Getting a more narrow handlebar.
 

Got an older beater road bike off of CL. Handlebars are a 38cm and way more comfortable to me than the 42cm on my Allez. Just felt more natural. I'll be picking up a 38cm handlebar for the Allez soon.

Discuss.

what is there to discuss? It sounds like you know what you like.

Anyone know much about these?

http://www.ritcheylogic.com/dyn_prodfamily.php?k=98034

Won't replace the 50cm on my Atlantis or the 48 on my Rambouillet. I dunno what I'm going to do when those give up, because I've never seen bars that wide except once in a clearance sale. I wish I'd bought them all.

the ritchey biomax flare out, so only the top portion is 38cm wide.

look into women's handlebars. they come in 38cm c-t-c sizes.

Salsa has narrow bars, some are ano. but straighter overall than those Ritcheys

Those looks like an "anatomic" version of Nitto's noodle bars.

They are, but the sweep back is not so pronounced. My wife has them on her road bike.

I have those Biomax bars in both 38cm and 36cm. I like them a lot although I have them tilted down quite a bit which helps access. When I went down to the 36cm bars I was worried that I may find them too narrow but they really felt quite natural and I didn't feel like I lost any leverage.

Here's a pic of how I have them setup,

http://www.anthonyglynn.com/cycling/handlebars1.jpg

Anthony

Just looking at that bar setup hurts.

To the OP, be sure you know how the bars are measured - outside to outside or center to center. 38cm c-c would be about like a 40cm o-o. As others noted, some brands flare out up to 2cm at the ends, like the FSA K-force compact, making the brake hoods really narrow.

anthony - what size stem is that??

i agree with dave, not all bars are measured the same, make sure you understand what you'll be getting before you buy.

My LBS recommended narrower bars for me. I got these FSA Omega bars in 40cm. The shifters are 39cm, since the ends flare out.
http://www.bikeman.com/store/graphic.../HB/HB0817.jpg

The shallow drops are great. I can ride in them for at least 15 minutes at a time. Now I'm switching between the hoods and the drops just to get a different hand position. Before, I'd only ride the drops if it was necessary. The semi-ergo bends let me move my hand position, too. I can ride toward the ends and be upright enough to see the road easily, or grip the drops up in the curve and rest the heel of my hand on the bottom of the drops and get aero.

What I like:
Riding in the drops.
Low cost bars-$35 to $40.
I feel faster with less wind resistance, since my arms aren't spread as wide. But it's only a difference of 39 vs 42 cm wide, so I doubt if it makes that much difference.

What I don't like:
For me, the short 80 mm reach and the rounded bend to the tops make them a bit cramped on the hoods. I have Campagnolo shifters, and usually ride with the heel of my hand on the bar when riding on the hoods. Many other riders rest on the base of their thumb, so this wouldn't be a problem.

The shallow reach and narrower bar made the handling seem more twitchy at first. I'm adjusting to it now. (I put on a longer stem when I installed these bars so the reach would be similar to my old bars)

The flats are fairly narrow, too, due to the rounded curve and the wide clamping area.
These are fairly heavy bars, over 300 grams.

Sure, everyone has a favorite bar width.
I have always thought that wider "open you up" more, making breathing easier. May be a myth, but I recall reading a blurb in a magazine years ago that said this. I think it was about Andy Hampstem's bike (can't remember which one).
Based on this, I have always got 42cm (c-to-c) or 44's.
A couple years ago, I got a bike that had a 38, and it just felt WAY too narrow for me.

That's a 50mm stem but I've since fitted a 65mm stem. I have reach issues.

Regarding the width of the Biomax bars they measure the specified width at the hoods, centre to centre and flare out at the bottom.

Anthony