[Zach Dank]

I'm messing around with different set ups right now. I've gone from 24 to 27. Just wondering what lengths everyone is running, and what advantages you find in different lengths. This is just for dirt jumping, not DH or street.
One thing i noticed right away, is that whips are way easier with wide bars.

 

[stormin'norman]

everything is easier with wide bars

 

[snaky69]

I'm pretty in between, I lopped off 1 inch on each side of my Titec El Norte. That makes it 25 or 25.5'' wide, fine for me, I'm a small guy(5'6'')

 

[Zach Dank]

everything is easier with wide bars

No it's not.

 

[Stoked]

26.5 wide. just more comfortable for me

 

[DirtEveryDay]

X-ups SUCK with wides.
And actually...I've had trouble doin moto whips ever since I went to a single crown on my fully! Musta just been slappin the bumpers into the top tube and bangin it sideways. Worked really well, but I apparently didn't learn any technique!
I think 26" is decent, but I can't really do ANYTHING that Zach can do. Like nothing.

 

[sb317]

I'm pretty sure mine are right at 27". I like'em but had a hard time getting x-ups back.

 

[fiddy_ryder]

I'm gonna give my new bars a shot uncut at 29... I usuallu run about 24-25

 

[kidwoo]

25.5

Rode 24s for a while but missed the leverage.

 

[BJ-]

In the past ive cut my Deity bars down. Usually an inch to half an inch off the sides but at the moment im just running them un-cut.

 

[ebrider510]

right now im running 25.5 which is pretty great. if you are spending more time riding trails and such i would leave them longer..around 26-27"

 

[Cru Jones]

27. Xs are no problem. I think the width helps for turndowns, tables, whips... anything that requires some side to side bike movement in the air. But, you can get used to almost anything.

 

[Cru Jones]

And...

I don't do bar spins. But, it looks like most of the dudes doin em on mtbs run narrower bars. So, that could be a disadvantage of going wide.

 

[Changleen]

I always just take a new pair of bars, close my eyes and hold them in different spots till I find a nice feel. Then I measure and chop based on that. Tends to be my shoulder width plus two or three inches either side. I never really feel in more control with wider bars, I just feel cumbersome.

Also what is up with so many BMX bars having like 13 degree bends these days? I really don't like that much.

 

[Stoked]

Also what is up with so many BMX bars having like 13 degree bends these days? I really don't like that much.

my old sic chase bars had 13* backsweep. i liked it but no one who tried my bike could get used to them. 13 is alot

 

[Changleen]

Yeah, it feels like those super old school racing bars.

Oh my BMX bars are 24" and a tiny bit and my 24" is 24 and 3/4". I guess I like 'em narrow.

 

[ÆX]

i'm @ full width 27, but snag my shorts everynow and then
on X's i am cutting them to 26 i think.

 

[sama1ter]

im running 8" x 26". 28 was wayy too wide for a small bike, 27 was pushin it, but im liking things so far at 26...might lob off another quarter off the sides, but probably not.

 

[BikeSATORI]

yeah, I think it's based so much on personal preference and related to style you can't say much and expect it to be the same as somebody else...

I ride 24.5 Atomlab Jesme's right now, but I ride more street than dj on my 24" atm, but on my DH/FR bike it's full 28". I'm only 5' 8" too, so maybe that has some play in the sizes...

wide bars seem to be blowin' up right now, from PNW bmx'ers (or guy marsh's insane 32" bars), to East Coast DH'ers rockin' flatbars sitting at 30"...



I think for boostin' big off the wedges, wide bars must be where it's at for the whip tweakage.

 

[grom-dom]

22.5 for now from when i was riding only street and brakeless. i have a set of deitys that are going on eventually that are about 26" or so i think.

 

[Bicyclist]

28s. No barspins here, but I love the feel of the leverage for whips and hops. This is on a BMX.

 

[grom-dom]

28s. No barspins here, but I love the feel of the leverage for whips and hops. This is on a BMX.

i'd love to run wide bars, but barspins are superrr hard with super wide bars and thats on of my fave things to do. i may go uber wide bars on my tonic when i get my night train

 

[v-digit]

24.5" blk mrkt badabings on my tonic

 

[don]

I think my current bars are around 26".

 

[ebrider510]

i really would not mind trying out some wider bars again...i don't do bar spins or x-ups really so it would be nice. shorter bars have a cool feel though.

 

[nugget]

28in. I don go bar spins. Wide bars looks so cool when you get it all together.. I'm not a big guy also.

Does anyone know how Guy runs 32in? custom bars?

 

[rubrduk]

i push the brake levers to the last flat before the bend...give a 3/4" space between the lever and grip and then i run XL grips...like 140-145mm

 

[Bicyclist]

...because every bar has the same crossbar/bent width.

 

[Zach Dank]

i push the brake levers to the last flat before the bend...give a 3/4" space between the lever and grip and then i run XL grips...like 140-145mm

Wow. You average like 2 posts a year.

 

[_*sTiTcHeS*_]

22.5, 24, 25, 26.5, and 28. differnt bars for different stuff.

the 25 and 26 are basically spare handle bars.

 

[rubrduk]

Wow. You average like 2 posts a year.

bahahaha!!!!11!!


actually i rode the train over from mtbr/pinkbike back in the day when ridemonkey first opened...i stayed with pinkbike more because that is what i knew and i had this ridiculous idea that one day i would actually be cool because of the bike i had....(sorry no pics - but i had $3k sunk into a leopard paint PX Jack Flash Classic with monstrous 24"s and a 5" bomber...and it weighed a metric ton and was way too long for me especially since i was a former bmx'er and then i had 4 other bikes too) - i got out of bikes in 2002 when i need to make a career move...it was still in my blood but i moved 2000 miles from everything i knew and needed to think about life and find myself

so here i am 5 or so years later getting back into the scene but in a more purist fashion...much older, somewhat wiser, and a good deal fatter and slower. So...i wanted a bike that was cheap and to the point...and i'm trying to reclaim what i enjoyed most about bikes without all of the funk that made me hate it (i lost focus on what bikes were about for myself)...so i built a short frame steel bike with one gear, not much travel and 2 cable brakes...

and now here i am...and after haunting the big 3 bike forums for a while i found ridemonkey to be more about the ride and less about the rider, which is all i ever wanted

 

[Stoked]

but i had $3k sunk into a leopard paint PX Jack Flash Classic with monstrous 24"s and a 5" bomber...

ha i think i remember seeing that leopard bike back in the day

 

[opjones]

I'm running 23" right now. When i get a new set I'm going to stay a little wider, 24-25".

 

[Fitzy@Geek]

Runnin 25" protapers, had run uncut 26s and 24s before that.

Barspins feel perfect, could go a little shorter but then you sacrifice for other stuffs. Spins feel money. I feel undecided as to length of bars for whips. With 24" bars it seemed awkward but with 26" they felt goood...so I would say 25ish +/- .25 feels like a good mix for me.

 

[Zach Dank]

22.5, 24, 25, 26.5, and 28. differnt bars for different stuff.

the 25 and 26 are basically spare handle bars.

All these different lengths are for dirt jumping? Crazy.

 

[_*sTiTcHeS*_]

i dont just dirt jump. its my favorite thing to do but to hit jumps theres usually lots of stuff around them. like different type of trails, and the bike im on. at the dj park i use the shortest. on the sketchyest dirt jumps i use the widest. i wanna get used to just one bar but its nice having a bunch.