jjbod1

Right now Jenson has some sweet deals on bars. I want to get a wider bar for one of my rigs. Right now its a 25.4 But I am curios, what is the performance difference between the two sizes? For if I go with a 31.8 then I need to buy a new stem also. Is it worth the upgrade in size?

bikinfool

IMHO little to be gained by changing the bar and stem, just have to look at what works best for your budget on finding a wider bar...downside to 31.8 bars is the bulge can sometimes reduce the space available for computers/gps mounts. I've yet to find any reason to change to 31.8s on several mountain bikes, YMMV.

ghettocruiser

Word. I don't get it either... I seriously can hang off my old-school EA70 without seeing it flex.

I have 31.8 on my road bikes, BTW, mostly because it's getting hard to find the smaller size.

As a result I have a full range of speedometer, light, and GPS mounts that fit nothing.

jjbod1

Looks like there sold out of the 31.1 size now on the bars I want to get, so that solves that, going to stay with the 25.4
I have never have had a problem with them,flexing or breaking, really I just want a wider bar "27 in". Thought maby they would be stronger. Thanks for the responses.

ed 

31.8 looks cool...umm...yah...it doesn't flex like those noodley 25.4's...umm...yeah, they just look kewl.

frankenmike 

Supposedly the wider diameter allows the same strength/stiffness with less material, thus the bar can be a little lighter. Personally, when my 25.4 stem and handlebar break, I might consider a switchover. Until then..

dminor 

I think we oughta drop it all back to 7/8".

born2bahick

That was the selling pitch, But when you look at weights of 25.4 stems and bars compared to 31.8 stems and bars the weight savings doesn't appear to be there. Maybe they meant stronger at the same weight? My new build is going 25.4. Less weight and can be had cheap right now.

jjbod1

My new 27 in wide Easton EA50 25.4 bars are in the mail and on the way. So not only will I may save some on weight, more important I saved on $$$$$. Did not need to buy a new stem, and i think I got a sweet deal on the bars. Also have a new set of MTB werewolf grips comming with the bars. Anyone out there ever use them? Like,Hate?

bikinfool

What, you didn't go with ODI locking grips? Now was the time! Don't like the WTB locking grips FWIW (although haven't seen any for almost 2 years, maybe they improved them).

jjbod1

Lmao Don't kick me when im down man! I came so close to ordering those. Then I asked the guy on the phone when ordering, how they would work with bar ends? It seemed to stump him. So I went with reg grips. Then today, I stopped in at the ATL Performance bike shop, saw the same lock grips I was thinking about buying, so of course I got to feel them out so to speak and they where on sale at 8 bucks. But at the moment I was like, I just bought a new set. NOW!! I am wishing I would of snagged them.

bikinfool

Hey, you at least didn't need to buy a new stem! If you called a Performance employee with a real question, well you're likely to stump him. If you do go locking, ODI has it down pretty much with a good selection of different grips using that lockring setup. We had WTB locking ones in our shop a couple years ago and they were pretty weak, but I looked up yours and they're standard grips anyways (or I saw the wrong version). Depends on if you want to cut your grips down with bar ends, otherwise the ODIs should be fine. ODIs for $8 would be a great buy, other versions maybe not.

cyclezen

aside from wanting to sell you somethin new, 31.8 was propelled by the intro of CF wraps and eventually full CF bars. The larger clamp area diameter makes it a bunch easier to design bars which might break less often... The larger clamp surface also means less clamping force needed on the bars, again in consideration of CF.

jjbod1

Got my new bars a couple days ago. I went from a 25" wide to a 27" WOW!! What a difference in how the bike handles. When getting ready to try them on the trails for the fist time yesterday,a couple guys i ride with said they may be to wide, had me scared, thinking I was going to hit trees. I figured, I can always cut them down if I need to. NO WAY!!! Somehow those 2 in made a major difference, I now love how the bike steers and handles.

ed 

Good to hear.

I just got a bar that is around 1.5" wider than my EA70's. After reading so much about CNT lately...I thought I'd give it a try.

jjbod1

I almost got the EA70's settled for the 50's for 14 bucks you cant go wrong. I am now thinking about buying the same ones but in the high rise, just to see how they feel.

ed 

HiRise is my rise.

johnnytheboy

Personally, I like the beefy look a 31.8 gives on a mtb. It seems like a lot of your 25.4 bars are steel also, as compared to most (if not all) 31.8 bars being alloy. So in return, that offers a lighter, stiffer bar.
I don't get the "accessories don't fit" argument. Most computers, lights, etc come with different mounts or bands to fit os bars.

I also have an enduro bar that's 660mm wide, and left it uncut. Feels soooooo nice, albeit a little tricky to squeeze through trees sometimes.

C Law

Come again?

johnnytheboy

What's hard to understand about that?
A lot of 25.4 bars are steel. Not all.
Most 31.8 bars are aluminum.
Am I wrong?

ed 

You are completely, totally, utterly, and without a doubt...wrong.

Do you think it is appropriate to say:...when comparing apples and oranges? Why not look at the Easton EA70 in 31.8 and 25.4 and try to make that same comment. Sure, there are mfgr's out there who make steel bars, but then you're stating something to the effect that the EA70 is lighter than a DMR 5butt...which is a silly comparison.

Blanket statement that is totally unresearched and out of context.


And then there was this little gem:
Totally forgetting that there are other materials out there like...say...woven carbon fiber / resin bars and Carbon Nanotube OS riser bars.

johnnytheboy

Cool.

johnnytheboy

You guys are totally right. As you can see, I wrote that dumbass statement at 4 this morning during a bout of insomnia. Sorry fellas.

ed 

1 thing you said did make sense:

"I like the beefy look a 31.8 gives on a mtb"

surreal

When i went to the 31.8 set-up, things did "feel" a lot stiffer/solid. But, this might be placebo effect, and (more likely) it may have felt that way because i went from some pretty garbage cockpit components to nicer ones. So, the clamp diameter probably wasn't the issue.

Now, all ovasudden, a lot of 25.4 stuff is super-dirt cheep, even if it's good stuff. So, even if you need to upgrade, you might want to keep the old standard, just to save a buck or get the uprated things for the same price as jenkier 31.8 stuff.

-rob