Re: [CR]Handlebar Sizing Guide

(Example: Framebuilders:Dario Pegoretti)

In-Reply-To: <20010713233657.EDOI3707.mtiwmhc24.worldnet.att.net@webmail.worldnet.att.net>
References: <20010713233657.EDOI3707.mtiwmhc24.worldnet.att.net@webmail.worldnet.att.n et>
Date: Sat, 14 Jul 2001 10:39:47 -0400
To: jackieosullivan@att.net, "nick zatezalo" <nickzz@mindspring.com>
From: "Sheldon Brown" <CaptBike@sheldonbrown.com>
Subject: Re: [CR]Handlebar Sizing Guide
Cc: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org


Jackie O. wrote:
>Nick asks about handlebar sizing:
>
>It is my understanding--I think it came from the old
>Coni book--that handlebars should be the same width as
>the shoulders--to the point of the bone when squared.
>
>Bars are often too wide. I have pretty broad shoulders
>for a woman, but I cannot tell you how much the quality
>of my life improved after I found some 38cm center-to-
>center Cinelli Mod. 66 bars to replace the 42's I was
>riding. the same holds or custom fitting I have done.

Back in the olden days, narrower saddles were the vogue. There has been a trend toward wider bars over the last 30 years or so.

As some of you may know, I own lots of bikes. One of them is one that I built for myself while apprenticing to Chicago framebuilder Rob Myers back in 1974. Despite this being "bespoke" I never really felt comfy on it. One rainy day I was idly hanging around my cellar and decided to measure the bar widths on all of my bikes. I even got Fit-Kitted for this bike in the mid '80s, by a noted local fitter. He tinkered with my saddle height (made it too low, actually) but otherwise pronounced it OK.

I discovered that the three most comfortable bikes I owned had one thing in common, 37 cm handlebars. The "Brown" however, had 42 cm bars, just what the FitKit said I should be riding.

I bought a set of narrower bars for this bike and it made a huge difference, suddenly the bike felt "right" to me!

To a large extent I suspect that this was used to my having become accustomed to narrow bars at an early stage of my development as a cyclist, since that's what came on '50s and '60s bikes.

I think another dimension is that wide bars are advantageous primarily when you are standing, where they give you more leverage to pull up against the bars. Since I almost never stand when riding a multi-speed bike, this "advantage" doesn't apply to me.

Sheldon "Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité" Brown Newtonville, Massachusetts +--------------------------------------------+ | If it can't be expressed in figures, | | it is not science; it is opinion. | | --Robert A. Heinlein | +--------------------------------------------+

Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts Phone 617-244-9772, 617-244-1040, FAX 617-244-1041
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