We live 60 miles from the nearest LBS (where we bought our bikes) and so we have questions that aren't readily answered by dropping back in...

My wife's handlebars are 25.5" wide, my old bars were 26.5" wide and my new FSR has bars that are 27.5" wide. I have read that the bars should be about as wide as your shoulders, but I don't know anybody with shoulders that wide! It seems more reasonable that there should be a slightly wider "stance", but how much? Is there some ideal or standard angle to use as a starting point?

I have narrow shoulders for my height (5'9" 19" shoulders) and short arms. My old bars are what I was used to, so it makes sense that 2" wider would feel strange, but is either right for me? How does one figure out what is right as far as handlebar width?

If I need shorter bars, can I just hacksaw the difference off these bars? (pipe cutter?) Or do I need to get a new set?

Sorry for the dumb questions, but consider the source!
Thanks,

not a dumb question at all....

how wide should your handlebars be? that depends. i recently went to wider bars. wider bars at first felt odd, but gave me more control. now they are super comfortable and i prefer wider bars. so comfort is a factor. some like shorter bars, for tight spots or, again, comfort. really, i don't think there is a right or wrong answer. yes, you can get too wide, and yes, you can get too narrow, but i'm talking extremes.

if the bars are slightly wider than shoulder width, that is ok, as long as your arms aren't stretched out like crazy.

ultimately only you can determine if your bars are too wide or too narrow.

if your bar is too wide, and you want it shorter, you can cut it with a hacksaw.

I don't know where this comes from, maybe it's a road bike thing(?), but it certainly doesn't apply to MTBs.

Old rule of thumb for MTBs was 4-6 inches wider than your shoulders; but this has been turned on its ear a bit by the trend to wider bars. Downhill bars are now commonly 29"-31" and wider but that is for a specific purpose. A lot of trail bars are in the 27"+ range now; I would run as wide a bar as is comfortable for you and that doesn't bias your weight too much over the front wheel.

27" seem Ideal for me.

I don't know my shoulder width but I am 6'2.

Yep, it's a road bike thing and doesn't apply to mountain bike bars at all.

Flat bars with bar ends are usually run narrower than riser bars. Wider bars give better handling and help with climbing. Narrow bars let you squeeze through trees and stuff on the sides of skinny singletracks.

In the dirtbike forum world, somebody was asking this same question:

"How wide do I cut my handlebars?", and some funny guy responds "That depends on how far apart the trees are".

Old rule of thumb: they should be as wide as the search function.

Assuming you have aluminum,NOT carbon fiber, then use a pipe cutter:

https://www.amazon.com/Ridgid-40617-4...2285465&sr=8-1

If not, a hacksaw would work.

DO NOT cut off too much at once. If you take off 1/4" on each side it will make more of a difference than you would expect. It's all about personal preference.

Just remember: if you've already cut them twice and the are still too narrow, you are in trouble.

I'm a fan of wider bar mated with shorter stem, the control, leverage cant be beat. I guess my bikes somewhat started off with more standard sized xc bar sizes, generally 100-110mm 6-deg stem and 680mm or there about's wide bar. On my HT 29er I now have a 90mm stem and a 710mm flat bar. My AM FS bikes have RaceFace Atlas FR bar @ 780mm and 60mm stem's, they simply feel superb, my SS rigid 29er has 80mm 0-deg stem and 740mm carbon bars...nirvana.

That added leverage has taken all the twitch and momentary loss of control sometimes given away to the front wheel when deflected off or otherwise "guided" off my intended path by an object on the trail and has firmly put the control in my hands (Hope that is somewhat understood).

Every now and then when rolling down a steep and rocky descent I sometime feel more controlled (steered maybe is the right thought) by the circumstances and elements I'm rolling thru, over, across and can be left more or less holding on and going along for the ride. The wide bar/shorter stem has given the reigns of control for those scenarios back to me and it feels great.

I like the wider bars as well. As said above, better control and great for climbing. I put 700mm enve composite bars on my 29er hardtail with a smaller 90mm Thomson stem and love it. I do believe that it is personal preference and the type of trails you ride. Smaller bars provides more reactive steering, to me on some of the smaller bars (25) and such it feels twitchy to me. However, i can see someone who rides in tight areas with a lot of switch backs/turning and minimal climbing (steep climbs) that would prefer shorter bars. Again, it is personal preference. If you like your current lenght run with it.

90mm = pretty lengthy

I roll with 35mm-50mm

About wide bars-- I have uncut 700mm bars and love them. I have broad shoulders and long arms though. I wouldn't expect smaller riders to like that wide, but under 650mm is pretty narrow.

A few posts up... 780mm! Now that's wide enough to worry about some trees, hehe.

Agreed, but 80-90mm is typical OE stem length on your average 19" frame bike. Your 35-50mm is definitely a shorter stem.

I used to ride with a 600x90 bar stem combo but changed to a 680x90 and at first I thought it felt weird and stretched out and thought I was going to nail every tree and cactus, but once I got used to it I love it. So awesome for climbing.

Along with the wider bars the trend is toward shorter stems. A wide bar effectively slows steering and increases reach, and a short stem counteracts this. Many people find the handling characteristics desirable with the wide/short combo. On the other hand, it can bias your weight rearward on climbs or simply be too wide in very tight forested trails.

Myself, I am comfortable for now somewhere in the middle, with 26.5" bars and an 80 to 90mm stem for cross country and endurance riding and racing. But I like to play around, so maybe I will go wider next season, especially if I am riding more singlespeed than geared (the extra leverage helps). But while the extra leverage is nice when standing, a very short stem can cause some wheel lift on steep climbs. Just riding around, I can deal with this, but in the second half of a long race I don't like to feel like my bike is working against me on the climbs. So intended use matters a lot.

Like other people have said there is no right or wrong answer.