narrower (770mm) since nibleness is more of a concern than stability for my riding at least.
Me, my wife, 2 young daughters and our 2 dogs spent the weekend at a huge bike demo event in the UK, getting to ride loads of cool bikes on great trails. I got 760mm on the trail bike and 780mm on the enduro . Works for me!
This channel is criminally under subbed! Really great work!
InstaBlaster...
Trail bike... I went from 710 to 740 and loved it. Then to 760 and really loved it. Now on 800 and love them more! However, I have noticed it's little harder to flick bike around (like table top), but waaaay easier to slam bike into corners.
Think I may cut them to 780 as a happy medium. I'm 6' relatively narrow shoulders.
Also, the width of the bars changes the body position on the bike. Wider bars bring the body closer to the bar which could make the bike's reach feel smaller. On the flip side, shorter bars moves the body away from the bars making the reach feel longer.
Now that you mention it, it's obvious. I recently got a new bike that has wider bars than my old one and although the measurements of the new bike make it just as big, I feel too far forwards/cramped. like you say; will be down to the far wider bars. Thanks
Never seen such an enthusiastic and amazing mountain biker
It was my bike anniversary! One year since I got back into bikes. Let's go for more y'all!
Right on Joze! Welcome back to two wheels!
You make wheelies and endo’s look sooooooooo effortless
Step 1, get a bike with 780 bars
Step 2, say f it that’s good enough and leave it
Hahaha classic! I've been guilty of the same!
I just started paying attention to bar width. My 2014 Stumpy had 750mm bars. My new Capra came with 800mm bars. I can't wait to see what difference if any the new bars make. My new bars are the first set of carbon bars I've ever run. The bikes are setup so differently with the geometry and suspension that it may not be apples to apples. It should be a really fun year figuring it all out. I spent the weekend organizing my garage. Hanging bikes, building a workbench, and making it a great place for bike maintenance!
My Deity bars are 770 on both my Bronson and specialized fat boy, I find this measurement to be the sweet spot.
Right on!
Hi Jeff, I recently took a class from Lee McCormack and he goes into detail about the range of handlebar width compared to rider height and build as a starting point using geometry and math calculations, but I upgraded my Mojo SL bars to 750mm width with a 30mm stem (originally 680mm and 100mm respectively) and I've got a whole new bike riding experience because of it! Thanks for the great videos, and making it look so easy.
Ah yes, good ol Lee! Generally Lee has GREAT advice, and he's a super good dude. He has that bar to height ratio that he swears by. I'm not a fan of a simple ratio, while it's easy to explain to newbies, bike handling and geo comes into play. The Mojo SL is a good example- I rode that bike for a few years BITD. It has a short top tube and steep head angle. I much preferred ~70mm stems on my Mojo SLs over 40 or 50mm units. That steep head angle played nicely with a little more stem length, and that kept that bike well balanced on jumps and in corners. If you have the budget for it, try splitting the difference on the stem between the 30 and the 100 with something around 70mm. If the bike doesn't feel too big like that, stick with the 750 bars, and feel free to slide your lock on grips inboard to see if you'd prefer them ever so slightly narrower. And if you're happy with it as it is, then just keep on keeping on, and feel free to ignore me! hahaha!
@@JeffKendallWeed I appreciate the advice and am always open to new ideas to try. I'll give a 70mm stem a try. Thanks again!!!
The coolest thing I did over the weekend was race an enduro with the Loam Ranger! In South Texas of all places
On my previous bikes:
- Mojo SLR: 690
- Ripley OG: 740 then switched to 800
Current bike, Ripley V3: 770.
5'6" 735mm. I come from BMX background, "wide" bars feel slow to me
I am gonna send my group to your channel to subscribe, you are knowledgeable and capeable. Super skilled.
Thanks Logan great filming and Jeffe looks like super fun trails love that natural double sweet , I am 188cm tall and love the long and loooongeeer bikes like the mondracker must aggree maximum dropper post is a must .✌👍🤘.
Copped a Selcof 740mm carbon riser bar recently from PlanetX (They claim it's a 50mm riser but in reality looks more like a 25mm riser). Priced about 100bux, super light at 160grams but still really stiff with better ride compliance than my previous aluminium bars. Could not imagine going any wider either (I'm 172cm/5'7)
My sis used to live in Bellingham. We did the tour around the San Juan's and spent the day on Orcas Island. It was amazing!
I'm running 780mm carbons on my '19 Bronson, but have been considering going back to 760mm. Good to know it helps with playfulness. Although I love the DH stability of the bike, the lack of agility and playfulness have been my biggest gripe..
Nice tour on the islands man! An easy hack to try narrower bars is to slide the grips in a little. Just be careful not to get impaled should you crash!
I’m glad to see I wasn’t the only one riding in the 90’s on narrow bars 😆
I got 810mm bars and put two sets of grips * YEAH 4 GRIPS * on it! Now I can move around the bar to fit my need. Beat that!
That's a good idea but I don't believe you. How do reach the shifters and brake levers from the outer grips?
Hey there all... my weekend... Sat: Sedona pump track with the kids (3 and 7)... they ripped it! Sun: Ski with the Fam at the Arizona Snowbowl, little side county tour and beer, Mon: Ski with my little boy (Henry is 3)... He wanted to do Volcano bumps and Agassiz lift (the big chair) line bumps twice... he was TOTALLY rippin' it! Super weekend!
5''11" East Coast Canada, 760-770 seems to be the sweet spot for me.
I'm 5'10, running 760 also.
My weekend? Did my first (road bike) century ride. Training for Seattle to Portland (200+) in July.
Nice Jon! Good luck with that double!!!
My turbo Levo comp came with780’s. After riding this stock for 3 months it seems that the tight trees of the Northeast trails kept grabbing my bar ends causing crashes otherwise that would not have happened….ouch. So I cut them down to 760mm and will see if that makes any difference on the trails. From what I’ve seen on CZcams 760 is still wide for a 5’9” average rider. Funny how much 20mm cut off seems like a lot , only riding will tell.
Your video was great…will subscribe!!
Watching that Lee macormacks latest video on push up width he says don't do that it was an old didn't know better at the time technique! I just put Burgtec ride high 38s on my bike they came as 800mm and to be honest they feel fine but think they just look that to long taking the aesthetics away from the coolness of the cockpit! Might even take them down to 795 first really on the fence with it! I'm 5.8 but bigger wider say fat guy now as been off a bike for years after my accident I have the original 780mm carbon bars there but different rise and backsweep all this matters to when cutting your bars! More back sweep I'd only take 5mm off a time as when gets past that 20mm the backsweep severely changes then there buggered!
Went to south mountain and all I could think about is how you tore it up out here a while back 🤘😎My current bar width is 760mm, I've tried 780mm and 720mm but the bike either felt a little sluggish or too narrow for my liking but it is worth trying multiple sets if you have the ability to try different widths. All in all 760mm feels just right in my opinion for the trails I ride.
5’11”, 800mm bars on a Ripmo V1. When I’m going down the mountain through chunk it just feels so stable. Might go down to 790mm as there have been close calls with trees.
Ok... as a guy who went from an early 90’s Gary Fisher to stepping away from the sport and back again 3 years ago. I know suspension technology has gone through the roof from the 90’s as well as frame geometry is drastically different. I have said that the greatest advancement is handlebar width hands down. I totally get this video as I didn’t go through the width progression. I went straight from 1993 to 2016. Wow is all I have to say and I say that because of handlebar width.
I'm 5'9" have been running 780 to 760 bar but gone down to 750-740 maybe eventually down to 730. Got tired of clipping trees and branches. One of the clip cost me AC seperation on my left shoulder, super bummed. Going back down in width in small decrement so I can I acclimate back to narrower setup. Plus I want nimbleness back on my bike and be able to chage direction quicker.
I think the optimal Handlebar-Width is you pushup stance distance. Thats the position you have most force and stability.
in terms of mtbing you are monster bro. you know it right everything you did in the trail i am always soooooo....amaze by it!!!!
I am 173 cms tall and i have the medium GT force 29'', feels huge compared to my merida 120 that i had. I changed the handle bar in the merida to a 760 mm and this one is 800 mm. Ia great going downhill but the curves and berms still feel strabge, because of covid i only got 3 rides and now we are getting some freedom so it feels like a new bike again 😄
Congrats on the new bike man!
I had 750's on my freeride bike but after spending a year riding just my rigid DJ bike they felt too slow and cumbersome so I brought them way down to, like, 700. It was the best thing I ever did to that bike.
Mine are 780mm, but I am 6'2 with long arms, legs and wide shoulders, so from a proportion standpoint, I guess that isn't excessive. It feels quite comfortable actually.
Last weekend I rode up Mt Ashland from Lithia Park up to Four corners . Its steep and long and never gets easier ! But in my fifties that's ok ! Got to ride the cool trails back down !
Funny you make a video about bars the day after I threw a new one on to try out.
I’m 5’10” riding a 2016 Trek Slash 8, 27.5. 160mm rear, 180mm front. Stock bars were 750, 15mm rise, 9D bend and 4D upsweep. I felt a little hunched over when seated and my hands took on the weight and would end up hurting half way through my rides. Picked up a Deity Blacklabel aluminum 800mm, 25mm rise 9D bend and 5D upsweep.
My initial thoughts were to cut them down straight away to 760ish. I later thought, let’s not be dumb and just chuck them on there at full length and test it out for a bit and go from there.
One 6-7 mile trail ride on the local north jersey trails and I quickly felt the bike had transformed. I may have been feeling strong that day, but I felt I could pedal so much better, possibly because of my body position being slightly more upright when seated. Going uphill or in any long pedaling section, hands felt so much better. Going dh, the bike ripped. Felt so freaking good!
As of now, they’re spared a sawing.
Great video yet again Jeff!
Hey Nick thanks for the info on the handle bars. I have a 2019 fuel ex 5 29er with 720 15mm rise and 4 degree upsweep and 9 degree backsweep and I feel the same way when I ride my shoulders hurt a lot I feel like putting most of my weight on my upper body. Any recommendation for me? I'm 5' 10 by the way thanks in advance.
Much like Jeff says about his bikes, it will depend on the type of bike and your riding style that will dictate your bar width, rise and sweep. As I mentioned, I felt as if my upper body weight was all on my hands and it would hurt my lower back after awhile. I don’t know the exact height my stem is at, but I have two spacers underneath using a hope 35mm length stem with 0 rise. I felt like I needed a little rise on the bars to move my weight back slightly and the width part was experimental and so far it feels great.
This is what I read before moving on and making my decision.
mbaction.com/handlebar-rise-the-science-of-picking-the-right-height/
Thanks Nick 👌
My new bike came with 780mm and a 66 head angle, it feels very comfortable bombing down some pretty steep terrain.
Dude love your videos and thanks for making this video ! this will laminate my point of cutting my bars down , I thought I was the only short guy who thought that narrow bars are a good thing .
Super interesting to hear you haven't standardized bars. I always presumed a person would have a 'comfortable' width that was their go-to size for everything (except for gravel bikes, commuters etc). Thx for the info!
I always thought I'd end up with same bars on all the bikes too, but then I started getting creative a few years ago and found they can change the bikes handling in some cool ways.
Just came back from fat biking in Finland. Was the best.
Last weekend I was free riding virgin Utah and then went down to sadona and rode Hangover and Hi line.
That sounds like a SICK weekend!
5'10" and normally run 780s. Just building a Ripmo and purchased set of SQ Lab 780s with 12 deg backsweep instead of 9 deg. Interested to see how that changes things.
did a trip to check out Exchequer bike park. Gnarnia was gnar!
I’m 6’4” with a pretty wide stance. I’m running Renthal Fat Bars at 800 mils wide with a 40 mil rise fitted to a Renthal 40 mil Apex Stem. This is on my Santa Cruz 5010 size XL. I feel that they are a bit wide and may knock them down to a 785 or 780 mil. Great video and love the IG account as well!!!!
Stem length matters too when talking about bar length. I have tried a few lengths on my trail bikes and find that at 5"10 a 760 is best for me with a 35mm stem on a large Transition Patrol. On my old medium felt decree I liked the same bar but with a 50mm stem. I've got four spacers and it's a 30mm rise bar as well.
Glad to see your intentions re a Trust Performance Message evaluation, Jeff - I’m interested too.
Great videos! ...they always leave me with a smile on my face!
The weather finally got good around here. My buddy and got to go out and ride, but since it is early in the season.....we rode to the bar and got a beer.
You can put longer grips say 145mm or BMX grips and keep the bars wide around 780.
The benefit would be you can move around a lot more freely without hassle.
I'm 5'10" and I have 780mm bars because my older Santa Cruz Bullit isn't as long as the modern bikes so it makes the bike feel a little bigger.
Was Riding Fromme Saturday 😎
Jeff great video! Do more about your bike set ups and why you set them up that way!
Thanks Joe! Stay tuned, I got lots coming!
Perfect timing w this video thanks
Very interesting man! I ride a medium Evil Calling with a 150 mm fork and cut down my bar to 770mm wide. It S a Deity bar that was 820mm wide with grips. Can you discuss bar rise? That would be also interesting . Very good content man ! Love your channel 👊🏻
Gmbn tech guy did a nice lil vid on that a few years back.
wow brother, you mtk like a pro...inspiring !!
I have 780mm bars now and its a problem for me. I have 190cm, but i previously rode my 660mm hardtail and now i cant get used to wide bars on my full suspension bike. Its funny, but when I hop back on my 660 hardtail I feel a lot more alive on bike and turns are easier for me.
Hi Jeff, will you be reviewing the Trust Performance Message fork? Inquiring minds want to know.
Great videos, btw.
Yes! I filmed some footage with it yesterday, will have a chance to film the rest of it next week. Stay tuned!
Use to cut to 740 to make learning and doing table top easier with my arms. Im 172cm ;)
Catching up on some of your older videos. Always great content! Plus, it makes me miss the City of Subdued Excitement... it's home. Anyway, I am 6'2" and have a long torso, so sizing can sometimes be a pain, but I generally run really wide bars. I'm looking at an 800 range for my next bar on my xc fatbike (year-around riding in the Nor-Cal Sierras) just for the comfort factor, since I use it to haul my littlest around, but I'm not sure yet. I don't have a more gravity-oriented bike at the moment, but definitely as wide as possible for that when I do! I'm saving an older Deity Black Label for a jump bike build, but I may cut it down a little - it clocks in at 787 stock. We'll see.
Really interesting! I'm 5,8" also and definitely don't feel going any wider than my 760 bars! Bar height though is something I'm still experimenting with, currently at 1065, but in some cases I feel 1075 might be better? What do you think?👍
Great vid, but I thought I'd fill in a little history gap 😉 After Answer started to shrink in the early 2000s, the Truvativ Holzfeller bar reigned supreme at 730mm from 2002-2007 and than I believe the Deity Dirty Thirty and Truvativ Boobar came out in 2008 at 760 and 780 respectively. After that the flood gates opened 😛
800 on my intense, 785 on my pivot. I’m ok with not being nimble in corners because with the wider bar I can slam into corners and maintain the stability.
780 on Renthal Fatbar v2 feels great
Just got back into mountain biking after a 30 year absence. My 1988 specialized stumpjumper comp I built up (and still have) has 19 inch bars. That's 482.6mm now that's narrow. The bars on my Bronson feel SOOO wide to me. It's taking a lot to get used to and I'm constantly thinking of cutting them way down. My how times change...
I'm running 785 on my aggressive Hard tail NS Surge steel frame with 160mm forks.. my Girlfriends bars are cut at 670mm also on an aggressive Hard tail seams a bit short but she is only 5.6 and 110lbs narrow shoulders she seams to like them..
Hi Jeff, i like that video about handlebars, but why not to go ahead an make one about the rise or even maybe more important... bent/swipe?
Always happy to watch your new edits🤘
All the best!
I find the longest reach will be during a tight turn with the one side of the bar forward. Ot shouldnt feel like its tucking or working against your arm. Shouldnt it be set by arm length?
That said im 6'3" with a wingspan and dont like more than 740, arms out wide leaves me feeling like id go over the bars given a misstep, 740 is my pushup position pretty much. Thats been my go-to measurement. Throw yourself at a wall and where your hands land is your strongest position, thats the mark I use. (I would run slimmer as I hate tucking past trees or doing that double tuck to get between two of em).
I always thought the ultra wide bars was a bit...well..short bits issues 😅
JKW makes me laugh and smile when I watch and listen to him inform me!
Thanks for the video Jeff!
Thanks for the tips Jeff!
Jeff, just discovered your channel; awesome work, man! I traded for a hardtail with what, to me, are crazy wide 825 (!!) handlebars. I'm a beginner, easy on the trails, and I am an athletic 5-10, wider than average shoulders. I held a cloth tape measure, between my hands, and held out my arms at a width comfortable to me. It kept coming at 745-760, the latter number kept coming up juuuust before it started to 'feel' wide. Now I need to learn how to cut them down nicely. I'm thinking a trip to Home Depot to buy a conduit cutter is in my future...It's funny how folks get stuck on that difference between 760 and 780; at some point it's just a number. If one does that math, that's just over 3/4" difference between the two. And, math again that means there is only 3/8" of a difference on each side!Thanks for your video! You have another subscriber!Your fellow PNW in Seattle.
congratulation to 20 K !!
My cool story from the weekend is I broke my Scapula at Windrock bike park haha! What a way to start the season but guess that means ill work on my bikes and make them dialed untill I can ride again.
Heal well.
@@WasabiWei Thanks bud!
740mm/17 deg sweep.
Try it.
770-780mm is my sweet spot For handlebar width. Unless I was 6,4 with very broad shoulders and long arms, I don't see myself needing 800 mm
Right on!!!!
Hi Jeff, many thanks for a really interesting video, is this the start of a "How to perfect your bike's handling" series?
780mm at 6'3 tall and wide shoulders. when i got back into riding in 2013 i think i was riding 580mm :D
Thank you ! Excellent topic💎coz my bike so far but i have been wondering exactly about the span of my handlebars😳🇺🇸all i know is wider bars i can get agile on the bike my old 29"er but now im on a 27.5er and better set-up. So, im learning.
Took care of my kids all weekend and missed a great weekend of riding here in Santa Cruz
Also I’m 6’6” and only run 800mm renthals with a 40mm rise
Taking care of. kids can be awesome, maybe next time you can take your kiddos riding with you in Santa Cruz!
I'm usually stoked on 740-780. I can deal with 720, and I've been demoing a lot of different bikes lately, so I've adapted to 800, but it's not the most comfortable.
Oooof, 800 can be rough if you aren't a gorilla!
im 6 feet tall with wide shoulders , the bars i ride now are 810 and to tell the truth it feels to wide like i cant move . I also noticed my shoulders get tired and sore easier .i think 780 or 790 mm is the sweet spot for me .
czcams.com/video/xMXlKED32uo/video.html watch this to get a more scientific approach
I ride so I don't have to do pushups, just kidding! Another nice video, Jeff!
been riding on dh 800mm enduro 740 to 780mm and trail 760mm for the past 5 years
I'm 5'7. I started with 800mm, then 780mm and now I'm trying 760mm.
760 all the way, i have a 18 Yeti 5.5 came with 800, felt way to big for me. Just felt i couldn't lean the bike well into turns. But with 760, all day long.
My weekend. Almost exactly 1 yr after breaking some ribs on a log hop gone wrong I went OTB on a short nose manual. Couldn't get unclipped so I split my lip, but otherwise uninjured. Realized the next day my fork had < 70 psi... I knew it was low, but good reminder to check your suspension more than every few months!
Measure the width of your shoulders, then add 200mm. Test ride the bike. Cut more off at your discretion, but I wouldn't go less than shoulders + 150.
Currently on my new bike i am at 785, but they will be getting cut down to about 765 soon (5'11") ... But more importantly how is that baby seat? I hate the trailer its bulky and annoying to deal with when having a compact car along with low clearance for mud puddles .. the front mount seat intrigued me but also scares me a bit, but i think my daughter would enjoy that more vs staring at my butt crack 🤣
Hey Guineson, that seat is called the Ibert Safety Seat. It's ok for around town but it's not a hardcore offroad seat by any means. On long rides, even road rides, it's pretty uncomfortable since your knees just hit the back of it the whole time. It works best on my vintage bike, but it's hard to get on/off the bike. The Mac Ride looks amazing, I'm planning on getting one of those soon!
Helpful stuff here Jeff - thanks for the info. I learned a bunch. 👌
760mm on a norco opticC9.1
I am 6.1 in height
Dakota Ridge Front Range Denver
Took a Transition Sentinel down lava and dirt on Mount Haleakala volcano on Maui.
Cool vid. Subbed :)
Nice to see your experimentation with different set ups for your different bikes.
Without trying to get too technical, this is how I've come to understand how the different lengths of your cockpit controls affect the handling. Handlebar width needs to combine with stem length to make sense. I find that stem length has more of an impact on the actual handling and quickness or ease of turning the bars, while the width really is all about stability and control. Imagine 780 bars with a 120mm stem. The bike will turn like a bus but shorten that stem to 35mm and you're turning like a gokart.
Back in the day when we had narrow bars, the stem was long. As bars have widened, so stems have shortened fortunately. This should put your torso into roughly the same position on the bike when seated. It's up to each individual to find that ideal set up depending on their type of riding.
I run 765. BUT I found that my arms are very asymmetric as my right arm is about 1 whole inch longer than my left. So I cut the left side 16mm shorter than the right to even things up. It feels good, but I would be interested to know what you think about this "hack". Keep up the great work! Cheers!
I run 785 / 788 and 800mm bars on my bikes
We need more info on the "little" HD4! How was the shock travel limited? Any reviews coming in the future?
I did a whole video about it but tried to edit some incorrect info out and deleted the vid! Will be reposting it and a ride report of. the trust fork soon.
Good info!