Handlebars: Back sweep angle?

[smorgasbord]

My bike came with a nice Wren carbon handlebar . However, the 5 degree backsweep doesn't feel right to my wrists at all. I'm convinced I need backsweep to have a more neutral wrist angle. SQLab makes both 12 and 16 degree backsweep bars. Some bikes come with 8 or 9 degree bars - my 5 degree is definitely a problem.

I'm thinking of the 16 degree, but I think there may be handling issues. Anyone have any experience or recommendations?

 

[indianajo]

I'm using a yubabikes bodaboda which comes with about 30 deg swept back handlebars. I'd prefer 90 deg to the front wheel, but they took all the metal out of the frame seatpost to stem tube since the 1950's and those bars would foul your knees now on turns, even with my 28" legs.
At least the 30 deg handlebars stopped my hands going to sleep after 90 minutes. Now that happens about the 200th minute. I was riding kid sized 26" MTB previously, with straight bars. 2 of those frames threw me on my chin 4 times, when the front wheel hit obstructions and whipped sideways. This stretch frame cargo bike hasn't done that yet.

 

[PDoz]

Much depends on your preference +/- intended use.

For mtb riding with any aggressive down hill work , my crumbling limbs cope best with 8-10 degrees backsweep and about 5 upsweep.

But if I'm going to wander along the flats looking at scenery, it's REALY nice to have much more backsweep AND DOWN sweep as well.

I wish we could have multi adjustable clip on bars like motorbikes - clamping to the forks, adjustable for height, back and upsweep - even asymetrical setting for those of us with twisted spines....

 

[smorgasbord]

I ended up with the 16 degree backsweep bars and am happy with them so far. 16 degrees isn't all that much - it's not like a Jones H-bar or moustache bar. Now to figure out which grips to put on them....

 

[Asher]

I strongly favor the Postino from Velo Orange. 45 degrees. Matches how you'd hold a rod in your hands.

 

[Bicyclista]

Jones H-bar. 45 degree sweep. As @Asher and others have noted, a 45-degree sweep places your wrists, hands, and elbows in the most natural position.

 

[smorgasbord]

FWIW, I have a Jones bar and a moustache style bar on order for my wife. I'm happy with the 16 degree backsweep (at least so far), but my wife, who is a less aggressive rider, wants more comfort.

 

[John from Connecticut]

My bike came with a nice Wren carbon handlebar . However, the 5 degree backsweep doesn't feel right to my wrists at all. I'm convinced I need backsweep to have a more neutral wrist angle. SQLab makes both 12 and 16 degree backsweep bars. Some bikes come with 8 or 9 degree bars - my 5 degree is definitely a problem.

I'm thinking of the 16 degree, but I think there may be handling issues. Anyone have any experience or recommendations?

Hello,

As PDoz wrote " Much depends on your preference +/- intended use." I agree.

I ride a Trek Powerfly 7 e-mtb on rails to trails and road, never single track. I swapped out the factory handlebar, which was
pretty similar to yours ( less the carbon ) for an Origin8 Bat Wing bar with a 25 degree backsweep. My wrists and I are very happy.
I really like the bar.

Bat Wing

HBAR OR8 MTB BATWING ALY 31.8x660x25d BK

origin8.bike

 

[geysir]

I have tried various handlebars on my ebike and have settled on the Origin8 Batwing handlebar. The 25 degree back sweep works for me keeping my hands from going numb. I do have bar ends mounted that I use occasionally. The Batwing bars, even without bar ends, are quite comfortable on a multi-hour ride. This is a flat bar that did require me to go with a higher stem. I tried the expensive carbon fiber ProTaper 20/20 bars that have 20 degrees of rise and 20 degrees back sweep. They were a little too wide and too flexible for me. Plus, I am a little leery of adding bar ends to carbon fiber bars. I also tried the Metropolis bars with 40 degrees of back sweep. Those were difficult for me. I felt I could not pull on the bars for climbing hills and accelerating. Plus, I needed a very long stem for the Metropolis bars since the 40 degree back sweep puts the handles so far back.

 

[reed scott]

I have tried various handlebars on my ebike and have settled on the Origin8 Batwing handlebar. The 25 degree back sweep works for me keeping my hands from going numb. I do have bar ends mounted that I use occasionally. The Batwing bars, even without bar ends, are quite comfortable on a multi-hour ride. This is a flat bar that did require me to go with a higher stem. I tried the expensive carbon fiber ProTaper 20/20 bars that have 20 degrees of rise and 20 degrees back sweep. They were a little too wide and too flexible for me. Plus, I am a little leery of adding bar ends to carbon fiber bars. I also tried the Metropolis bars with 40 degrees of back sweep. Those were difficult for me. I felt I could not pull on the bars for climbing hills and accelerating. Plus, I needed a very long stem for the Metropolis bars since the 40 degree back sweep puts the handles so far back.

Would greatly appreciate seeing pics of your current setup. Thank you in advance.

 

[smorgasbord]

I have tried various handlebars on my ebike and have settled on the Origin8 Batwing handlebar. The 25 degree back sweep works for me keeping my hands from going numb. I do have bar ends mounted that I use occasionally. The Batwing bars, even without bar ends, are quite comfortable on a multi-hour ride. This is a flat bar that did require me to go with a higher stem. I tried the expensive carbon fiber ProTaper 20/20 bars that have 20 degrees of rise and 20 degrees back sweep. They were a little too wide and too flexible for me. Plus, I am a little leery of adding bar ends to carbon fiber bars. I also tried the Metropolis bars with 40 degrees of back sweep. Those were difficult for me. I felt I could not pull on the bars for climbing hills and accelerating. Plus, I needed a very long stem for the Metropolis bars since the 40 degree back sweep puts the handles so far back.

Width shouldn't be an issue, as you can cut down most handlebars, especially carbon fiber ones. And the flex is what helps them be comfortable, as they're not transmitting as much vibration to your hands/wrists as aluminum bars do.

After all, they actually make tuning forks out of aluminum!

 

[geysir]

Width shouldn't be an issue, as you can cut down most handlebars, especially carbon fiber ones. And the flex is what helps them be comfortable, as they're not transmitting as much vibration to your hands/wrists as aluminum bars do.

After all, they actually make tuning forks out of aluminum!

Perhaps I gave up on the ProTaper 20/20 carbon bars too quickly. I want to like them as they are lighter and absorb some shock. I cut them down to 720mm. Perhaps my next step will be to cut them to 660mm to match the width of the Origin8 Batwing bars.

 

[smorgasbord]

Before you cut, be sure there's enough bar for the shifters and whatever grips you want to install.

I ended up with these combo grips/bar ends and like them a lot: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0756TM4CX

 

[reed scott]

Perhaps I gave up on the ProTaper 20/20 carbon bars too quickly. I want to like them as they are lighter and absorb some shock. I cut them down to 720mm. Perhaps my next step will be to cut them to 660mm to match the width of the Origin8 Batwing bars.

How are you cutting your carbon bars? Dremmel with carborundum wheel? Also: I cut my aluminum bars to 660 and am quite happy with them.

 

[geysir]

I used a hacksaw to cut the bars.

 

[theemartymac]

I just swapped in a set of 12 degree bars with SQL grips on my bike, and I'm very happy with the improvement. Absolutely no noticeable change in stability, but definitely a big improvement in long ride comfort. I won't go any steeper because I use this bike for long & fast commutes to work, and It's nice to be able to still lean in and keep a slightly aggressive position into the wind or on a long climb, but I'm confident I could get away with a fair bit more sweep without issue if I wanted a more casual position. I don't think I'd like anything near 45 degrees though. I don't like how that feels when I stand up.

And I haven't cut them down yet from the stock 780mm, but I'll likely take at least 50-60mm off in increments as they are just a little wider than necessary with those big flared grips.

 

[ki11a]

I strongly favor the Postino from Velo Orange. 45 degrees. Matches how you'd hold a rod in your hands.

Got the Klunker from Velo Orange, love them + the 45 deg sweep super natural positioning.

 

[BurroBabe]

I just swapped in a set of 12 degree bars with SQL grips on my bike, and I'm very happy with the improvement. Absolutely no noticeable change in stability, but definitely a big improvement in long ride comfort. I won't go any steeper because I use this bike for long & fast commutes to work, and It's nice to be able to still lean in and keep a slightly aggressive position into the wind or on a long climb, but I'm confident I could get away with a fair bit more sweep without issue if I wanted a more casual position. I don't think I'd like anything near 45 degrees though. I don't like how that feels when I stand up.

And I haven't cut them down yet from the stock 780mm, but I'll likely take at least 50-60mm off in increments as they are just a little wider than necessary with those big flared grips.

 

[BurroBabe]

I'm new here and I'm not sure if I'm replying to the correct post so please help me here. I wound up reading this thread because I just tried out the Trek Verve + (they only had the 2 and I am thinking of ordering the 4) mostly because of my very short inseam. I need the XS size but wasn't considering Trek because of my arthritis and needing a suspension fork for the dirt roads here, which is also why I'm reading this stuff on sweep. When I tried the Gazelle Medeo mid-step (still no standover clearance on the small) I found the position of my hands comfortable for my wrists, that is what I call neutral. I have zero lateral movement in my right wrist and nearly constant pain but I need to ride. When I tried the Trek Verve+, my wrist hurt a lot even though I had no weight on my hands. I felt like the handlebars were just too "straight" with little back sweep. The bike shop guy is willing to swap out the handlebars with whatever I want, as well as add a shock fork, but I cannot find the info on how much sweep the Gazelles have. I might have short legs but I always had a long torso (although now, at 72, I've lost two inches there, from 5' 1 3/4" to 4' 11 1/2") and broad shoulders. It seems everyone has a different idea of what degree of sweep is neutral, and I guess it depends on each person's body dimensions. Can anyone give me an idea of what the back sweep on those Gazelles is, or what would be neutral? Opinions on whether 50mm of travel in the shock fork , the max the Verve can handle, is enough for my washboard dirt road would also be helpful.
BTW, the cockpit on that red bike is cool, but I don't think it sweeps back enough for me. But I definitely don't want something like cruiser bars!
Thanks for any advice.

 

[Art Deco]

I'm new here and I'm not sure if I'm replying to the correct post so please help me here. I wound up reading this thread because I just tried out the Trek Verve + (they only had the 2 and I am thinking of ordering the 4) mostly because of my very short inseam. I need the XS size but wasn't considering Trek because of my arthritis and needing a suspension fork for the dirt roads here, which is also why I'm reading this stuff on sweep. When I tried the Gazelle Medeo mid-step (still no standover clearance on the small) I found the position of my hands comfortable for my wrists, that is what I call neutral. I have zero lateral movement in my right wrist and nearly constant pain but I need to ride. When I tried the Trek Verve+, my wrist hurt a lot even though I had no weight on my hands. I felt like the handlebars were just too "straight" with little back sweep. The bike shop guy is willing to swap out the handlebars with whatever I want, as well as add a shock fork, but I cannot find the info on how much sweep the Gazelles have. I might have short legs but I always had a long torso (although now, at 72, I've lost two inches there, from 5' 1 3/4" to 4' 11 1/2") and broad shoulders. It seems everyone has a different idea of what degree of sweep is neutral, and I guess it depends on each person's body dimensions. Can anyone give me an idea of what the back sweep on those Gazelles is, or what would be neutral? Opinions on whether 50mm of travel in the shock fork , the max the Verve can handle, is enough for my washboard dirt road would also be helpful.
BTW, the cockpit on that red bike is cool, but I don't think it sweeps back enough for me. But I definitely don't want something like cruiser bars!
Thanks for any advice.

Probably should move this post to ebiking with disabilities, but at least general discussion. This forum is more focused on selling parts.