What is "normal" bar width?

[MontyVeda]

I can give you examples all day long of riders who do not conform to your theory.

i don't want a list of riders... i want a list of facts... you got any of those?

 

[S-Express]

i don't want a list of riders... i want a list of facts... you got any of those?

Facts about what? All of this is about personal preference, nothing more. I was merely debunking the myth that bar width must correspond to shoulder width.

 

[Racing roadkill]

Are you just guessing? The whole point of joints is to enable limbs to function at different angles.

Go and grab a yard broom. Hold it in your hand so that it's straight forward ( i.e. An extension of your arm) with your arm out in front of you. Now repeat with your arm straight out to the side and the broom as an extension. How long can you hold the broom in each position?

 

[mjr]

Don't buy bars based off width alone. Reach and drop are really important if you spend a lot of time in the drops.

Amen! There also seem to be an increasing range of splays and sweeps available, too. Like saddles and pedals, it's somewhat irritating how many online sites don't give full measurements.

well if you're going to debunk this common misconception, you're going to have to do a lot better than your last effort.

Excuse me, your honour, but isn't the usual approach for those arguing for a bizarre claim to have to produce some supporting evidence? Where's that?

Anyway, the ever-sceptical Jan Heine claims that handlebar width historically correlates with wheel flop better than shoulder width. https://janheine.wordpress.com/2010/12/27/handlebar-width/ Your ball.

 

[S-Express]

@mjr - unfortunately I am only able to give your post one 'like' - but please assume I have given it at least three..

 

[S-Express]

Go and grab a yard broom. Hold it in your hand so that it's straight forward ( i.e. An extension of your arm) with your arm out in front of you. Now repeat with your arm straight out to the side and the broom as an extension. How long can you hold the broom in each position?

I'll happily try that, if you can explain the biomechanical similarities between that and holding a set of handlebars

 

[User33236]

My understanding is that you measure between the bony protrusions of your shoulders and add 2cm.

 

[S-Express]

I don't think anyone has used this word.

Let's replace it with 'should' then - or another similar word of your choice. Either way, bar width linking to shoulder width is not an actual 'thing'.

 

[smutchin]

The shoulder width advice is perhaps best treated as an approximate guide for a statistically average person in the same way as calculating your HRmax as 220 - age, ie a reasonable starting point to put you in the right ball park but no substitute for proper measurement.

 

[Racing roadkill]

My understanding is that you measure between the bony protrusions of your shoulders and add 2cm.

That would be fine.

 

[S-Express]

As a starting point, try bars the same width as the shoulders from which to experiment.

If I did that, I would be looking at bars of 46cm as a starting point, which is not practical. There really is no basis for suggesting that.

 

[S-Express]

Oh well, you should do what works for you, which I guess you do.

Everyone should do what works for them. Which is why perpetuating the myth that people buy bars the same width as their shoulders is poor advice. That's putting them at a disadvantage before they even start looking.

 

[MontyVeda]

...


Excuse me, your honour, but isn't the usual approach for those arguing for a bizarre claim to have to produce some supporting evidence? Where's that?

...

it's not a bizarre claim... S-Express said it was a common misconception and asked him why. That is all.

 

[S-Express]

it's not a bizarre claim... S-Express said it was a common misconception and asked him why. That is all.

It's a misconception because it has no basis in fact. It's purely folklore. If you can find some facts to support it, then let's see em.

 

[S-Express]

Well, let's postulate a little. If you have bars twice as wide as your shoulders, you will be uncomfortably stretched out wide. If you have bars only half as wide as your shoulders, you will be uncomfortably cramped.

You could speculate that, but there are examples of both extremes - narrow track bars being one, and wide MTB bars being the other.

Therefore, on average, bars the width of your shoulders are just right in a Goldilocks sort of way.
Now I really feel that that is as rigourous as a scientific explanation nerds to be, and that the matter is now put to bed.

If we're approximating, then that may be true - it also depends how 'approximate' we are being. But that isn't the point being made earlier.

The only point I'm making is that personal preference is far more important than some arbitrary shoulder measurement when choosing bar width.