Why do handlebars need to be so wide?

Hull Fulweiler said:

I'm considering shortening my handlebars on a hybrid I use to get around
town and occasionally ride for exercise. I figure that I'll be able to
squeeze pass stopped cars more easily and be more aerodynamic. I've heard
that having your hands close together makes it harder to breath but I ride
this way frequently and never noticed it myself. Can somebody talk me out
of this?

Hull Fulweiler

No, I've hacksawed many a city handlebar. 😄 Start with an inch or two and
see how it feels. Replacement straight bars are cheap if you screw up. LOL

better yet replace them with something classier and more comfy for city
riding:

http://store.yahoo.com/momovelo/nialbar.html

and my favourite, the classic 3speed "dove" bar
http://store.yahoo.com/momovelo/rifaba.html

Hull Fulweiler said:

I'm considering shortening my handlebars

No wonder they're so wide. You're using more than ONE.

Bill "pet peeve" S.

S o r n i said:

Hull Fulweiler said:

I'm considering shortening my handlebars

No wonder they're so wide. You're using more than ONE.

Bill "pet peeve" S.

You're the guy who likes a pleated pant as well, not to mention your chain
link fent.

LOL

Hull Fulweiler wrote:
|| I'm considering shortening my handlebars on a hybrid I use to get
|| around town and occasionally ride for exercise. I figure that I'll
|| be able to squeeze pass stopped cars more easily and be more
|| aerodynamic. I've heard that having your hands close together makes
|| it harder to breath but I ride this way frequently and never noticed
|| it myself. Can somebody talk me out of this?
||
|| Hull Fulweiler

I thought wider handlebars gave better control.

Hull Fulweiler said:

I'm considering shortening my handlebars on a hybrid I use to get
around town and occasionally ride for exercise. I figure that I'll
be able to squeeze pass stopped cars more easily and be more
aerodynamic. I've heard that having your hands close together makes
it harder to breath but I ride this way frequently and never noticed
it myself. Can somebody talk me out of this?

Hull Fulweiler

I'm going to shorten a pair of my handlebars in just a few minutes, I've
done it before with good results.
I like my hands to be slightly closer together than my shoulders. The
handling is different but doesn't take much getting used to. The benefits
are comfort, aerodynamics, maneuverability in traffic and I guess a weight
benefit as well.

"Hull Fulweiler" <[email hidden]> wrote in news:aOxNc.141863$OB3.1962
@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net:

Quoted message said:

I'm considering shortening my handlebars on a hybrid I use to get around
town and occasionally ride for exercise. I figure that I'll be able to
squeeze pass stopped cars more easily and be more aerodynamic.

They don't need to be so wide. Mountain bikers regularly hack saw an inch or
two off of each end of their handlebars. A wide bar improves slow speed
maneuverability, but many people (especially skinnier people) are happy with
somewhat narrower bars. Try moving your grips inward first. Don't cut until
you find a nice position for all the terrain types you experience.

"Hull Fulweiler" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]

Quoted message said:

I'm considering shortening my handlebars on a hybrid I use to get
around town and occasionally ride for exercise. I figure that I'll
be able to squeeze pass stopped cars more easily and be more
aerodynamic.

If you want to be more aerodynamic put on clip-on aero bars. A couple of
centimetres won't make any noticeable difference.

Quoted message said:

I've heard that having your hands close together makes
it harder to breath

Not on a hybrid it doesn't. You're typically talking about going from a
58cm flat/riser bar to a 56cm flat bar, not a 40cm to 38cm drop bar. No way
it's going to adversely effect your breathing.

Quoted message said:

but I ride this way frequently and never noticed
it myself. Can somebody talk me out of this?

It's not such a big deal. It'll cost you a few dollars for a new bar and
about 30 minutes to swap everything over. If you don't like it put
everything back the way it was.

--

A: Top-posters.
Q: What is the most annoying thing on Usenet?

Quoted message said:

Can somebody talk me out of this?

Hull Fulweiler

Ok, Don't do it!!! Whatever you do, don't do that!!

Hull Fulweiler said:

I'm considering shortening my handlebars on a hybrid I use to get around
town and occasionally ride for exercise. I figure that I'll be able to
squeeze pass stopped cars more easily and be more aerodynamic. I've heard
that having your hands close together makes it harder to breath but I ride
this way frequently and never noticed it myself. Can somebody talk me out
of this?

Hull Fulweiler

Go for it. It's your bike, make it work how you want it to work. I've
used a tubing cutter with good results.

If your hybrid has riser bars- not uncommon- the only thing to watch
out for is if your brake levers will be able to slide in far enough.
Loosen them up and see where the bend of the riser stops them- pay
attention to rotation because this also affects how far they can go
in.

If you have flat bars, I've seen people with them cut off very short,
so the brakes slide all the way to the bulge. A bit much for me, but
it must make cutting between cars easier.

Dan Daniel said:

If you have flat bars, I've seen people with them cut off very short,
so the brakes slide all the way to the bulge. A bit much for me, but
it must make cutting between cars easier.

That'd be like riding on the tops of my drop bars all the time--not
what I want when I'm in traffic.

I have seen messengers do this, though, so I suppose this, as many
other things, is a personal preference.

-Luigi

In article <[email hidden]>,

Hull Fulweiler said:

I'm considering shortening my handlebars on a hybrid I use to get around
town and occasionally ride for exercise. I figure that I'll be able to
squeeze pass stopped cars more easily and be more aerodynamic. I've heard
that having your hands close together makes it harder to breath but I ride
this way frequently and never noticed it myself. Can somebody talk me out
of this?

Wide handlebars are ghastly when local regulations compel
you to ride on the sidewalk when crossing a bridge.

They can also get in the way when parking in a bike rack
that already has other bikes in it.

cheers,
Tom

--
-- Powered by FreeBSD
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca

Quoted message said:

I'm considering shortening my handlebars on a hybrid I use
to get around town and occasionally ride for exercise.

I shortened the handlebar on my folding MTB to make a smaller folded
size, so it now has a 46cm flat bar, and it works fine for me.

--
Robots don't kill people -- people kill people.
http://www.irobotmovie.com/

maxo said:

better yet replace them with something classier and more comfy for city
riding:

http://store.yahoo.com/momovelo/nialbar.html

and my favourite, the classic 3speed "dove" bar
http://store.yahoo.com/momovelo/rifaba.html

A slightly different interpretation of the latter that I prefer, use,
and love:

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/handlebars.html

(first one on the page)
The grip positions are closer to parallel and easier on the wrists.

Cheers,
Steve "I want to be like Sheldon and put quotes in my sig too" -O

Hull Fulweiler said:

I'm considering shortening my handlebars on a hybrid I use to get around
town and occasionally ride for exercise. I figure that I'll be able to
squeeze pass stopped cars more easily and be more aerodynamic. I've heard
that having your hands close together makes it harder to breath but I ride
this way frequently and never noticed it myself.

If that's what you like, go for it.

But take a moment to reckon how far apart you place your hands when
you push a shopping cart, or when you stand in front of a railing with
your hands resting on it. That should give you an idea of your most
natural spacing. Narrower than that has its advantages, as you point
out, but there are control and comfort reasons that handlebars are
wider than the minimum size necessary to fit grips and levers.

Chalo Colina

Hull Fulweiler said:

I'm considering shortening my handlebars ... I figure that I'll be able to
squeeze pass stopped cars more easily ... Can somebody talk me out of this?

Don't ride in the door zone, and your handlebar width will cease to
be a problem. You will also significantly reduce your danger.
--
Rick Onanian

In article <[email hidden]>,

Rick Onanian said:

Hull Fulweiler said:

I'm considering shortening my handlebars ... I figure that I'll be able to
squeeze pass stopped cars more easily ... Can somebody talk me out of this?

Don't ride in the door zone, and your handlebar width will cease to
be a problem. You will also significantly reduce your danger.

I've got VWH. Didn't think much of anything of 'em, until I started
talking about them here. Now they worry me. Especially at night,
when drivers can't really see how wide they are.

Ignorance is bliss.

Tell ya what, tho': wide handlebars have a way of enforcing staying
out of door zones. And off of sidewalks.

cheers,
Tom

--
-- Powered by FreeBSD
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca

You're worried about squeezing between cars on a hybrid? Shouldn't you
be on a fixie with sprint bars?

Just curious

Jon

Hull Fulweiler said:

I'm considering shortening my handlebars on a hybrid I use to get around
town and occasionally ride for exercise. I figure that I'll be able to
squeeze pass stopped cars more easily and be more aerodynamic. I've heard
that having your hands close together makes it harder to breath but I ride
this way frequently and never noticed it myself. Can somebody talk me out
of this?

Hull Fulweiler

On Wed, 28 Jul 2004 22:12:28 -0700, [email hidden] (Tom Keats)

Quoted message said:

I've got VWH. Didn't think much of anything of 'em, until I started
talking about them here. Now they worry me. Especially at night,
when drivers can't really see how wide they are.

It's easy at night with drop bars. Just put lights in the ends of
'em; that makes them more obvious than in the daytime.

There's probably lights that stick out the ends of flat bars, too.
--
Rick Onanian