Robvolz 

It’s halloween.

It’s about two hours before those little terrorists, er- cuties descend upon my house for a free nutritious treat (snickers).

I live on the street with all the kids, and the neighbors go ape**** with decorations.

Pre-pandemic, 539 kids.

It’s ok, Some kids live in apartments. I live on a tree-lined well-lit street. Bring’em.

anyway, built a fire, popped a cork and while building a colnago in my living room. (Sometimes it’s nice to be single) I came across a choice. A Cinelli Giro d’italia or a 3ttt.

both of these came off of Colnagos. Both have racing Pedegree. Is one more for criterium and the other for longer rides? Do bigger people use bigger bars?

What are the advantages and disadvantages to these different sizes?







It’s really too much

pastorbobnlnh 

I agree, the decorations are too much! The bike --- just right!

Personally, I don't care for bars over 42cm wide.

repechage

The one with Colnago engraved.
the other is a 1R - your frame needs to be a year or two later or more.

same color and transfer set as mine.
note the inverted World Championship colors.
a fellow was just SURE that mine was a repaint because of that.
I laughed.

SwimmerMike 

For what ever it's worth, I have bikes with 38's up to 42's. When I was fit on my CF bike they changed the bars from 40's to 42's. My understanding from the fitter I used was that the wider your shoulders, the wider the bars. The 38's I have were the original bars on an early 70's Bob Jackson, so I have kept them, they are pretty narrow but they work. I just put some 38 Cinelli Criterium bars on a "quick build" I did this weekend, I am counting the days until I can put on some 42's on that bike. The combination of narrow and Critical bars just doesn't work for me.

SpedFast

Unlike the pastor, I prefer the wider (read-more stable handling) bars. Especially when I hit a hard pack mup. That extra leverage makes a huge difference to me. much less squirrelly. But everyone is different. Some people have the audacity to call a bike with straight bars a road bike. Everyone knows road bikes only have drop bars. Jeeze.

nesteel 

I'm in the wide bars are better camp. My minimum is 42, and I several at 50. I prefer the stability, and not having my shoulders pinched in seems to open my chest and lungs up.

seypat

I do not like them wider than my shoulders. The wider ones will force my elbows in. I would rather they point slightly out than in. In means the elbows get stuck/locked on my chest/lats and cannot act as shock absorbers or get free/clear quickly in an emergency/accident situation. Also, there's only so much room in the imaginary box between the head tube and where the seatpost comes out. Elbows in decreases the room for the quads/legs to go up/down.

steelbikeguy

I think my sweet spot is 40cm.

My Raleigh International has the original 38cm bars, and it's interesting to get back on it. No problems, although the reduced leverage when climbing out of the saddle is noticeable.

I've got one bike with 42cm bars, and it does feel like I'm just splayed out.

I'm a thin fellow, so maybe that's what makes me like the narrower bars?? I've heard that some racers are using narrower bars for the aerodynamic benefit, so perhaps I'm just ahead of my time?

Steve in Peoria

zandoval 

Good Grief Boss... Not another picture of your Colnago...

microcord

One thing to beware of is how handlebars are measured. It may well be from the centre of one end to the centre of the other end, but it could instead be from the likely position of one hood to the likely position of the other (which will be a shorter distance, perhaps a considerably shorter distance).

Anyway, this explanation makes good sense to me:

Insidious C. 

Generally I acccept that wider bars go with wider shoulders, but the best bar width for you is the one that feels right. Wide bars do look conspicuous on a vintage road bike, if you want to call that a disadvantage.

iab

Wide bars are dorky. There. I said it.

Bianchigirll 

I had a strange dream about handlebars last night. I bought some cheap ones or something and they kept slipping on the shakedown ride. I kept trying to adjust and tighten them but I never seemed to have the correct wrench. Weird. Oh and this tame compared to most of my dreams……

velomateo

I have to agree with microcord above, there’s more than just width to consider when choosing bars. Although the Colnago panto stem would be hard to pass up. I am found of the Merckx bend 3ttt bars, but I rode Cinelli CdM bars in a 44 for many years.

The video link to bike fit James is really quite good. He makes a lot of good points and I have used his information to dial in my bike fit over the last year or so. I highly recommend.

Robvolz, you have a very cute assistant. We are weimie fans.

SJX426 

I have standardized with 40s. 42 feels and looks weird to me, like having out-riggers.
In yute, they were 38s like nearlyevery drop bar 10 speed.. Too narrow now, cramped.

How about drop? Most of mine are 64s but I do have a 65 and a 66.

T-Mar

Yes, different bar widths are used to accommodate different shoulder widths. The old school technique (for road bicycles with dropped handlebars) was to select a bar width equal to shoulder width. In other words, both arms are parallel with each other. The theory was that if the bars are too narrow, you're constricting the chest cavity and your breathing. Conversely, with wider bars. you're creating more aerodynamic drag. Parallel arms were considered to be the sweet spot.

However, in recent years, there has been a trend towards bars that are wider than your shoulders. This is fine for the non-competitive cyclist where performance is not an issue. In fact, it's probably desirable, as the majority do not grip the handlebars correctly. Instead of keeping the hand inline with the forearm, the hands are cocked outwards. Using this style, you need handlebars that are wider than your shoulders, just to achieve parallel arms.

Still, wider handlebars are even being preferred by competitive cyclists. I can see advantages in certain situations, such a climbing where higher oxygen intake becomes a bigger factor and aerodynamic drag is a smaller factor. Given the vast increase in scientific study on cycling, I imagine there are studies to back up these new trends. Somebody has probably conducted wind tunnel tests to determine how the ratio of shoulder width to handlebar width affects power output and aerodynamic drag. I'd like to see such a study. Regardless, the pro cyclist can probably get by with slightly wider bars, as the vast majority of riding time is spent drafting in the pack.

Kabuki12

Nice Colnago, looks to be early seventies. I am no expert on handle bar width, I think most of my bikes are 42 and I have fairly narrow shoulders. T-Mar brings up interesting information that makes sense, especially on climbing. I find myself in the bend of the bar pulling as I scoot back on my seat using my upper body to help my legs . I have at least one bike that has wider bars and it looks ok because I have tall 25” frames but it doesn’t seem to affect the ride for me. I hide out and keep my court yard closed on Halloween, one of the advantages of living on a hill with a very steep hill is that very few make it up here and a few of the neighbors put candy out for the kids. My wife usually puts a bowl of candy out by the driveway. Funny thing, there is always a few pieces left the next morning.

jdawginsc 

42 is a sweet spot for me. It is probably slightly wider than I should have but 42s feel better.

Which is why I have a bunch of 38s/40s doing nothing...

thinktubes 

I’ve tried everything from 38-46 (ctc) and 42 ctc is comfortable for me.

rustystrings61 

42 cm works for me, and is pretty close to my actual shoulder width - I think it was Karen Rawls who had be back into a pair of handlebars at the Cirque one year and authoritatively said. "Yup, you should ride 42s."

I like wider bars on my all-roads kinda bikes, though, and the Velo Orange Maes bend on my '73 Raleigh Competition measures 46 cm c-c at the ends - but a lovely 42 cm c-c at the hoods. Very much a Goldilocks fit for dirt roads.

Riding the Clunker Challenge through the last few years has given me the chance to return to my misspent youth on 38 cm handlebars. I understand the classical French racing stance that narrower bars work better for working your way through the peloton, but since nobody is paying me to ride like that, well ...

easyupbug 

Getting arthritis in hands and wrists has lead to experimentation and a width that keeps the wrist in line , not canted in or out helps.

bikingshearer 

I wear a size 48 or 50 suit jacket. I ride Nitto noodles, 46 or 48 cm wide. These facts seem to go together. At least for me.

smd4

This.

Dean51 

Further to bar width matching shoulder width.... I returned to road cycling about 20 years ago on a bike that came with 44's. Without fail, I would develop moderate to sever pain between my shoulder blades on rides that exceeded two hours duration. Somewhere, I read about matching bar width to shoulder width and purchased a bar with 38 cm width to match my narrow frame. That was the end of the pain between my shoulder blades. Done, over, gonzo.

Dean

icemilkcoffee 

Of course, that's the in-between bar that's too tight for 25.4 and too loose for 26.... but too pretty to set aside