Bar width for mtb

aaakev

Just looking for opinions from lads on wheather i should get wider bars on my bike? Iv got 650mm bars on my trek fuel ex 8. Mostly trail and downhill riding ill be doing.

Also want to get a shorter stem as the original is pretty long

c montgomery

aaakev wrote: »

Just looking for opinions from lads on wheather i should get wider bars on my bike? Iv got 650mm bars on my trek fuel ex 8. Mostly trail and downhill riding ill be doing.

Also want to get a shorter stem as the original is pretty long

Shorter stem will give more control on downhill. It will make uphill more difficult as more weight will be on the back of the bike.

Wider bars are seen as being better for downhill also however I find this to be more personal, I have a friend who's great downhill and has actually shortend his bars with a hacksaw

I ride 50mm stem and 710 bars and love it

aaakev

Not too concerned about uphill, ill walk it if needs be until i get the fitness up! Id 740 on my trials bike and found it a comfortable position so might lok at something over 700 for the mtb.

Are the stems universal? Looking on chain reaction but not sure what to go for

JBokeh

Cross country is anywhere from 660mm to 700mm, its a fairly personal thing. Trail and enduro you'd be 720 to 760, again quite a personal thing, long bars and short stem are considered better for handling when bombing down hill.

Get a set of 760mm bars and put the grips in various places along them to simulate bar width, then when you find one you like chop them down. Most bars are marked in 5mm increments on the ends to allow you to mark and cut them if you feel like it

SureWhyNotNow

aaakev wrote: »

Not too concerned about uphill, ill walk it if needs be until i get the fitness up! Id 740 on my trials bike and found it a comfortable position so might lok at something over 700 for the mtb.

Are the stems universal? Looking on chain reaction but not sure what to go for

Stems vary in clamp size for the bar and steerer. Most bikes run 1 1/8 inch steerers and 31.8mm bar clamp width,and the majority of stems are for this size.

Stem length is all personal preference,really,but short ones can really transform a bike. I stuck a 40mm hussefelt stem on my 29 hardtail and It feels much more nimble yet better balanced all around. Best advice I can offer is to play around with lengths,maybe visit a local shop and ask about,since buying online can be a bit of a gamble.

aaakev

Yeah i think ill get 760 bars and cut them back if needed. I must measure the stem and see what it is but i reckon it's 60-70 mm so id say 40mm would be perfect. Is chain reaction the best place for that kind of gear?

SureWhyNotNow

aaakev wrote: »

Yeah i think ill get 760 bars and cut them back if needed. I must measure the stem and see what it is but i reckon it's 60-70 mm so id say 40mm would be perfect. Is chain reaction the best place for that kind of gear?

I usually buy all my stuff from there,free shipping and no hassle. Might be cheaper on bike-discount.de but you have to pay shipping.

Nothing wrong with CRC for stuff like stems and bars. It's generally on higher end drivetrain stuff that they start to inflate prices compared to others in my experience.

aaakev

Cool ill check it out!

Going for a spin in the morning again, might try run a lower tyre pressure tomorrow and get a bit more traction. What do you lads run? Im 110kg so ran 35 front and 40 rear last week but think i could drop a few psi with the ground being wet and slippy

aaakev

Go na git the button on new bars, any sugestions on what rise to go for? Mostly DH riding

LagunaSeca

One tip I found useful is to shorten the stem by half the distance you lengthen the bar - assuming you are happy with your current reach. I went from 70mm stem/700mm bar to 50 stem/740 bar and the new set up feels spot on and a lot more controlled on downhill sections.

As others mentioned, buy a longer bar than you think you need and trim if required.

aaakev

The bars i have are 650 and the stem is quite long at 95 so i was thinking 740/50 would be good for me too but chatting to a lad in work who is is into mountain biking he reckons 75 woul be better fo me because of my height... Bit confused with it all now