From Newsgroup: rec.bicycles.tech

cyclintom <cyclintom@yahoo.com> wrote:

On Wed Dec 24 22:05:23 2025 Roger Merriman wrote:

cyclintom <cyclintom@yahoo.com> wrote:

Narrow bars are very popular in the pro peloton. While this probably
works for most pro's, sports ribers should not do this as it can damage
your shoulder sockets. You should use a bar width that matches the width >>> of your shoulder sockets. This gives a straight shot from your shoulders >>> to the bars. Ehile I appear to have wide shoulders and used 44 cm bars.
It began taking a heavy toll on my shoulders and wrists. I finally worked >>> my way down to 40 cm bars before my wrists and shoulders stopped hurting >>> on longer rides. 41 cm worked a little better but they are hard to find. >>>
So you might wantto pay attention to that on shorter rides so that you
don't come in from a Century hurting all over.

44 isn?t particularly wide I?m not particularly broad shoulders though
unlike would seem a lot of men I am actually 6ft ish get the ?must be
taller as I?m 6ft? from folks 5?10ish.

Though my young colleagues tell me that men on dates over exaggerated their >> height, occasionally standing next to me to compare to new BF/date who
claims to be 6ft!

My Gravel bike has 44cm bars the roadie I think maybe 42cm but could be 44 >> but they aren?t flared or as comfortable seem narrower diameter somehow!
But it?s generally only a hr on that bike as it?s the commute, so not an
issue!

gravel bikes have the problem of having the hars jerked out of your hands
and so, like MTB's with a long straight bar, they need longer bars for leverage. I have ridden road bikes in gravel a great deal and used 44's
for reason's of control. MTB's ijn their own terrain are a devil to
copntrol which is why they have such long bars and your position has your arms splayed out so wide.

Wider bars are for control or rather leverage and have generally got wider
to slow the handling down, not to do with having the bars pulled away from
your hands which is more of rider thing, roadies in particular tend to
death grip the bars rather than letting the bike flow.

Before they had that devil of a wet year that washed out so many hill
roads, we had several dry years that brought the local reservoir down so
far that Lake Chabot had to feed from San Leandro Reservoir. This used to
be via a little creek. So I would ride through the dry creek to get to
the road that led out to Lake Chabot Rd.thids meant having sharp bumps on either side that were angular and you really needed long bars for the
control leverage even with a full suspension 29er.

Rock gardens are more down to tyre pressure aka low is better, and
suspension than bars which yes can slow the handling down so less twitchy
but itrCOs more about rollover and prevention of a stall on a flat sided
rock.

Roger Merriman


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