Originally Posted by
topflightpro
I believe the general rule of thumb for road bikes was that your bars should be as wide as your shoulders. The idea being that your arms would move straight out to be on the hoods or drops. Given your measurements, you would need a 46 bar. (I've never seen a 48). Of course, that is not the most aerodynamic set up.
That definitely makes sense given my road bike setup and aligns accordingly.
I found this page interesting.
https://www.velodrome.shop/barsize
I am just wondering where they get the recommendation of 42cm for my shoulder width, or the rest of the recommendations for that matter. I assume that at some point, similar to a time trial bike, an overly narrow arm position can constrict the chest and oxygen intake, despite increased aerodynamics. On a time trial bike, there is also an issue of stability. However, on my track bike, 37cm does not seem to constrict my chest nor reduce stability. If anything I feel more stable, because a wider bar is essentially like using a longer lever, where you can produce greater movement of the steer tube with less movement from the end of the bars (I think this is standard mechanics, right?) -- hence I consider this a good basis for going with a 40cm endurance bar, but this is an inference based on limited information and experience.