Mike Jacoubowsky wrote:
> The FitKit measurements do include shoulder width, for help in determining appropriate handlebar
> width. Perhaps some shops ignore it? That's unfortunate since bar width can make quite a
> difference in comfort and out-of-the-saddle climbing. Back in the day there wasn't much choice;
> nearly all bars were Cinelli 64s, with a 40cm width. But over time we've found that wider bars are
> definitely an advantage for bigger folk, and I could never go back to narrow bars now that I'm
> "spoiled" by 44cm width (and I don't even have shoulders... more like ski slopes!).
>
> It's almost painful for me to see some guy come in with an older bike, big broad shoulders and a
> 39cm wide bar. I guess if you don't know any better, it's not that big a deal, but once you get
> someone on appropriate-width bars, they're blown away by the difference.
Welllll, maybe. A lot depends on what you're used to. I grew up on bikes with 37-38 cm bars. In 1975
I briefly apprenticed to a frame builder (whatever happende do Bob Myers?) and while there I built a
custom frame for myself under his tutelege.
When time came to build up the completed frame, I went to the best-known fitter in the area and got
FitKitted. On his recommendation, I got 42 cm bars.
Although this frame was made to fit me, I never felt really comfortable on it.
Some years later, on a rainy afternoon, just for something to do I measured the handlebars of all of
my bikes. I discovered that the three most comfortable bikes I owned all had in common 37 cm bars!
I bought a pair of 37s for the Brown, and, for me, the improvement was dramatic!
I will grant that wider bars are better for standing pedaling, but I rarely do this when on a
multispeed bike, and I find the narrower bars more comfortable and more aero. I'm a large man, but
my sholders are of average width. Some folks talk about narrow bars constricting the breathing, but
this is only so if you ride with your elbows straight. I bend my elbows outward so my upper arms
don't compress my chest.
> While we're on handlebars, another issue that comes up at times are bars with too much forward
> reach. Since STI came along, bars like that don't make a lot of sense. They were designed with the
> idea that you wanted an aggressive position when you were out on the brake hoods, and a more
> relaxed position up on top (the straight part of the bar). Trouble is, with STI, you spend a lot
> of time on the lever hoods, so that really needs to be comfortable position for long periods of
> time. If you shorten the stem to accomplish that, then the top part is way too close. The solution
> is to shorten up the reach, so you have more useable hand positions, without sacrificing comfort.
> If you want to get aggressive, go for the drops.
That's a very cogent observation. I hadn't thought of that. I do generally go with stems at least 1
cm shorter than the FitKit default recommendation.
Sheldon "All Generalizations Are False" Brown +-----------------------------------+
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