[berkshire_rider]

What are the pro's and con's of running a shorter bar? I'm thinking of cutting an 3/4"- 1" off both sides of my Titec as I have several places on the local trails where I have to stop and squeeze through. Do shorter bars help or hurt climbing or any other situations?

 

[Toshi]

it's all a matter of how they feel to you. i've tried going for narrower bars in the past for various reasons, and always come back to the protapers (at least on my non-strictly-xc bikes...)

 

[binary visions]

It's strictly a how-well-it-fits-you thing. Mine are about an inch and a half shorter than the 28" stock length - cut a half inch off at a time and rode with them inbetween the cuttings until they felt good.

If you can get a cheap pair of used bars, you could experiment to your heart's content.

 

[skinny]

Just buy a pair of amoebas. I don't know if you can find them around ur shop but they're $30CAD, massively thick, and the price makes em almost disposable. Make sure to cut small bits off at a time. Don't start by whacking of an inch on each side.

 

[Misfitslacker]

dose bar length make much difference for riding dh? it seems most pros and others iv seen riding have wider bars?

 

[skinny]

I still think it's a personal preference thing, but with DH, wider bars make sense, because you're going a lot faster, therefore the gyroscopic forces of the wheel are that much greater. Thatmeans that it takes more force to turn the wheel. That's what I think anyways, I could be totally off the mark cuz I'm not a big DHer myself.

 

[binary visions]

Originally posted by skinny
I still think it's a personal preference thing, but with DH, wider bars make sense, because you're going a lot faster, therefore the gyroscopic forces of the wheel are that much greater. Thatmeans that it takes more force to turn the wheel. That's what I think anyways, I could be totally off the mark cuz I'm not a big DHer myself.

Nope, you're not off the mark at all - that's exactly what it is. Big heavy bike + high speeds = more leverage needed.

The other side to that is wide bars give you a much more stable "stance" on the bike

 

[neurostar]

Nope, you're not off the mark at all - that's exactly what it is. Big heavy bike + high speeds = more leverage needed.

yup, i got some bars from a dh-er and they're extremely wide.

i need to cut them... but i'm too timid and scared that i'll cut off too much. haha

i guess i just need to cut off little bits at a time and ride to see how it is... then repeat.

 

[skinny]

Originally posted by neurostar
yup, i got some bars from a dh-er and they're extremely wide.

i need to cut them... but i'm too timid and scared that i'll cut off too much. haha

i guess i just need to cut off little bits at a time and ride to see how it is... then repeat.

If you don't know if you want to cut down your bars or not, first try this: move your grips and levers and shifters in on the bars, but leave the excess bar on, and if you like it, THEN cut the bars. If you do this though, MAKE SURE to have bar plugs in there cuz there's a greater chance of the bars taking a core sample of your leg when the grips aren't there.