How wide are your handlebars?

[RunForTheHills]

Sheldon Brown's website is actively maintained and contains information on modern developments in cycling. "Last Updated: 06/18/2026 15:25:45 by John Allen" It is still a great resource for anyone that works on bikes.

 

[Rás Cnoic]

Sheldon Brown's website is actively maintained and contains information on modern developments in cycling. "Last Updated: 06/18/2026 15:25:45 by John Allen" It is still a great resource for anyone that works on bikes.

Use his gear calculator weekly.

 

[LandoftheGiants]

I replaced my standard gravel bike riser bar, which was a bit like an MTB bar, with a straight flat bar, then I sat on the bike, closed my eyes, and held my arms out until I found the position that was the most natural. Then I dropped my hands to the bars and that's where the grips went, the excess cutoff with a pipe cutter. Best do it with a friend to help stabilize the bike and do the marking.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

It is so easy to use the pipe cutter

This is what we civilised people do.

 

[PCeBiker]

I only use my handlebars in an emergency.

I like them wide and aiming straight down the stanchions tubes when I need to 🛠 it

 

[DaveMatthews]

It is so easy to use the pipe cutter

View attachment 211606
This is what we civilised people do.

Civilized humans use Clik valves...

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Civilized humans use Clik valves...

Lamers use pipe cutters and Clik valves

 

[DaveMatthews]

 

[rob feature]

740mm on my Allant. 800mm on MTBs.

One rule I've heard through the years is do some pushups. Wherever you put your hands gives you a good idea of where you'd want a bar.

I have a One-up carbon bar on one of my hardtail MTBs and I swear it takes out enough small vibrations to combat fatigue.

 

[LandoftheGiants]

I have a One-up carbon bar on one of my hardtail MTBs and I swear it takes out enough small vibrations to combat fatigue.

If you're worried about vibrations shim the bar with a sleeve of rubber like they do with all the joints on a Harley.

 

[spokewrench]

If you're worried about vibrations shim the bar with a sleeve of rubber like they do with all the joints on a Harley.

I think that was a purpose of swept-back bars before pneumatic tires. Weight on the handles put torsion on the center section of the bar, which acted like a spring.

 

[LandoftheGiants]

One rule I've heard through the years is do some pushups. Wherever you put your hands gives you a good idea of where you'd want a bar.

And not only that, but doing pushups will strengthen your upper body and core making a lot of bar issues irrelevant. A lot of the fixes I read about, comfy bars, comfy suspension seats are fixes for overweight people with no muscle tone and old people with creaky bones. You have to parse that out when you make a decision effecting your own setup.