Flat bar widths, what size do you prefer ?

[Smudge]

I guess it probably does affect the warranty, wouldn't it make more sense to get a 640 bar and keep the one that came with the bike in case you need to claim on warranty?

Yes it probably would make more sense to do that. Although i suspect they wouldn't even notice the bars being 640 instead of their original 700 if i had to take it to a Giant dealer.
But it is something to bear in mind.

 

[Justinitus]

I don’t think it would affect the warranty as it’s one of the ways of making your bike fit you - it’s a very personal thing. One of my previous bikes had markings under the grips in 1cm increments just for this purpose. If in doubt you could always ask the shop to clarify. A cheap £5 pipe cutter makes a nice neat job of it.

 

[ChrisEyles]

I really like 560mm - 580mm flat bars with bar ends on a commutery type bike (or can be lots of fun on a retro MTB too).

Much wider than this and I feel the bar ends become un-ergonomic.

If I'm not using bar ends then something around 600mm - 630mm is a good compromise between being comfy and at least somewhat aerodynamic on the road, and having a bit more control for off-road.

If it's on a "proper" MTB I'd want at least 680mm, and would be happier with 720mm - 780mm.

Pipe cutter is the neatest way to do it, but a hacksaw and file to tidy up also works fine.

 

[Smudge]

I don’t think it would affect the warranty as it’s one of the ways of making your bike fit you - it’s a very personal thing. One of my previous bikes had markings under the grips in 1cm increments just for this purpose. If in doubt you could always ask the shop to clarify. A cheap £5 pipe cutter makes a nice neat job of it.

Yes, i think you may be right. Warranty is lifetime only for the frame and only one year for motor, battery and electrical parts for it. Cant see a few cm off the bars would affect that, that's even if it was noticed at all.
I'm just going to go ahead and cut them. I dont have a pipe cutter, so it will be masking tape, hacksaw and file.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

I'm going to cut the flat bars down on my Giant ebike i recently bought. At 700mm wide, i feel they are too wide for a hybrid...….. Not sure yet what i will cut them down to, prob somewhere from 600mm to 640mm. I dont want them too narrow as this bike will be used off road a fair bit.
Interested to know what width flat bars people have and prefer on their hybrid, commuter, folder or MTB.

Super-wide handlebars are just an absurd modern cycling fashion accessory, IMHO. They certainly have no place on any sort of hybrid, but I don't see any need for them on MTB's either. Take a look at 26'ers built in the 80's and 90's and you'll struggle to find one with bars much wider than 24", and plenty of them were ridden in anger not just on a pootle through your local woods. Wide bars may give more leverage to keep the front wheel pointing where you want it, but they also make getting the bike through narrow gaps difficult, which can be a huge disadvantage and cause crashes if you clip anything growing out of the ground whilst riding off road. Then there's the extra difficulty passing cyclists coming the other way on narrow paths, especially alongside canals. All in all they are more trouble than they are worth for the 99.9% of cyclists who are not hardcore MTB'ers bombing downhill on extreme terrain riding 29'ers with large knobbly tyres.

Almost all bikes built in sensible times were not much wider than 24"/610mm, and even this is a bit OTT for road use. I have some Raleigh hybrid bars that measured 24 1/2" across from the factory, and I cut 7/8" off each side so they finished up at 22 3/4" bare and about 23" with the grips fitted. If it wasn't for the curvature of the bars and the need for room for brakes, shifters, and lights, I would have cut them down to 22". My 3-speed roadsters have bars under 20" wide and they are still perfectly controllable on tarmac & hard packed gravel & dirt tracks. Funny how drop bar riders manage to control their bikes with much narrower bars isn't it? Even CX racers who aren't on smooth tarmac!

 

[Smudge]

Ok, so i've gone ahead and cut the oe bars.
First i flipped the stem and got the bars where i want them. Bars still 700mm wide.....

Took 30mm off each end of bars, bringing total width down to 640mm. Also had to change the bell, as the old one wouldn't fit where the bars taper up in width.

Feels much better now and also fits through my door better to where the bike lives in my hallway.

 

[Drago]

I assume thats a MTB ?

Aye laddie. Given the choice I run 44cm on road bikes.

 

[Smudge]

Change of subject to my Honda adventure bike now, I had a side stand foot extension turn up today from China. A rip off £45 from Hepco & Becker, but a lovely £7 from AliExpress. So thought i'd fit that as well while i was out there.

 

[Drago]

Fair play. Making a profit is one thin, but 45 sheets is downright pillaging.

 

[Smudge]

Fair play. Making a profit is one thin, but 45 sheets is downright pillaging.

Motorcycle accessories have always been stupidly high priced here in the uk.

 

[MichaelW2]

I took about 1 cm off the ends of my On One Marys. You have to cut them to your width. Try setting your controls inboard and see what works before slicing.
Mary bars have a useful amount of sweep that relieves rotation in your arms.

 

[Crankarm]

The carbon bars on my MTB are uncircumcised

LoL.