Handlebar width/stem

[Paulq]

Came back from a ride tonight on my Scott Sub (flat bar) and for the first time suffered from numb hands and feet. Managed to sort the foot thing out to a large extent by dropping the saddle height a bit en route but the numb hands was a problem.

When riding it felt like the handlebar width was too narrow (60 cm end to end) so it may be worth me buying slightly wider ones? Are handlebars on hybrids the same as those used for MTB's? Many MTB replacement bars on Wiggle have a width of 71 cm which would give me more room to move - not sure whether the tube diameters are always the same?

Is it also worth me trying a longer stem to stretch me out a bit and maybe take some weight off my hands, plus maybe some bar ends?

Cheers

 

[julk]

Came back from a ride tonight on my Scott Sub (flat bar) and for the first time suffered from numb hands and feet. Managed to sort the foot thing out to a large extent by dropping the saddle height a bit en route but the numb hands was a problem.

When riding it felt like the handlebar width was too narrow (60 cm end to end) so it may be worth me buying slightly wider ones? Are handlebars on hybrids the same as those used for MTB's? Many MTB replacement bars on Wiggle have a width of 71 cm which would give me more room to move - not sure whether the tube diameters are always the same?

Is it also worth me trying a longer stem to stretch me out a bit and maybe take some weight off my hands, plus maybe some bar ends?

Cheers

It is possibly quicker to try some more supportive handlebar grips such as the Ergon GP1s.
They are much better at supporting your hands. You can also get them with full bar ends.

Wider handlebars are more likely to ease your shoulders and back.

A longer stem will position you with more weight on your hands - not what you are after!

 

[Ben M]

Wider?! You want your hands to be as wide apart as your shoulders, that's the most comfortable position, that's why road bike bars are 40cm wide.

 

[e-rider]

I use 685mm (68.5cm) wide bars on my MTB and 46cm on my road bike - anyone using 40cm road bars has 'child-like' shoulders!

I would also find 60cm straight bars too narrow, however, 710mm are very wide. Perhaps look for 660mm or 685mm.

 

[Ben M]

I use 685mm (68.5cm) wide bars on my MTB and 46cm on my road bike - anyone using 40cm road bars has 'child-like' shoulders!

I agree with you there, mine are 44cm. When I was looking for new ones they seemed to be the biggest size in a lot of places, so i figured that everyone else likes them small!

 

[battered]

Numbness is more likely to be the result of loading your hands in the "folded back" position than shoulder width. I would experiment with bar height and reach rather than width.

 

[2Loose]

Numbness is more likely to be the result of loading your hands in the "folded back" position than shoulder width. I would experiment with bar height and reach rather than width.

+1

Narrower bars put your body in a more aerodynamic position and reduces the effect of your torso acting like a sail. Normal rule of thumb is shoulder width-ish for road riding.

Numb hands are normally a sign of bad hand positioning. I got numb hands after 25 miles on my last bike with wide bars, but sawed them down by 2 inches each side and got some small bar ends to give me a change of hand position...hands no longer numb at over 50 miles.

 

[adscrim]

It's not so much bad hand position as unchanged hand position. The numbness comes from you leaning onto the bars with the bar then pushing onto the nerves in the palm of the hand (ulnar?). Changing the width of the bars wouldn't really change this however as 2Loose points out, adding some bar ends would give you new hand position options. You could also get ergonomic grips and some new gloves - specialized body geometry gloves get recommended on here quite a lot. However, I think the most effective solution is changing hand position regularly which bar end would aid with.

Is the mountain bike handle bar width not a control issue? The wider bars make it easier to control the bike over uneven ground?

 

[e-rider]

there is a control issure but comfort too - I find narrow bars incredibly uncomfortable. I agree that they might not solve numbness issues but that doesn't mean he should stick with narrow bars if he finds them, well, narrow!

 

[2Loose]

there is a control issure but comfort too - I find narrow bars incredibly uncomfortable. I agree that they might not solve numbness issues but that doesn't mean he should stick with narrow bars if he finds them, well, narrow!

60cm is hardly narrow for a road bar, is it. Saying that, there are wider ones out there, as he points out.

 

[HLaB]

I use 685mm (68.5cm) wide bars on my MTB and 46cm on my road bike - anyone using 40cm road bars has 'child-like' shoulders!

I would also find 60cm straight bars too narrow, however, 710mm are very wide. Perhaps look for 660mm or 685mm.

I've got 'Child-like' shoulders