How Much Difference Does Handlebar Width Actually Make?
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 15 окт 2024
- Should you swap out your bike handlebars to something narrower? Over the last few years, there has been a trend in pro cycling to more compact riding positions using narrow handlebar set-ups. The claims are that it’s more aero and therefore faster, but how much so? Ollie wind tunnel tested three different bar widths to find out how much difference it really makes!
How wide are your handlebars? 👇 Let us know in the comments below! 💬
If you liked this video, be sure to give it a thumbs up 👍 and share it with your friends!
Useful Links:
GCN+ | Every. Unmissable. Moment. 👉 gcn.eu/8xQ
Ride with us at the Global Bike Festival 👉 gcn.eu/GBF2023
Download the GCN App for free 👉 gcn.eu/app
Visit the GCN Shop 👉 gcn.eu/shop-sp...
Join the GCN Club 👉 gcnclub.com
GCN Training Plans 👉 gcn.eu/gcntp
How wide are your handlebars? 👇 Let us know in the comments below! 💬
If you liked this video, be sure to give it a thumbs up 👍 and share it with your friends!
Watch more on GCN Tech...
📹 Should We All Be Wearing Speed Suits For Cycling? 👉 • Should We All Be Weari...
📹 Watch our Editor’s Choice Playlist 👉 gcntech.co/Edi...
📹 Watch the latest GCN Tech Show 👉 gcntech.co/GCN...
🎵 Music - licensed by Epidemic Sound 🎵
Alternate - STRLGHT
Jotunheimen - Enzofar
Medelpad - Pure Indigo
Precious Time - Ceen
Prologue - Brendon Moeller
Rebel - Jones Meadow
Sunrays - STRLGHT
Supernova - Ran the Man
The Throne - Heyson
The Wait - Alex Dovo
#gcntech #gcn #cycling #roadcycling #roadbike #bike #bikes #bikelife #windtunnel #aerodynamics
📸 Photos - © Velo Collection (TDW) / Getty Images & © Sprint Cycling Agency
Brought to you by the world’s biggest cycling channel, the Global Cycling Network (GCN), GCN Tech is the only channel you need for all things bike tech - past, present and future.
Simply put, we’re obsessed with tech: we seek out and showcase the best in bikes, components, tech, accessories, upgrades and more from races and events, tech shows and product launches across the globe to bring you the best in road bike technology.
We’ve also got great maintenance videos to help you get the most from your bike; pro-bike tours from all the biggest races; special features and the weekly GCN Tech Show. We also take a deeper look into the future of cycling, apps, smart tech and virtual riding.
Join us on the channel and the GCN App to submit your content, vote on the latest tech and keep abreast of exciting new trends.
Thanks to our sponsors:
Castelli Clothing: gcn.eu/Castelli
Giro Helmets: gcn.eu/Giro
Pinarello Bikes: gcn.eu/Pinarello
Zipp Wheels: gcn.eu/Zipp
Topeak Tools: gcn.eu/Topeak
Canyon Bikes: gcn.eu/-Canyon
Pirelli Tyres: gcn.eu/Pirelli
Orbea Bikes: gcn.eu/Orbea
Vision Wheels: gcn.eu/Vision
Wahoo Fitness: gcn.eu/Wahoo-Fi...
Park Tool: gcn.eu/-parktool
Elite Bottles: gcn.eu/EliteBo...
Whoop Fitness: gcn.eu/Whoop
Komoot: gcn.eu/komoot
Selle Italia: gcn.eu/SelleIt...
SIS: gcn.eu/Science...
Zwift: gcn.eu/Zwift
Shimano Wheels: gcn.eu/Shimano
Shadow Stand: gcn.eu/ShadowS...
DMT Shoes: gcn.eu/DMT
Silca: gcn.eu/Silca
Watch our sister channels:
Global Cycling Network - / @gcn
GCN Racing - / @gcnracing
Global Triathlon Network - / @gtn
GCN Italia - / @gcnitalia
GCN en Español - / @gcnenespanol
GCN auf Deutsch - / @gcnaufdeutsch
GCN en Français - / @gcnenfrancais
GCN Japan - / @gcnjapan
GCN Training - / @gcntraining
Global Mountain Bike Network - / @gmbn
GMBN Racing - / @gmbnracing
GMBN Tech - / @gmbntech
Electric Mountain Bike Network - / @embn
How wide are your handlebars? Let us know in the comments below! 👇
I ride 36 but I’m only 14
38CM because my shoulders are very narrow.
40cm. Just enough space for climbing and its also my shoulder width . Anything wider feels like driving a truck
I ride with curve's 55cm walmer bars, which flare out even more on the drops. I have super broad shoulders so the narrower bars that are standard are really uncomfortable for me.
32cm centre to centre.
For context, my shoulders measure to be 41. My bike fitter told me to run 38. But I still feel 38 is like steering a bus 🚌
Interesting as always. However I'll start emulating world tour pro positions right after I finish setting up my family car to F1 cockpit parameters.
great comment
I mean If you had to pedal your car when going for groceries, any "marginal" gain of speed would be apreciated
It's best to choose handlebars with bike fit in mind. With that said, 38-40cm bars tend to be the sweet spot from what I've heard.
Good advice I used to ride 42 as that’s what I had a few years back.. then I went for a bike fit and was told I needed max of 40 but a 38 would be ideal, switched mine out and wow what a great improvement for me.. but may not be what everyone needs same as crank length etc 👍🤩🏅
I recently swapped my bar from 44cm to 42cm. I'm noticeably faster now.
Not sure if all that training and losing 9 lbs have anything to do with it. No, no, it must be the narrower bar.
My gravel bikes run 42 at the hoods /54 at the f drops and road 42 at the drops and 39.5 at the hoods. Comfortable ride is 1st priority for me as I am older and a bit out of condition (chubby) at the mo! If I was racing then I may consider narrow bars, but not really an issue for my normal riding
44cm is likely too wide for your shoulders anyway. The 42cm is likely to be closer to your best position comfort wise, which would have more effect on your times than the minimal aerodynamic advantage.
@@rob-c. Very good point here. Comfy = Fast
To me, this just confirms that comfort and leverage is more important than aero when choosing your bar width. Also remember that many pro riders have narrow shoulders that may not be what you see when you look in the mirror.
I agree
I agree completely also narrow bars just look crap
This test is only relevant for a rider with the same width shoulders as Ollie. If your shoulders are wider than you can run wider bars with no penalty. All this test shows us there is an optimal width for ollies shoulders. So for ollie yes a 380mm bar is optimal but gforca larger rider it might be a 400 or 440. So without ollies shoulder width it’s doesn’t apply to others.
I also agree. Bar width = shoulder width for comfort.
Comfort is most important absolutely, leverage really is not. When you are moving on a road bike you need very little leverage to control the bike, steering is done mostly by shifting your weight and not by leverage turning the bars, you do not turn the bars into a turn you lean into it to steer. The situation on a mountain bike is very different where you may be moving very slowly at times navigating tricky terrain, and then your point about leverage is much more valid.
Traditional shoulder fitting always put me on a 42, but I tried a 36 on the track about 10 years ago and found it to be more stable and easier to hold the black line at speed.
A counterintuitive result, but I switched all my bikes to 36 and never looked back. It's more comfortable since you aren't reaching sideways, and keeps the bike in better alignment when sprinting.
The outside of my knuckles are the same width (~42cm) as my hips so it keeps a nice aero profile too which is a nice bonus.
Love my 44cm bars. I have fairly broad shoulders and feel very crunched up on anything narrower.
As others have commented here, and I have experienced for myself generally, any benefit I have had from downsizing bars has been due to A) better handling feel, B) shorter overall reach; yes, when you widen bars, you increase your reach to the hoods C) less stress on my hands and elbows from being at incorrect angles.
I'm on 42cm at the moment. Was contemplating to go for a narrower ones. With this data this would make no sense to me. My AVG speed is far from 45kmph hence expected gain would be even more minuscule. Thanks for this insights Ollie.
wind speed.
8:15 - Exactly what my perceptions were. 1) elbows were in line with the knees 2) upper arms were closer to the ribs, smoothing out airflow 3) shortened the reach (slightly) and made things less of a stretch. I thought that the wider bars would open things up for easier breathing and alternative hand positions, but this hasn't been the case - - for me.
It would be interesting to see this test done in the aero hoods position.
The measurements savings would still be the same. You need to look at the aero hoods position and add that measurement on top of the bar width adjustments.
Love you too. 😊 I switched to 38s. That's my shoulder width so more ergo-gnomes are made happy. I feel a little safer in traffic being narrower. Downside is a bit less real estate for bells, lights and whistles. Worth noting different brands measure bar width differently so potential for confusion. Maybe gains would be bigger for those of us using round section bars? Thanks for the content - good stuff.
My old bike had 40 cm handlebars and my new one has 46 cm width. Considering, I'm mostly for flats and downhills, I'm looking forward to see how some 38 cm width handlebars will improve my speeds given the same wind conditions and power output.
Love you too , Ollie, and thanks for the vid. Would like more like these, but always enjoy the shows.
Bike fit is something I struggle with. Constantly. I'm reticent to change anything once I've gotten where I like it.
I'm also only recently into road cycling, say 5 years, but wasa MTB, and BMX cycling my whole life.
Bike fit has come a long way since the early 80s....
I run 44s currently, as its close to my shoulder width. I've tried several bars during what my wife calls "the dark years" of my starting cycling, nearly 2 years of fiddling with my used 11 Madone to make it fit me.
Bars bigger was like a bus. Smaller, and my back and shoulders would ache, as you pointed out. I suffer from years of chronic back pain/ back injuries, so I'm very sensitive to any changes to my bike, or me.
I would try various bars for about a week, and as soon as I'd go back to the shoulder width bars, with 2 days of riding, my body would settle down again.
Of course, everyones else's s'mileage will vary.
Take care everyone, and keep the shiny side up! (Unless it's intentional)😂❤
Thanks Glenn! Glad you liked the video
Running a lot narrower bars make you sit higher up. Hence, it is recommended you also increase your stem length to maintain the same numbers yet still get the advantages of running narrower bars.
Btw, I run 32 bar centre to centre.
Before anybody disagrees, please feel free to consult aerocoach about this 😄
My Orbea M30 has 52cm flare bars. My Trek Checkpoint has 48cm flare. And my Trek Domane has 47cm flare. I even put 48cm flare bars on my indoor spinning bike. I'm 5'11" 230lb, 60 years old. Even though I have so many years of riding on and off road, my bike handling skills just need the width. A professional bike fitter would likely fire me and not allow me back to their office, but I do not seem to have any issues with pain running such wide bars. I think the flare makes it so. If I were to try running a standard bar at 52cm, I probably could'nt.
Thank you for making this video and sharing the info. Though I do not race, and so aerodynamics mean little to me, I do enjoy learning and gaining new knowledge.
Surely choosing handlebars based on bike fit, rather than marginal aero gains would be the best course of action for most riders.
Narrower than your shoulders is almost always ok, wider usually isn't
@@serdiezv true, but most people measure their shoulders wrong. Muscles don't count one must measure the shoulder bones. As a result a lot of people are using handlebars which are too wide.
@@TechSucht and you should also measure with a relaxed stance or the measure goes a bit wide too. When you put your hands on the handlebar your shoulders roll slightly forward and thus go a bit narrower.
This is common sense. Why comment??
Aero over everything
I purchased some 38 cm wide relatively inexpensive aero road bars last season to see for myself. Having ridden on 44 cm wide bars (42s would have been a better fit for my shoulder width) for over 40 years, I definitely noticed the difference. Feather's point is well taken as I found climbing out of the saddle on the 38s provides less leverage and took a lot of getting used to. However, with the hoods angled in on the 38s, I am able to gets my arms in line with my legs, and the reduction in drag is noticeable. I would estimate, the 38s are 1 - 2 kms faster above 40. I would be very interested in seeing the wind tunnel data for this position. The adjustable width bar seems like a great idea as it allows riders to adjust their setup depending on the route. Great content!
i moved from 42cm with tilt inwards hoods to 38cm FSA omega(36cm at hood-hood) with inward hoods.
Its more comfortable w/ 38cm with hood aero position, though now i have installed TT clipons.
I believe that the most important component of handlebar selection should be proper fit and comfort derived from a proper bike fit. Once you have the fit reference, don't go wider than you need to for the optimal aero benefit for your situation.
i am 6 foot tall,, ride a56 cm dogma.. cam with 40 cm bars..did not like it always felt nervous... i have 44 cm bars now..feels much better, esp.. on fast downhills
As a climbing specialist(nothing elite) I prefer wider bars for the torque when out of the saddle. If I were stronger rider on the flats though, I'd consider going more narrow.
Moved from 42 to 40 and felt a tangible difference but I think this has a lot to do with correct fit and position. Epic content thanks Team!
I changed from 42 to 38/40 (hoods/drops) and couldn't be happier, I'm even thinking about getting the Enve Aero to go 35/40
Might be faster, but there may be some side affects. I went narrower but started having problems with my left wrist. Bike fitter put me back on 44cm bars (the width of my shoulders) and the problem went away.
I've start my cycling in XC, when 560/580mm flat bars was a standard. I was one of the first to move to 635mm/15mm raizer Easton EC90SL bar, and everyone was talking that it's so wide. Now we have 750-800mm bars on XC bikes xD
On a road bike I always stay with this shoulders to bar ratio, which for me is 420mm. I'm pretty sure that all gains on areo that I will get by having narrower bar, will be compensated by capability on wider bar to be faster in corners etc. And I'm not against aero, cause I have a lot aero equipment(Canyon Ultimate CFR eTap with 50mm DT Swiss ARC1100), but I believe that there should be a balance between aero and other stuff ;)
i did. i bought a new canyon and didnt ride once with the 420mm got some FSA 380mm right away. so much more comfortable and faster therefore. i think its about comfort, not numbers.
40cm on my 10 year old road bike. But this was after my bike was stripped for parts, when left locked up in London, shortly after I got it. (handlebars removed for the shifters). When the bike shop, thankfully on an insurance payout, replaced the parts the mechanic picked 40cm rather than the original 42cm, as he felt if fitted my body size better. He was right, it felt so much more comfortable. Perhaps just get a size that matches your shoulder width.
I had a bike fit recently. My 51cm Orca came with 40cm bars. The fit suggests that for comfort and efficiency for me, 38cm are right. So these are on order. Most manufacturers do seem to fit bars that are wider needs in general. I’ll see how I get on.
Love this type of objective content that gives us information about where and where not to spend our $.
Interesting information and appreciate how you discuss various aspects of the topic.
But must be cool getting to ride surrounded by fans! 😁
Be interesting to see this with a wide shouldered rider. I might know one… From my perspective I’ll go a bar width that’s the most comfortable for me.
Hi Ollie. First of all more please. Love this sort of thing.
It would be interesting to know the width of your shoulders (as you're the test specimen). There are both interference factors and frontal area factors in play here. Area is obvious but the air which comes in between your arms has to pass through the "ducts" between arms and body so closer arms is less air air squeezed out the side. These are, therefore, relative figures and may be less obvious for incredible hulks and more so for bean poles.
You mention that you got shoulder pain with 36s so I would guess your shoulders at 39-40ish.
My bike came with 40s and for years I rode it with accomanying shoulder /neck pain eventually. About 12-15 years ago I switched to 36s to match my narrower shoulders and the shoulder/neck issues are much reduced. Balance was impacted originally but I got used to it pretty quick and it is only now an issue if I'm climbing steep and slow and I'm exhausted too. Oh and they were too narrow for the "spinachi bars".
Which brings me to the other factor that doesn't show in your examples (ok you say things aren't all aero). If you're doing a long ride, the pain in the neck and shoulders is likely to cost lots more time than aero can give you so getting the right width for your body might be more important.
Incidentally for the 10TT as your shot of Si shows, you'll be using the skis anyway and you blast off the front in the last 10 comes after a lot of kms anyway.
Still, as I said, more geekiness please.
I’ve tested different ends of the spectrum with 42cm down to 35 (Enve SES Aero). 42cm is wider than my stance and never felt good. 40 is very neutral and allows me to maintain leverage in a sprint. As I go down to 38 and 35cm, the sprinting angle tucks my elbows in considerably more. Some power may be lost, but it maintains a more aero position. Climbing on narrower bars is something you have to get used to as well.
Great video Ollie. I run 42s but didn't realise how small the different was. Could GCN do an experiment on a fast loop to see whether it's quicker to have a cross-wind there and back, or with a headwind there/tailwind back? Try it with box section and deep section wheels for a constant power output?
I am 6’2” and usually ride a 58cm bike, and they always come from manufacturers with 44cm bars fitted which feel absolutely massive and ruins the handling of the bike, it feels like driving a bus. My preference is for 38-40cm wide bars and I find this transforms the handling of the bike and makes it feel much more nimble, while also being much more comfortable for me. Also narrowing the bars can make quite a big reduction in reach. Yes there are some aero benefits to narrower bars but for me the improvement in the feel of the bike is a bigger reason to change.
There is an assumption by manufacturers that taller riders will have wider shoulders and need wider bars, but for the most part this simply isn’t true - while some people are tall and broad many taller people have slim builds without wide shoulders and often actually shorter people are broader and more solidly built.
Great video. I'm 5' 11" and ride a 42cm bar. I've been riding this size since the 1980s and am comfortable on them.
The marketing industry has us believe we need to make all these changes… The numbers speak for themselves and we can each decide!! Liked the video 👍👍
I moved to smaller bars due to consistent hand and neck issues. Once I did that, all was good. A bike I bought in 2015 had 44 and a more recent purchase came with 42. I moved them both to 40.
My bike's cabble routing is different, needs to reline it from steerer tube to inside of the stem and going in into the center of the handlebar. 142mm is the only available bar in the shop for my bike, and my normal width is 140mm only. has ita big difference?
Bar width is also important for comfortable wrist positioning and can be perhaps a more important reason to have narrower bars matching your shoulder size.
Swapped from 40 to 36 with hoods turned in allowing for arm to rest on bar. My local 5% climb I increased my PR by 40sec for only 6w faster and less favourable winds. Being in a more TT position, I definitely think shorter width allows you to get more aero and quicker. Steeper climbs you will not get the benefits though.
Love you too, Ollie.
I swear if gcn hearts..
I ride 43cm bars as this is around my shoulder width and works for me. Confirmed in a bike fit.. Anything narrower and it's not as comfy. Personal preference I feel. One thing I drew from the vid is how narrow ollies shoulders actually are. Love these kind of vids by the way.
I’ve switch from 42cm to a narrower 40cm bars, but done this for comfort rather than speed. Interesting to see the minimal difference in aero benefit, for swapping to narrower bars.
I want to see something tested. What are the aero benefits of buying the latest aero bikes. I would like to see a wind tunnel test with aero bikes from today, 5, 10, 15, and 20 years ago and then put the savings in values we can understand to see if the price tag of a new aero bike holds any value to a used aero bike.
I switched from the original 44cm to 40cm wide because of comfort.
It removed my sore neck immediately...
If too wide, you tend to roll in your wrists to match the width of your shoulders and thus cause a cramped shoulder/neck situation causing neck/shoulder problems. For non-racing bikers, that maybe more important than a bit of aero gain ;)
Why would they measure bars edge to edge? The standard I have ALWAYS used is a center to center measurement of the tube extending out of the drops. I.E. like you measure the distance between two holes in a piece of material.
"Will you start the fans please!" would make for an excellent slogan for merch
I picture The Crystal Maze every single time you say "start the fans please!" !
I will one day own my own cool but cheap wind tunnel of all you guys would come and use it. Cool episode!
Would not narrower bars also allow longer stem to equalize the reach and head height?
Great video. Love the fact Ollie sports the "Wind Tunnel" hair style. Awesome continuity. 🤩❤
Do the narrower bars impact breathing ability? I want to drop to a 42 cm bar from a 44 but my fitter says a 42 will be too narrow.
Should have been aero hoods position. The riders that started the narrow bar trend are turning their hoods in. The narrower hood position facilitates a position where the rider's forearms can be hidden from the wind, hands close together, and hands close to the rider's face. Testing narrower bars, but having the rider on the drops might not show the difference being felt by riders in the "aero hoods" position.
I’ve gone from 40cm bars to 34cm. Mainly because I’ve always thought my arms were short and I kept getting neck/shoulder pain but after watching a bike fit video where the fitter suggested measuring between the acromion I found I just have really narrow shoulders (31cm at 180cm height). Once I switched to the 34cm bars (31cm at the hoods as they are turned in) I needed a longer stem and could remove some spacers. Bike looks like a proper racer now and I’m a lot faster on my normal routes. Handling unaffected but comfort has gone through the roof! I’d suggest more people measure their shoulders and compare to bar width if they are having shoulder/neck issues.
With this method, torso angle would be slightly lowered for the wider bars. That is an aero gain. To some extent, that will offset the aero loss of presenting a wider shape on the wider bar. So the wider bar appeared closer to the narrow bars than it should have.
Keeping a consistent torso angle would remove the unintentional aero gain of the wider bar setup, therefore showing the true difference of bar width in isolation.
With that said: Wider bars were so bad in this test that they made *lower torso angle* perform worse - when lower torso angle is one of the key aero advantages in rider position!
That indicates the true difference might be much larger than found by the conflicted method in this video. I'd like to see a more careful follow-up. With inward-turned hoods as an A/B test within that programme, naturally!
I went from 42 to 38
Helped with upper back strain initially for then wanted areo speed gains. Thought it would be more of a aero gains in this testing but for me since changing , feels faster and more comfortable and fun and combine with my upgrade tyres, I'm winning.
A few years ago, I watched a documentary about Sir Chris Hoy, in which has been said that if in the wind tunnel engineers where saying he was faster using a 36cm handlebar, he would have trained (night and day) to adapt his position to it. I believe if you are competing on a track, you can do that (with a lot of training and sacrifices), but if you are "racing" on a road (especially at the Etape du Tour), it would ve better to have a bike with a handling suitable for your riding skills. I heard a lot of stories about accidents in that "sportive", especially going downhill. A narrow handlebar on the bike of an inexperienced cyclist could be one of the reason. Before being faster, be safe and go home in one piece.
I’ve got very broad, ex swimmer shoulders, 38cm are quite narrow enough for my rather un-aero torso. I do slice though water well still though! I was on 42’s and it did make a difference.
I have broken both shoulders so I favour a wider bar for comfort. As I don’t race the discomfort I’d probably experience would not be worth 10 secs over 10 miles.
Relieved I’m not losing tons of watts running 40cm bars. Love you too!
Thanks Ollie and crew...OAF and SAF...comfort is key , to me . I would think too narrow is uncomfortable and unsafe ?
try it, made the jump from 40 to 36mm bars and was squeamish at first (was originally going to go 38 but no dice on a cheap bar)
more comfortable than ever and definitely far more slippery
Depends on your body - handlebars that are too wide is one of the most common cause for neck and shoulder pain.
@@dainiusvysniauskas2049 True. I’d do a bike fit before , but I didn’t know that when I bought mine ! Got lucky
In a TT you would have tri bars or TT bar set up, . For a breakaway in a road race, you could/would adopt a narrow body position by holding the bars towards the centre , ok for the short time that it really matters. So in the real world, the stats suggest you should choose bars for comfort and handling not aerodynamics.
Narrow bars reduce the reach on the bike , so your body is likely become more upright, you will have to keep the reach consistent to make the test meaningful.
no, narrower bars do not reduce reach on the bike. straight arms provided by properly fitted bars reduce reach on the bike.
the moment your arms have to swivel outwards or inwards because the bars are too narrow, or too wide, is when you are increasing reach.
the only reason why we always hear that it seems to reduce the reach, is because most of the time manufacturers spec bars that are too wide for their consumer base.
@@chickenpoodle in the experiment when the bar is set up to the widest the rider will have to lean forward to grab them, when the bar is set to narrowest the rider doesn't have to lean forward as much, my question is what is the impact of the riders position in term of aero gain or loss?
Oli! Like you, I love experimenting. I have moved from 44 to flared 38/42 noticeable different but my curiosity became focused on tops vs drops and found that on the 44/44 the drops were usually 2KPH faster on a flat road but when switching to 38/42 and keeping low on the hoods I found no difference in tempo speed. Traditionally hoods have been more comfortable so could in theory the correct flared bar be the answer to comfort and handling at a consist aero speed?
Very nice! It would be interesting to know the whats you are saving though! As in, in order to get the same time in the 10 miles TT how many whats would we be saving with the 39 cm compared to the 43 cm given the 43 cm is riding at 230 W?
Retro steel bike had an insanely narrow bar at 36cm. My cheap modern has a very wide one, for me, at 42cm. Gonna look for a 38-40cm bar as I love descents and just don't feel as at home on the wider bar vs the skinnier one.
I have quite narrow shoulders and my bike comes stock with 42mm wide bars. I will try 38mm and see how it goes, 42mm feels quite wide for me.
I'm 6ft and ride with a 42-110mm bar-stem. Lovely vid as always from Ollie and team. Thank you so much for great content.
Tempted to try 40mm, which I did for a short spin, with a 120mm, and it felt perfectly fine and comfortable. But I hadn't
tried this combo for a long ride. So, inconclusive for me, will speak to my bike fitter.
Quick thought after watching the vid was, if the speed / time gains are marginal, and we're not racing competitively,
fit and comfort are key over narrower bars for the sake of being just a tad more aero. Position on the bike, cycling wear
including socks, and shoes, all add to the aero advantage but as a recreational enthusiast for gran fondos, don't think it
makes that much of a difference.
Quite another thing to be racing competitively.
I wonder how this would be affected by body size... like shoulder width for example. Ie: if you have broader shoulders, can you have wider bars with less/no penalty?
I've chosen the bar width my bike fitter told me to get, 42cm and it causes me no pain or discomfort so I do prioritize that over marginal aero gains.
Love this video!
Thanks!
Am changing my handlebars to a narrower one to for a bike fit and handling reasons and not aero gains. I believe that you can go faster if you are more comfortable
How much does the ever lengthening groove on top of the bars affect the drag as you widen the bars? Surely it creates turbulence around the edges of the groove.
Interesting video. Thx Oli, but as aero nerd, I find you should tape this upper chanel of the handlebar to eliminate there not optimal aero behaviour as in the real life this section is wrapped (as you mentioned) 🤔
yep! we were on a really tight schedule!
Thought about switching from 42 cm to 40 cm but I will save my money for something else now. Great content as always, thank you!
I like this video and the topic. Conclusion: If you are not going to the Tour then dont worry about narrow handlebar.
38cm and very happy - but also use real aero bars that put me proper straight. It’s very noticeable on my speed whether I am in the full aero position or not.
Narrower bars make it easier to narrow the shoulders, ie shrugging. especially when aero is more important, downhill or headwind etc. - this would make more difference. Comfort still important too. Recently I've changed from 44 to 38 and it feels much faster as well as being less likely to catch on a rider next to me in a group.
Unless you're a very large person, 44cm bars are not a good idea for the road. When I first asked about bar width at my local club, one gentleman (a former USA Cat1 racer no less) asked me, "What's your suit jacket size?" I told him it was a 42 regular. He said, "Then you're probably around a 42cm bar. Suits are measured in cm at the shoulder...make sense?" Learned two new things that day lol.
Mine are 42cm and I am thinking of switching to 38cm more to do with comfort and fit though. Still, I'll take any time saving on offer:)
I did that and couldn't be happier. Just be careful when standing, the change in leverage feels incredibly weird at first.
@@serdiezv I appreciate the advice, thank you. I never thought of that. Ride safe my friend:)
I'd go for comfort every time with those numbers. Now if I could save 5 minutes or more from a 50K flat-ish route, I would consider going a bit narrower if I could do so without physical issues, but seconds aren't worth it for me at all. One problem I have with narrower bars I've noticed that my knees can come up quite high (I'm tall and I have long cranks, but been thinking about switching to shorter ones) and hit my elbows when I'm on the drops. And that can even be dangerous.
An issue I have with the way this test was done is that it was done with arms straight and hands in the drops, which is putting your hands in a wider position compared to being more aero on the hoods with elbows at 90 degrees. More bars are incorporating a level of flare that can make things narrow up top while giving you extra width below which I feel covers a bit of the comfort/stability aspects that were brought up. You also then have another variable in figuring if there is any benefit to turning your hoods inward in addition to having narrower bars which I'm not exactly sure about.
36 for me, although fit wise I could go with 38-39 without any issue. Everything wider feels wrong.
Even on my gravel bike 36 is perfectly fine for handling.
You're talking about 36 and 39cm bars while my 2012 Madone 5.9 is sporting 46cm bars. No wonder I struggle on the fast club rides with all that aerodynamic drag, lol!
My Domane also has 46 cm bars and despite having put on some GP5000s for better rolling resistance, the Domane is about the same speed on the flats and actually a little slower on faster downhills than my old bike. My old bike did have more narrow handlebars. I'm hoping that by putting on some 38cm or 40cm bars my Domane will be faster than my old bike on faster descents.
I'm very far from a prolific climber and to be honest, climbing has always been a glaring weakness. But I think I can relate to Andrew Feather on this one. I can imagine myself being far-far worse at climbing if I had narrower handle bars.
Shorter stem narrow bars bring you in and up more comfort??
What I’ve learned from this video: Wind tunnel time is really expensive 😂 Great content, keep it coming
I am in the middle of switching from 42cm to 38cm. I love it on my trainer but can't wait to try it on the road once winter is done.
Next time, just throw some wider tape along the top/bottom of the bar to cover that gap you talked about. Would be very similar to bar tape and would eliminate some penalty seen in the wider times.
I ride 38cm bars because there is less chance of being clipped by a car and also the bike is easier to store away. Narrow bars don't affect handling unless you are built like a twig.
Ollie. #askgcnanything. I got the new canyon endurace 7 disc. Finally available in Canada. But it came with 32/30 tires. I think I want thinner tires. Should I go with 25/25 or 25/28 like MVDP?
Thanks. Love all your tech videos.
Wow cool data. I always thought that hb width is a bike fit issue. This would imply that people with wide shoulders would be less aero. Obvious I suppose. I personally find myself getting aero cheaper, all you need is ribbed condoms. Cut the end off and slide on legs and arms. Glow in the dark is safely too.
what cm is the narrowest setup?
I’m 193cm 90kg and use 38’s. I have for years. The gains are purely in my head I know but I also shave my kegs for the same reason which is……. If you want to go fast, you need to feel fast.
If this is an aero test, why are you riding in the drops instead of on the hoods? I would like a second test but with bigger differences. From the aerocoach ornix (32.5 cm) to standard 42 cm. You would only need two similar bikes with different handlebars
I no longer have a bike with drop bars, so my bars are all better suited for upright riding. And I loathe straight bars... If I did get a bit randy, and was to purcase a dedicate road bike (with drop bars), I'd definitely go through the bike fit process prior to any order.
If I had a penny each time a video concluded with "it's doesn’t seem like that much of a gain but could be the difference between winning and losing a race", I’d be rich by now.
I don't race anymore, my TT days were over twenty years ago. Now I'm middle aged, overweight, with high blood pressure, so aerodynamics isn't important to me. I like 44cm bars for comfort on a racing bike, but at the moment I only use a racing bike on the turbo and I have flat bars for outside (after I've finally gotten around to fixing that bike).
Ollie looking like a mad scientist with the hair today!