rms13

My Diamondback Haanjo comes with what the specs list as 680 mm drop bar. They spec that size for every size frame. I don't know where that measurement comes from because when I measure mine it's about 48cm at top and 50cm at the drops with slight flare. I usually ride with 42cm bar based on common conceptions of bike fitting

I understand there is an advantage of wider bars for off road to add more stability but after about 100 miles on this bike it just feels weird. It feels like I'm driving a Cadillac Escalade. Since I'm on the hoods most of the time and this is essentially moving the hoods 3cm to the outside on each side it is a big compromise in fit and comfort. Does anyone else ride with drop bars that wide? Do you like it?

fietsbob

I have wide drop bars on my Touring bike, because of the weight in the front pannier bags

and I Rarely Go into the drops, on tour. .. (Nitto 'Noodle' 48)

NB bar width Measure is done at the tube ends , if there is flare the tops are narrower.

Randonneur bend are flared a 46 is 38 at the tops..

rms13

Thanks. These bars are the widest drops I've ridden. If I ride with my hands on the tops as wide as I can before the hoods it almost feels like riding mountain bike flat bars

dr_lha

I saw that in the geometry list and did a double take, 680mm is clearly a typo. Still 48cm bars seem massive for me. For the record my DB (cross) has 44cm bars, with no flare. For my upcoming gravel build I got 44cm Salsa Cowbells, although after I bought them I started reading people saying you should go 2cm up on them. We'll see I guess.

79pmooney

I normally ride 40s. I think I put 42s on my gravel bike. I do have 44 pista deep drop bars as one cockpit for my gear. I love that setup on mountain days. Not only are the very wide bars good for leverage climbing but the extra width is a big double benefit for very fast fix gear down hills. Wider bars - more control and wider bars - more aerodynamic drag, a real plus when your gear is a 42-12 or lower and coasting speed is getting close to 50 mph.

But, to address your concerns, my 44 is a lot wider than my normal 40s. Your 48s (at the tops) is half again that much wider than your normal. 50? Those bars wouldn't stay on my bike. If I were you, I would seek out some 44s or 45s with bends I really liked.

Ben

rms13

I contacted DB and they said the bars on my bike are actually 46mm. I was not measuring center to center so that is probably correct. Still two sizes bigger than I'm used to but not crazy big

dr_lha

what size frame do you have?

rms13

Large/56

dr_lha

Starting to think I should have got wider bars!

rms13

Yeah and makes me think I should stick with these for another 100 miles before I make any descions

grolby

I'm not a believer in wide bars on a cross or gravel bike. I have narrower bars on my road bike currently (~38 cm), but I can and have comfortably ridden 40s on that bike. And that's the width I have on my cross bike. It's a Goldilocks size for me. 38 really is too narrow on that bike (tried that), but 42s are too wide. They make me feel like I'm driving a truck. Hate it. Wide bars are uncomfortable for me.

fietsbob

You side by side, shoulder to shoulder with other racers in tight corners on the course? wide bars may not be Ideal there .

GeoKrpan

Wide bars with flared drops are better ridden in the drops, not the hoods.

Here's a pic of an REI Mazama. The brake levers are slid down to optimize braking in the drops. The hoods configured this way would not be good to ride.

Mr IGH

I run Salsa Woodchippers, 45cm on the tops, 65cm on the drops. I like the wide top bar, esp on rough roads, plenty of leverage to keep it straight. The shallow flared drops are great on trails. Never thought I'd like them, had a set laying around, tried them and decided they work for me.

grolby

That might be a factor in my preference. I was a road racer before I ever rode cross or raced gravel. But I also don't find the claims that wide bars give better control to be true in my experience. To each their own.

Also, I think the flared drops are hideously ugly but I suppose if I liked riding with them I wouldn't care about that.

GeoKrpan

Beauty is what beauty does. You would not go back to traditional road bars.

Salsa just came out with the Cowchipper, a cross between the Cowbell and the Woodchipper. It's basicaly a narrower Woodchipper. I think these bars will cross over to road bikes. People who use them on their cross/gravel bikes will put them on their road bikes. I can tell you that I'm considerably faster with a similar bar on my road bike. I used traditional drop bars for 20 years.

chaadster

I'm a big, broad-shouldered guy (46-48 suit coat size) and recently put 44cm Ibis Road bars on my bike, and while they're manageable, they feel very wide, to the point where I feel kinda splayed out when on the hoods . I usually use 42cm bar, and especially for open, smooth, road, I like to place my hands near the stem, and tuck and hammer.

I'm with Grolby in that I don't think the wider bars are much a boost to control...unless you're really muscling a bike across a rough trail. My gravel riding is gravel road riding, so the width is really wasted, although I like quite a lot about the bar aside from the width; good price, decent weight, nice compact drops, and the reach I wanted.

GeoKrpan

Just got back from riding a no suspension 29+ with a wide, flared bar, on singletrack. It would have been suicide to ride hoods.

chaadster

Sure, that makes sense. Drop bar hoods are not a great place from which to really work the bike, as in singletrack. Road riding, gravel or paved, can be something different. Probably deep, loose gravel road would suck for hoods, but hardpack road is fine.

GeoKrpan

I don't know what the dirt roads are like where you live but where I live there's very few where there aren't steep hills. What goes up must go down and even if the road is smooth the speed is fast. On the hoods I'd be a nervous wreck.

chaadster

It's rolling here, but I almost always descend in the drops, especially on dirt roads.

Skankingbiker

I have ridden midges and now woodchippers. Here is my pugs set up with the latter. I have the levers set very high for an off-road drop bar. I will probably lower them about an inch. decending from the "hooks" offers great stability.

The key with offroad drops is to set them up so the "hooks" are are the same level as a flat-bar would be. Hence, you need lots of spacers and/or a jacked stem.

1935376_1665526380379331_5965486261661810976_n by T_MB, on Flickr

alathIN

I have a Volagi Viaje - an endurance/rando oriented road bike - with 48cm bars on it. I actually ordered it that way. With 46cm, I felt slightly cramped through the chest/shoulders on long rides and then I read somewhere that getting bars about the same width as your shoulders is a good rule of thumb for a bike you are going to be on for a long time. Made a huge positive difference for me in neck, shoulder, and arm comfort. For this and other reasons, my Viaje is the most comfortable bike I own for long rides.

grolby

No, you would not go back. I've used wide bars. Don't like them. Personal preference.

redcon1

I agree with grolby. When I built up my gravel bike I went with the prevailing opinion and mounted 48cm drops, rather than 42cm like my road bike, thinking additional leverage and control in the rougher stuff.

Never got comfortable with such wide bars, and my comfort and performance suffered. Mounted a new set last weekend, 42cm. Now the bike feels like 'home'