How To Choose The Perfect Handle Bar Width For Your Riding

How to find the right handlebar width for you

Step 1 - Define the type of riding you will be doing mostly

This is the easy part for sure and the most important. Defining what type of riding you do the most will allow you to select which range of handlebar widths you will need to start looking at. I can simplify this pretty well for you:

Downhill - 750 to 820mm

Enduro - 730 to 780mm

Trail or Cross Country - 700 to 760mm

These are some pretty large ranges of lengths, but it should give you a ball park figure of where to start and how that relates to your current bar width too.

Why do we go wider as we add more gravity to our riding?

It’s not a strict rule that you need wider bars, but the wide handle bars slows down your steering, make it less twitchy at high speeds. This increases your ability to control the bike over fast and rough terrain. That wide position can be quite uncomfortable to be riding in for long periods of time, which is why for Enduro or Trail/Cross Country you tend to see riders have narrower handlebars.

On top of this, as speeds reduce on the trail, this is often due to the fact that they are a bit tighter between trees and rocks or simply tighter turns, so a slightly narrower bar helps you turn more quickly.

Step 2 - Consider your height, shoulder width and arm span

This is why the ranges above are so wide. As a rough guide, the taller you are, the wider your bars will need to be. Don’t forget to take into your shoulder width and arm span because you may be able tolerate (or not) a wider bar than your height suggests.

Step 3 - Start Experimenting

This is the most important step. There is no perfect equation to find your perfect bar width and it’s something that is very individual and comes down to personal preference. So try different widths, whether you borrow your friends handle bars for a ride, or you buy a new set of handle bars and start cutting them down 5mm off each side every ride, it’s up to you.

Good luck!