Trim bars on Vado SL

[rochrunner]

Has anyone trimmed the bar width on their Vado SL? Yesterday I rode my old Crosstrail hybrid for the first time since getting my Vado SL 5 and noticed right away that it was more comfortable for my arms and wrists. The basic geometry of the two bikes is very close, but what I observed is that my hands seemed to be closer together. Doing a rough measurement end-to-end on the two bikes indicated that the bars on the SL are about 2cm/1 inch wider than the Crosstrail.

It's hard to believe that that's enough to feel a noticeable distance, but maybe worth making the change. From what I can tell, the slight sweepback of the two bars appears to be about the same. I'm going to make a few more comparative measurements before cutting since it's pretty hard to add length back, but I wanted to check to see if anyone else has done something similar.

 

[nope]

Has anyone trimmed the bar width on their Vado SL? Yesterday I rode my old Crosstrail hybrid for the first time since getting my Vado SL 5 and noticed right away that it was more comfortable for my arms and wrists. The basic geometry of the two bikes is very close, but what I observed is that my hands seemed to be closer together. Doing a rough measurement end-to-end on the two bikes indicated that the bars on the SL are about 2cm/1 inch wider than the Crosstrail.

It's hard to believe that that's enough to feel a noticeable distance, but maybe worth making the change. From what I can tell, the slight sweepback of the two bars appears to be about the same. I'm going to make a few more comparative measurements before cutting since it's pretty hard to add length back, but I wanted to check to see if anyone else has done something similar.

Pipe cutter, measure twice...

 

[PennyFarthing]

I trimmed mine a while back, I don't remember exactly how much I took off but it certainly suits me (and the gaps I have to squeeze through!) much better. Width is now 62cm.

 

[kahn]

Pipe cutter, measure twice...

I did that years ago on my mt bike. The handlebars were just too wide. Worked easily

 

[DanInStPete]

+1 on the pipe cutter, I trim all my bars with one (but don’t use stock bars).

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I see no reason in trimming the Vado SL handlebars. They form a valuable real estate for accessories. Why not just install Innerbarends that allow the arm spread of 44 cm, that is, same as for an average drop-bar hoods?

 

[Marcela]

I have an old 10 spd steel frame bike from the early 80s I just rehabbed. After I fixed it up I took it for a ride and noticed the really narrow handlebars, don't remember them being that narrow. Measured and they were 16"! Just measured the Sequoia with drop bars and they were 20" which seems comfortable. Hopping on the Vado or Como now feels like a double wide, they are 27-28" wide!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Hopping on the Vado or Como now feels like a double wide, they are 27-28" wide!

Ya, and the older bikes had 26" wheels and rim brakes.

 

[Marcela]

Ya, and the older bikes had 26" wheels and rim brakes.

27”. I was surprised when I got this one the bike was almost too tall for me on the cross bar. I remember having to do some maneuvering and careful planning when I first got mine around 12 yrs old.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

My traditional bike of 2013 had 610 mm handlebars (24"). I stopped ridding it after two years because of my ailments.
My first e-bike came with 680 mm (26.8") handlebars. Two other e-bikes sport the same bar width. My Giant Trance E+ had 780 mm (30.7") bars. As e-bikes meant a brand new adventure for me, I even did not notice the bars could be "too wide". They seemed to be "as they should" and gave me a plenty of space for accessories as well as excellent steering capabilities. The wide bars belonged to the same new exciting category as thru-axles, 1x drivetrain, hydraulic disk brakes and other modern stuff. I embraced the modern cycling technology totally.

With Innerbarends, the hand spread became 440 mm (17.3"), same as with a drop-bar. And I often ride keeping my hands on Ergon GP2 bar-ends, with the full handlebar width at my disposal.

I simply cannot understand someone wanted to trim their flat handlebars but it is me.

 

[Roger Dyer]

Cut 25mm from each end of mine, they are now 66cm with ergon 3 grips fitted. Find it far more comfortable and feels a more sporty ride. Before I cut them off, with a hacksaw, a friend who had a short ride of my bike, said it seemed like riding a mountain bike because of the really wide bars.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

it seemed like riding a mountain bike because of the really wide bars.

MTB bars are 100-120 mm wider than the ones on Vado SL.

 

[Temoore48]

I thought about cutting mine and did some research on this and other forums. Some suggested the side bars have you a nice triangular set of contact points that were comfortable. I found suggestions to try the sqlabs inner barends and I added those. I also added ergon gp3 grips. For me it gives me several choices for hand position and all the hb real estate for other stuff. So glad I did not cut the bars.

 

[Marcela]

Wider bars also move your shoulder blades in, which pinches and stresses the muscles.

 

[sodoff]

Handlebar Mods

I was not happy with the width of the bars on the 2013 Turbo S. Way too wide for me. The 2014 specs say 580mm, but my bars were 680mm on the 2013. I ended up buying a Ritchey Pro Rizer, and trimmed 10mm from each side with a pipe cutter, making the total width 650-ish Plus they have 35mm of...

electricbikereview.com

Most handlebars far too wide for most of us.
+2 on the pipe cutters, but make sure there will be enough space for your handlebar furniture.

 

[rochrunner]

+2 on the pipe cutters, but make sure there will be enough space for your handlebar furniture.

With the bell, Garmin mount, and headlight switch my bars are getting crowded for sure (but nothing like @Stefan Mikes ). In any case, I installed SQLab's inner bar-ends and will see how that feels before deciding if I should knock some width off as well.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

but nothing like @Stefan Mikes

Not like this?

 

[rochrunner]

@Stefan Mikes I must have been thinking of your original Vado.