Hi , Looking to finalize the build on my 56 Diverge , I decided to go with the Easton EC70 AX. Handle bar, I’m not sure what size to take: 1. I ride a Tarmac 56 which came with 44cm handlebar, multiple bike fitters have told me i should be riding 42CM, but never got around to switch it. 2. On the 56 diverge my reach is definitely stretched and 42 will be better than 44 for reach reasons. My question is will going wider on the gravel handlebar improve the riding quality? or should I stick with recommended 42cm and since the bar flares will achieve the desirable gravel steering I’m looking for ?
I run a 42 width on my road bike and 44 on my gravel bike (but the drops are flared out even more, 56mm). Both bars have the exact same reach (80mm) and drop (120mm). I find that the extra width does improve stability and if I'm needing more I just use the drops.
Unless you are experiencing any pain in your hands/wrists/elbows ext the extra width is nice to have on gravel.
I use the EC70 AX myself, and love it. I came to it from a 40mm EC70 on my old road bike. I feel that the 40mm AX is wider even riding on the hoods. I think going with 42mm would work out just fine for you, unless you're spending a whole lot of time on rough stuff, but in that case, you're probably in the drops anyway, which have some nice flare. One of the reasons why I like the AX is that the drop is relatively shallow, so doesn't change your position much when you're down there. By way of comparison, I also had a Cowchipper for a while, in 40mm, and found that to be way too wide for me in the hoods, and too low in the drops. Wider is better in a lot of circumstances, but too wide is annoying to me, especially if I'm trying to go fast on something relatively smooth.
This makes sense , since it has plenty of flare on the drops, i feel the 44 might be too wide, wish i can test ride both than decide , but 2 bike fitters told me 42 is my size , was wandering if most go wider on their gravel setups.
Jumbo wrote:I use the EC70 AX myself, and love it. I came to it from a 40mm EC70 on my old road bike. I feel that the 40mm AX is wider even riding on the hoods. I think going with 42mm would work out just fine for you, unless you're spending a whole lot of time on rough stuff, but in that case, you're probably in the drops anyway, which have some nice flare. One of the reasons why I like the AX is that the drop is relatively shallow, so doesn't change your position much when you're down there. By way of comparison, I also had a Cowchipper for a while, in 40mm, and found that to be way too wide for me in the hoods, and too low in the drops. Wider is better in a lot of circumstances, but too wide is annoying to me, especially if I'm trying to go fast on something relatively smooth.
xtmtb wrote:..was wandering if most go wider on their gravel setups.
Yep, most go wider (+2cm) on their gravel setups, where control is more important then being in an aero tuck.
Think of how wide mountain bike handlebars have gotten. Wide = control (although it will slow down your steering if you go too far out of the design parameters).
I never thought about flare making the bar feel wider. That is good info. Although personally I would rather have a wider handlebar with a slight flair than a narrower handlebar with a wide flair.
I've seen some new gravel bikes with some extremely wide handlebars stock.
I've wondered about this myself. Starting off (uncomfortable) on a 44cm bar, my bike fitter told me I measured at 40, but since this is for gravel 42 would be acceptable. What he demonstrated to me is that if the hoods are too wide, the stance will be detrimental to the shoulders and neck in the long run. However it is true that off-road you get better control and leverage from a wider stance, but that's where the flare comes into play and makes perfect sense. So I got a set of 42 Cowchipper with relatively high flare (24deg) and wow! Then swapped to a new bike which came with an Easton EA70 AX in 44, which has 16deg flare. Fit wasn't great. I missed the more pronounced flare. So I got me another 42 Cowchipper set, but in carbon this time as it might just be my forever bar. Cheers.
As a track cyclist who has run as narrow as 36cm on the velodrome, I love the flared bars on my gravel bike, which are 44cm in the drops. They come in handy on rough and technical forest roads or fast descents, and you get a slightly narrower position on the hoods.
I mean, my bars are 44cm at the hoods and wider in the drops...
spaghetti.spokes wrote:As a track cyclist who has run as narrow as 36cm on the velodrome, I love the flared bars on my gravel bike, which are 44cm in the drops. They come in handy on rough and technical forest roads or fast descents, and you get a slightly narrower position on the hoods.
radouf wrote:I've wondered about this myself. Starting off (uncomfortable) on a 44cm bar, my bike fitter told me I measured at 40, but since this is for gravel 42 would be acceptable. What he demonstrated to me is that if the hoods are too wide, the stance will be detrimental to the shoulders and neck in the long run...
That is interesting. I've never heard of someone getting sore because they were on a hardtail (flat bars). I wonder if drop bar bike really is more comfortable than a hard tail because of that???
P.S. As a velodrome racer, I like narrow bars at 40mph (when I'm always riding in a straight line), but not on gravel. ;-) I like my hoods to be fairly wide apart, but personally if I'm in the drops, I wanna be aero. I do understand the concept of flair though though - just isn't for me (well, no more than 12 degrees at least).
That is interesting. I've never heard of someone getting sore because they were on a hardtail (flat bars). I wonder if drop bar bike really is more comfortable than a hard tail because of that???
It is theory, so in practice I assume results may vary wildly, but it does make sense if you think about it this way: try to do a bunch of push-ups with your arms and hands straight under your shoulders. Then, try it again, but going for a wider stance... I don't think it's so much about soreness, but rather (maybe?) about efficiency. And something the fitter specified: this mostly comes into play for long, drawn-out efforts. Think full day road ride, rather than MTB shred. Then again, don't know what to say regarding all the contemporary bikepackers who ride on flat bars 🙂
I'll also add that a good friend of mine has severe wrist issues (because he's a workaholic coder and never stops, basically), and I got him into cycling last year. Well I was very surprised when we found out that with his condition he just can't ride flat bars. But drop bars are way better. Suggesting that on the wrists, in his case at least, there's something more ergo about the dropbars indeed.
Besides the aerodynamic benefit of narrower bars on road bikes, you're also in a very static position for longer periods (generally) so I think any issues with hand/wrist position not being ideal can be problematic on the road. I think they ergonomic advice is hands at shoulder width. On gravel I'm switching hand position a lot more than when on the road so I don't think the potential issue of having your hands in a slightly less ideal position (like wider) for hours on end are as much of an issue.
That is interesting. I've never heard of someone getting sore because they were on a hardtail (flat bars). I wonder if drop bar bike really is more comfortable than a hard tail because of that???
My shoulders got super sore riding a motorcycle with a fairly wide and straight bar. Replacing that with a much narrower swept back bar fixed everything.
If your position on your gravel bike is more like an mtb, then you might like wider, but if your gravel bike position is more like your road bike and you find yourself getting somewhat aero alot with your hands on the hoods, then you might be more comfortable with narrower.
I started with 44's, then went down to 42's and eventually settled on 40's. The wider hoods gave me aches in my neck and between my shoulder blades on long gravel rides.
Bars are cheap, so just get one and put some miles on it and you'll find out if you'd rather have wider or narrower.
Gotta question that seems to fit on this topic. Assuming you have decided on the width, flare and drop. Is carbon worth the extra $. Is the benefit there for the additional costs over alloy? If you do go carbon, should the stem be carbon as well?
I did get the carbon Easton bar, with 6 deg flare in size 42, went with actual size and it feels great. Not sure how much benefit there is on carbon over alloy, but the bar feels great. I have an alloy s works stem with a carbon bar. Hope this helps. Cheers
If you are just comparing weight and price, it's really hard to justify carbon stem and handlebars. There is a benefit to be had in terms of vibration dampening, but I think you get more bang for your buck with carbon wheels and forks than on handlebars and stem.
All that being said, if you have the money and you enjoy upgrading your bike then go for it.
For context, my gravel bike came with a carbon stem and I did swap the alloy handlebars for carbon. I wanted a wider bar with more flare so I was replacing them anyway and donated the stock bars to my son's gravel bike build, but I did spend the extra $ on carbon bars. I do feel they help with vibration on bumpy surfaces, provided I'm on the drops, but there's no way in hell the miniscule weight savings was worth the extra $.
