calliebear9

The bars that came with my bike were too narrow. I couldn't fit my hands on the flats without turning my elbows out. The bike shop swapped out for a handlebar they on hand that was wider, but I don't think the shape is right. I didn't even know handlebars came in different shapes. The brakes/shifters seem really far from where my hand is comfortable on the hood area. I have to move my hand to brake- is that ok? And I can't reach the brakes from the drops very well at all. And the curve of the drop doesn't seem to go far enough down under the bar for my liking- maybe I like less of a drop? Anyways, how do I go about finding the right bar? It isn't like it is easy to switch out like a saddle as the brakes and wrap get in the way. So I have no idea how to find the right bar.

jyl

I would check out the other bikes in the shop, and in other shops, to find a bar that you like, then order it. The brake levers may be adjustable to bring the levers closer to the bar, ask your LBS.

Leisesturm

A bike shop should size you for handlebars by putting a tape measure against your shoulders and measuring the width of your shoulder blades. Most men will get a 42cm bar. Bigger guys a 44. Small guys 40. That's about it my friend. 38's are for women, and 46's are for tandems (or Chewbaca), and handlebars are not made in odd sizes, so there you have it, the entire spectrum of handlebar width in less than a standard paragraph. Don't guess, do it by the numbers.

IMO the o.p. should be shopping for a compact bend handlebar. Civia Emerson, FSA Gossamer Wing and anything with the word "compact" in the description. FWIW.

H

Hypno Toad

My wife is going through this exact issue. She got the Kona Lisa RD a couple years ago and has had issues with the bars from the very start. She kept thinking she need to get used to it - since this was her first drop bar bike in 20 years. The shop we bought from are very helpful, but they are almost all men and not fitting experts.

We happen to stop in another local shop and my wife got talking to a woman on their staff about the issues she has been having with these drop bars. First thing the staffer did, measure her shoulders. We brought the Kona back that afternoon, she spent nearly 2 hours with the staffer going over the bike and we should pick it up tonight. There were a number of changes, including wider bars (they were 38s).

Jury is still out, but the biggest things for my wife: working with a woman and somebody with decades of fitting experience. I will share her thoughts after getting some miles on it and I will include more details about the new bars. Also, I'm interested to hear other input on the subject, I've been blissfully unaware.

Hypno Toad

Lisa (my wife) has 50+ miles on her Lisa RD (Kona bike) with the new bars. She is very happy with the 40 cm bars! She went from a 38 cm to a Dimension 40 cm. She measures roughly 35.5 cm - measuring shoulder the broadest points of the shoulder bones. I expect Kona mounted 38 cm bars on this bike since it is the smallest size available (45 cm) and that is likely a good match for most riders on a bike this small.

However, other than going to a good LBS and getting expert advice on fitting, I'm not much more help.

StanSeven

I don't see how a wider bar affects your elbows turning out. The difference between a 40 and a 42 is less than an inch. Maybe you need a longer stem. Regardless you need someone knowledgable in fitting to take a look at you on the bike and give you some sound advice. If you can't find a good LBS that does that, take some pictures of yourself on the bike - side, front, and from your head looking down on the bars. Post them here and you should get lots of help.

QtDL

Step 1 - Measure your shoulder width, AC joint (the bony protrusion) to AC joint. This will give you a ballpark idea on where to start. I have read a lot of things about what is the 'proper' handlebar width, some people say shoulder width, some say shoulder width + 2 cm (to account for articulation of the elbows). The key is your hands and arms need to be comfortable from all positions on the bars - top, hoods, and drops. Racers and crit riders tend to prefer narrower bars and rec riders will sometimes prefer a wider bar but both things will come with their set of problems if one isn't careful.

Regarding your current issue of where your hoods are on the bars, that is an easy fix - you could either rotate the bars a little or unwrap the bar tape and physically loosen the shifters and retighten them. I am pretty sure the drops should be parallel to the top tube of the bike. My advice would be to make sure the drops are aligned as stated then moving then unwrapping the tape and moving the shifters. If you don't feels comfortable doing this, ask a bike savvy friend or take it to your LBS and get fitted. I've done this several times and it's pretty easy. Your wrists should be in a relatively straight position when on the hoods, not 'cocked' up or down and you should be able to brake/shift easily with your hand extended as if it was in a handshake position.

I am a slender female and my stock bars were 40 cm, my shoulder width is roughly 36 cm. I had so much shoulder and neck pain with the stock bars. I switched to 36s (which is basically the smallest width one can find) and it helped with my issues greatly. I also needed to switch my stem. I have an odd body type so I always end up modifying the front end of any bike I get anyways (long legs and arms, shorter torso).

Dfrost 

Drops can be whatever angle is comfortable. Mine typically point toward approximately the rear hub (on rather big frames). But I adjust the angle of the bars so the the hoods and curve behind them ("ramps"), where I spend most of my time, are most comfortable for ME, not the bike style police. That ends up being horizontal ramps, and the hoods place on the bars so that they angle upward. And this angle is comfortable enough when I ride in the drops, too.

Different bars have a range of angles between the ramps and the drops. as well as different width, reach and drop dimensions. On this bike, the reach and drop are quite short but work with the stem length; another bike has a shorter stem, but longer reach bars, so the distance from saddle to brake hoods is the same.



As I've aged, the bars are more comfortable closer to saddle height, and the stem (or bar reach) has shortened since I'm getting shorter in torso length.

QtDL

Sorry I didn't mean to offend anyone or be the "bike style police". I was just suggesting starting points for the OP. I guess you missed the part where I said that the hands should be comfortable in all positions on the bars which was my main point. Adjusting the position of the hoods, rotation of the bars, changing the bar width are all feasible means of changing the fit.

JBHoren

An interesting and informative article on handlebars, at a now-defunct blog.

Road Drop Bar Geometry : La Rueda Tropical

FIVE ONE SIX

having wide shoulders is actually quite common, i'm 5'7" with a long torso and wide shoulders, so the first thing i have to do is switch from the usual 40cm or 42cm bars that 52cm bikes come with to a 44cm bar. when you switch though, 2 things matter, the reach and drop of the new bar. going 10mm longer or shorter on the reach is HUGE, so make sure that you get sometime close to what came on the bike if the bars that were on it were long enough. also, there are 2 types of drops, classic and compact. a classic drop is a longer drop, say 145mm or so, and usually has a classic shape to it. a compact drop is smaller, say 125mm or so, and has a tighter shape to it. so those are the 3 points that you need to address on handlebars, width/reach/drop...

also, when mechanics install levers on new bars, they usually use something flat under the bar to align the levers so they're positioned right. maybe the mechanic that put yours on didn't do that, or maybe those bars just aren't right for you...