Mountain Bike Handlebars For Trail Riding

Most riders find that 760 mm wide handlebars are the perfect width for a variety of uses.

Mountain bike handlebars for trail riding. The steps to do this will depend on the headset system your. Except for an occasional older bike in stock all change 600 series bikes 609 mtb 612 mtb and 611 rugged hybrid come by default with 23 580mm handlebars. 760mm is a great width for the casual trail rider and it has 8 degrees of backsweep with 5 degrees of upsweep. However if you often ride in a flat aerodynamic position a narrower bar is a better idea.

A wider handlebar for example provides more control over rough terrain on the descent. A 35mm clamp size bar for xc and trail use. Generally speaking dh and enduro riders tend to ride between 780 800mm for men and 740 780mm for women while trail and all mountain riders trend a little narrower in the 750 780mm range. From regular trail riding to the enduro world series having handlebars that give you the control and stability on the downhills along with being in an optimal pedaling position and fitting between tight trees is the name of the game.

The bigger clamp size means that it is heavier than bars for proper weight conscious racing but is is much more affordable than lightweight carbon bars. It is a balance and important to find what is comfortable for you. The 702 commuting bike comes with 22 560mm handlebars. Proper handlebar width for mountain bikes is determined by your primary riding discipline personal preferences and body type.

Before you head out on the trails you will need to test the bike and see if the adjustments are correct. This is generally near the short end of mountain bike flat bars. On steeper trails we found we were more centralised on the bike with the weight spread more between the legs and arms feeling less fatigue. Riding a mountain bike with the handlebars too low can be painful as you are in an uncomfortable position.

Mountain bike handlebars don t have drop sections like road bike bars and they re wider 700mm than non drop bars found on hybrids or commuter bikes. The most common form of mountain bike handlebars is the riser bar where the ends of the bar rise up higher than the centre section in the stem. 740mm 780mm bar width. For a short downhill rider a handlebar of around 750 mm is a good place to start while the handlebar width for taller downhillers is around 800 mm.

To overcome this you need to raise the handlebars to the right level. But going too wide on a downhill mountain bike can make maneuvering through tight trails tricky as it gets difficult to avoid obstacles when riding with wide handlebars. The riding position is more open with the head and chest higher for a more comfortable ride. At the other end of the spectrum when we swapped to a 40 mm riser bar the changes were instantly noticeable.