Newbie Handlebar Width Question.

[PpPete]

I'm a big bloke, 6'2" reasonably broad shoulders, and I like a wide handlebar on my roadie - 44 cm.

Just bought my first MTB (Giant Revel 0 29er in XL size )... and chuffing 'eck does it have wide bars or what.
Because I'm used to a low bar position, these things feel like ape-hangers. I've not taken the grips off to be exact but they seem to be 66cm wide. Certainly considerably wider than on the smaller sized MTBs I've borrowed up to now.

My first reaction was that I'll have to cut these down or i'll be hitting the trees on either side of the singletrack , but I've no idea how much. Any recommendations ?

 

[Paul99]

Try putting your hands on the bars where it is comfortable and go from there? I'm getting a MTB this week and will be getting the shop to shorten the bars for me, but this is what they told me to do to see if I felt comfortable on it.

They also suggested I could do it myself using a pipe cutter, but think I'll let them do it in case of a bugger up!

 

[PpPete]

I've no problems cutting them down myself, but obviously can't put any back on if I go too far !
My concern is that what might feel comfortable to me now with my "roadie" background, may in fact turn out to be too narrow when I've got the hang of this new fangled bouncy bike stuff.

 

[Paul99]

I've no problems cutting them down myself, but obviously can't put any back on if I go too far !
My concern is that what might feel comfortable to me now with my "roadie" background, may in fact turn out to be too narrow when I've got the hang of this new fangled bouncy bike stuff.

I can see your point, and would suggest leaving them as they are for now then and see how you go. Take it slowly to start with and if you are hitting stuff then get to cutting. You might find that they are o.k. once you get used to them and don't need to cut anything.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

660mm isn't wide for an mtb bar. I'm same size as you and my bars are 720mm on a short stem. I don't seem to clip trees on singletrack any more than my riding partners with narrower bars.

I'd step away from the pipe cutter for a few weeks until you've given your body a chance to adapt to the different riding position and then think about why folk ride with wide bars before hacking things about.

 

[Cubist]

Don't cut them. They are surprisingly narrow for a modern MTB, and when you are wrestling it down some technical twisty stuff you'll be very glad of the extra leverage. My hardtail has 720s, and my bouncer has 750s. Like Greg says, you don't hit trees! Narrow bars will have the effect of lengthening the cockpit and making you sit up more. On twisty stuff you want some weight to be over the bars/stem. You'll get used to them in time!

 

[surfdude]

on my new bike the bars are a lot wider than on my old mtb . as cubist says the extra width makes a big difference on the way the bike handles . i was thinking of cutting them down when i first rode the bike but gave it a few weeks of riding and very glad i didn't touch them as it so much easier to ride . give it a few weeks before you touch them .

 

[Crackle]

As said. 660 isn't wide. What's the stem length? If it's short and you put too narrow bars on it will get twitchy and be hard to handle on the gnarly stuff. Depends a lot on where you end up riding with it but initially, suck it and see.

 

[lukesdad]

620 are my widest bars

 

[Adam Parker]

I think it could be just a matter of getting used to the more ''upright position" I have 740mm bars, with a 50mm stem on my HT and similar on my FS Adam

 

[Motozulu]

Yep as above - I went from 660mm bars to 730mm and a short stem and it has transformed the bike - much more capable now on the tight and techy stuff. Stick with it and before you know it you'll be getting bigger bars, not smaller.

 

[Smurfy]

Mine are 545mm and have never been cut. Am I the shortest here? I never thought they were particularly narrow, but it's an old bike so maybe things have moved on.

 

[Motozulu]

Bet you are! rode a mates bike recently with similar bars to yours and felt like I was holding a pencil!

 

[Inthecup]

As above. Remember you will need a wider bar (compared to a road bike) for better ballance. You could be going down a technical trail for example quite slow and need to balance well.

Also if going uphill you will need to lean slightly forward to keep traction on the front wheel.

 

[jowwy]

Mine are 545mm and have never been cut. Am I the shortest here? I never thought they were particularly narrow, but it's an old bike so maybe things have moved on.

nope - mine are 520 and uncut too