Originally Posted by
queerpunk
i think it depends on the rider. somebody who has a weak core, bad weight distribution, and tends to forcibly steer the bike might feel like it affects handling badly. but somebody who doesn't do that stuff is likely to feel a pretty negligible effect.
when i put 36cm bars on my bike, i also put a 10mm longer stem, and feel like i could even go longer (though that's also due to the new bars having a very shallow drop) - so, consider the effect of new bars on the rest of your setup.
i have a set of 36cm Zipps i'd like to get rid of - feel free to hit me up if you want to experiment with something a lot cheaper than the expensive narrow track bars.
+1
cfreemanpt, just understand that it's gonna feel different and don't give up on them after 1 or 2 rides. Whenever you try whatever bars you try, give them a fair shot of at least 4 sessions.
As queerpunk points out, the geo will change, so if you feel like you need a stem that's 2-4cm longer than before, go with it, as many of the narrow bars are also shorter in reach combined with the fact that when your arms are wide apart then come in closer, they push your back up. To get back down, you have to reach out more. This is one reason why you see 130 and 140mm stems mated with narrow bars.