daven1986

hi
I have a fixed gear bike with narrow bars and I find it very hard to stand up and ride as the bike seems to be, much more unbalanced than when I do it on my other bikes which have wider bars.

is there some technique to it?

thanks
daven

puppypilgrim

One school of thought has the bars as wide as your shoulders. If bars are substantially narrower, it could be a problem.

Looigi

Probably not be the bars. Front end geometry, rake and trail, are the major contributor to handling behavior like this. Compare how easy the bikes are to balance riding hands-off to get an idea of the difference.

Homebrew01

Get wider bars, it can make a significant difference.

On the other hand, try to ride a normal road bike out of the saddle with your hands near the stem. Compare that to moving them out to the levers or drops.

Flying Merkel

If the bars were narrowed for style instead a functionality, you are S-O-L. I've seen fixies in my 'hood that are fashion items instead of working bikes.

daven1986

This is my beater bike so I won't be doing any upgrades on it, however I think Loogi is right - it is probably the front end geometry as it is quite different from my other bikes.

Is there anything I can do, technique wise, to help?

Thanks

Daven

Homebrew01

What are the differents widths on your bikes where your hands are ? Swapping bars isn't a significant upgrade, and if it makes your bike more rideable might be worth the effort. The proper width gives you the right leverage to control the bike while climbing.

Steely Dan

i've been curious about the super narrow bar trend that i see among the hipster fixie crowd. i myself have always used the shoulder width rule for bars (what can i say, it works for me), but are there any practical advantages to those really narrow bars? or is it really just a pure style thing that only results in poorer handling?

Homebrew01

That's my guess, then blame it on frame geometry.
Take any bike, ride out of the saddle. Notice the difference as you move your hands closer to the stem.

DGozinya

Skinny bars go nicely with those skinny jeans.

Kayce

The trend of narrow bars started the same place most fixed gear trends started, with bike messengers. Racing through tight traffic, any advantages you have to get through tight spaces helps. Messengers are on their bikes enough to overcome the problems, and learn to ride with the limitations. But to the average person its all limitations with none of the advantages.