Deciding on bar width

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06-05-24 | 07:47 PM

#26

zandoval

Senior Member

Joined: May 2010

Posts: 5,621

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From: Bastrop Texas

Bikes: Univega, Peu P6, Peu PR-10, Ted Williams, Peu UO-8, Peu UO-18 Mixte, Peu Dolomites

As you know... Things change as ya go along.

If I saw the bike set up I am ridding now thirty years ago I would certainly laugh. One thing I have learned is not to make big changes. So if ya end up going to the hack saw make it little, itty, bitty, cuts...

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06-07-24 | 12:20 PM

#27

Ryan_M

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Joined: Jul 2008

Posts: 385

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From: Hamilton, Ont.

Bikes: Some

Quote:

Originally Posted by Polaris OBark

The guy in the video (Lee McCormack) is a proponent of the idea that what really matters for mountain bike fit is the angle he calls RAAD in the figure below:

https://ridelogic.bike

The saddle height, position, etc doesn't even enter into the calculation. (Enduro Bros don't sit.)

So I recently built a MTB (fits into the downcountry slot) and wasn't sure about size. It was my first proper MTB so didn't have experience to rely on, picked a large frame based on other's heights & inseams, and what they thought of their fit. When I built the bike up the distance from bars to saddle seemed ridiulously small. I thought I'd made a big mistake. After riding it a bit and making little tweaks to stem and types of handle bar the bike feels soooo good. It wasn't until later, going down the youtube rabbit hole, that I came across the RAD fit method. For curiosity I measured it up and turns out the RAD is pretty much bang on (IIRC within 1cm). I know it's only a sample size of one, but seems there's something to it.

06-07-24 | 11:28 PM

#28

tFUnK

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Joined: Jun 2002

Posts: 3,924

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From: San Jose, CA

Bikes: Too many bikes, too little time to ride

Interesting formula. Puts my max width at just about 800mm. Just did a ride on 800mm bars today and I am now convinced that it's too wide. Tempted to chop 25 mm from each end before the next ride to see how it feels.

06-08-24 | 11:46 AM

#29

georges1

Steel is real

Joined: Mar 2013

Posts: 4,535

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From: Not far from Paris

Bikes: 93GiantTourer,92MeridaAlbon,96Scapin,98KonaKilaueua,93Peugeot Prestige,05CasatiClipper,98Jamis Dragon,95Tange Prestige(to be built),98VettaTeam,95Coppi,93Grandis,Daccordi x3(in build),98Piton(in build),99Trek SLR2300

Most of my MTBs have a 13cm stem and bars ranging from 55 to 65cm. 4 of my mountain bikes have a hi riser bar and 3 others have flat bars. My two other mountain bike projects are going to again include a 13cm stem and 60 to 65cm hi riser bar. I always used this set up for my mountain bikes and never had any back or arms aches or issues.