How wide are your bars?

al415

Banned
Hello.
I bought my significant other a cannondale rush feminine for Christmas. It’s her first mtb. She had been riding my spare singlespeed with a 26” flat bar, seat slammed down and forward since November. I’ve been tweaking the fit since giving her the bike: I put a short 70mm stem on the other day. A zero layback seatpost is on the way too. This bike came with a 27” wide FSA riser bar. I realize that handlebar width can come down to nothing more than personal preference. Logic would dictate that wider shoulders require wider bars, but if I look at my own riding history this theory disappears. I started on a cropped 19” flat bars in the 1980’s when we were all taking pipe cutters to our bars. Nowadays I find it’s impossible to be “too wide” I’m putting a 28” inch bar on my next bike, which will be proportionately wider than my shoulder width should dictate… (Does that make sense?)

So, given that she is 5’6” and small framed, should I leave the bars as they are until she gains enough experience to know whether she likes them or not? Do smaller women, generally, run a narrower bar? Thanks for any input.
 

stb222

Love Drunk
Jerk Squad
as you know, the skinnier the bar, the more twitchy the handling of the bike. I would leave 'em wide until she becomes more comfortable on the bike.
 

alex_k

Well-Known Member
a wider bar should go with a shorter stem. i just installed a 28'' bar instead of 26'' and noticed too slow handling...
 

Pokgirl

Spork
Yeah, maybe she should give it a whirl. If she is bouncing off trees, then cut them.

I have a Cannondale Scalpel (not feminine bike) with the 23" bars it came with, and man that bike can do the tight twisties!! I go over the bars too much, since I sit too far forward, but I am reluctant to replace this bike for this specific handling reason. I didn't catch any trees at JH this year.

Well, this little informational break is just a data point. Don't think it really helps you too much in your decision.
 

al415

Banned
Well, this little informational break is just a data point. Don't think it really helps you too much in your decision.

That's ok. I suspected it came down to trial and error much like when I set up a bike for myself. I'll leave things as they are and see how it goes. Thanks!
 
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