Bicycle Mechanics - Measuring road bike width

I am looking for a wider drop bar for my road bike, but don't know how to officially measure mine so that I might order a wider bar from, say, Nashbar.

Where on the bar do you officially measure the width. I see the largest generally are bout 44 cm or thereabouts.

I have wide shoulders, and need something wider. My Lemond Bar is perfect, and if I could measure it I would order the same thing.

Unfortunately there is no standard measuring of road bar widths. Each manufacturer has their own method. Some measure center to center, others outside to outside. I think the QBP catalog "Quality Bike Products" tells how each brand they sell is measured.
I hope this helps you.

Thanks. Guess I will just have to try some out at the LBS.

Measure yours both ways...

ITM O-O
Deda O-O
TTT O-O
Easton C-C
Ritchey C-C

Measure yours both ways...

ITM O-O
Deda O-O
TTT O-O
Easton C-C
Ritchey C-C

Do you measure at the widest point (the ends)? 44 cm O-O

At the curve? 43.5 cm O-O

Across the top by where the STI's are - 42.5 cm O-O

Thanks

at the widest point, at the bottom of the drops

an easy way to convert your O-O measurement to C-C is just subtract 2cm...

Unless you are buying some sort of "noodle" bar, most bars are exactly the same width from the 'elbow' all the way to the end.

I installed the widest drop bars on my tandem once and they were so comfortable that I did the same on my road bike as well, although they were a size or two larger for my size. I see nothing wrong with going a little wide...

George

I installed the widest drop bars on my tandem once and they were so comfortable that I did the same on my road bike as well, although they were a size or two larger for my size. I see nothing wrong with going a little wide...

George

That's fine, but I need to be sure that what I order is wider than what I have.

My Lemond bars measure 46cm O-O, the bigggest I saw on Nashbar was 440 mm.

I will check again, if that 440 mm was C-C, than I am ok, but if it was O-O, then it would be smaller, and the current size that I have on my new Winsdor, which would do me no good!

Okay, my shoulders measure 49 cm, end-to-end.

According to what I read, the width of the bar should be somewhat close to that.

I don't see ANY that wide, but my Lemond, at 46 O-O seem to work fine!

a way that I heard is pretty accurate to measure your bar width is to see if they fit on your shoulders like a jacket.

a way that I heard is pretty accurate to measure your bar width is to see if they fit on your shoulders like a jacket.Yes, I've heard that too but the problem is you've got to be skinny to be able to do that...

George

Measure your bars at the handlebar plugs....46 is very very wide.

You may be measuring your shoulders in the wrong area...I dont know where to tell you to measure other than raising your arm and measuring where the 'joint' or 'crease' is on the top of your shoulder.

....46 is very very wide......but it is very, very comfortable....