Originally Posted by
Fred B
Since the “rule” equating the distance around a rider’s chest measured in inches (jacket size) with the width of a handlebar measured in centimeters came along after the fad to move to wider bars was in full swing, it was/is just a way to justify using wider bars. And, like many myths, it had/has the appearance of truth because it involves numbers and sounds scientific.
If we are to discuss the pros and cons of using wider or narrower handlebars, can we please move beyond this meaningless "rule"? Too many riders are being pressured into using handlebars that are not the best fit for them because of this myth.
Although I've been racing consistently for 30+ years, although I was in the bike biz for 15+ years, I'd never heard of this "rule" until now. I think this "rule" came into effect pretty much in this thread, at least in terms of widely sharing it. It's not a "rule", just a correlation observation, as rpenmanparker pointed out. If anyone ("too many people") changed their bar due to this rule I'd be curious who did (as I'm sure rpenmanparker would be too).
__________________
"...during the Lance years, being fit became the No. 1 thing. Totally the only thing. It’s a big part of what we do, but fitness is not the only thing. There’s skills, there’s tactics … there’s all kinds of stuff..." Tim Johnson