Fifty Plus (50+) - Handlebar Width Decision

After a one-year affair with these handlebars:

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/TromboneAl/Bike-1.jpg

I'm going to do the right thing, and return to drop handlebars. I've ordered the brake levers, and I have these drop handlebars that are only 40 cm wide:

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/TromboneAl/Handlebars.jpg

The affair handlebars currently on the bike are 53 cm wide. My shoulders are about 41 cm wide (acromion to acromion).

I'm pretty sure the 40 cm bars will feel too narrow. The frugal thing to do is to install them and see how they feel, and if they don't feel right, buy some wider ones (Nitto Noodle or Ritchey Logic, for example). If they are too narrow, I'd only waste some shop time, and maybe some brake housing.

Does that sound like a good strategy, or would I be wasting my time with the narrow , old-style bars?

Thanks.

Give them a try, if your chest feels closed or cramped then get some wider bars. truthfully, dispite all the expert out there, i never noticed any difference in bar width at all. I think most folks bodys just get used to things

I don't think it's a waste of time if you're someone who learns from trial and error. After all, it is free to try, and regardless of how it turns out, you will have learned something. Personally, I don't subscribe to the two major schools of thought (wide to open up the lungs for breathing, and narrow to make one more aerodynamic). Nor, do I think that comfort if a given is the bars are as wide as your shoulders. I'm riding seven road bikes these days and have three different widths on handlebars... all pick for comfort on that particular bike.

40cm is a good starting point. I think I generally ride 38s.

I ride 44's and I feel like I breathe better.

You might laugh at this.

When I'm building a bike for myself I hold the bare handlebar out in front of me as if I was riding the bike. If the width doesn't feel right I look for one that does.

As a general rule I use widish handlebars on my dropped bar bikes and cut about 3/4" off each end on my flat bar bikes.

A general rule is handlebar width should be the same (approximately) as shoulder width.

The standard "rule" is of course, shoulder width. The idea is that when riding with your hands on the hoods or drops, your arms should not be splayed out too much (catches too much air), or inwards (restricts breathing). I do well with the standard rule myself, but I wouldn't go any narrower. Most people who want to go outside of the norm will opt for wider, not narrower than shoulders. If it was me, I would just get a bar of the proper width to begin with, rather than going to the trouble of putting on something I already know is too narrow. But I'm the kind of person who is very sensitive to millimetres when it comes to bike fit.

...and if they don't feel right, buy some wider ones (Nitto Noodle or Ritchey Logic, for example...

I have tried a bunch of these and like the Salsa Bell Lap handlebars the best of any. BTW, what happened to the original drop bars?

After a one-year affair with these handlebars:

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/TromboneAl/Bike-1.jpg

I'm going to do the right thing, and return to drop handlebars. I've ordered the brake levers, and I have these drop handlebars that are only 40 cm wide:

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/TromboneAl/Handlebars.jpg

The affair handlebars currently on the bike are 53 cm wide. My shoulders are about 41 cm wide (acromion to acromion).

I'm pretty sure the 40 cm bars will feel too narrow. The frugal thing to do is to install them and see how they feel, and if they don't feel right, buy some wider ones (Nitto Noodle or Ritchey Logic, for example). If they are too narrow, I'd only waste some shop time, and maybe some brake housing.

Does that sound like a good strategy, or would I be wasting my time with the narrow , old-style bars?

Thanks.

I think trying it out is exactly teh right thing to do. I have 40 cm shoulders, and have been steered to 44 cm Ritchey bars, which I don't like for several reasons. I took a few rides on my other bike with narrow randonneurs, and felt like home. I just bought a set of 40 cm Noodles to replace the Ritcheys. Goodbye to wide bars.

Road Fan

BTW, what happened to the original drop bars?I had swapped them with the ones on my daughter's bike, and then sold that bike (with my handlebars) when she went off to college.

Thanks for the advice. I've got the narrow ones on now. I've only taken it around the block, but they feel OK so far. This new handlebar tape is nice -- especially for those of us who remember the old thin vinyl!

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/TromboneAl/BottecchiaNewHandlebars003.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/TromboneAl/BottecchiaNewHandlebars006.jpg

I know, the handlebars are quite high. I'll use the adjustable stem to find the lowest position that agrees with my neck.