How to Choose the Correct Handlebar Size?

This is a good question that we have never really addressed, Hugo Garcia has bought some new handle bars and worked out that a pair of 44 cm bars would be best, but he sometimes feels they are too big. We explain what you should be looking for when changing handle bars.

Question:

Recently I bought a new handle bar, but I am not sure if the size is the correct one. At the store I bought it, they measured the distance between my shoulders and the result was 43 cms. They told me that any size between 42 and 44 would be ok, so I decided to buy a 44 cms size, but sometime I feel that the brakes/levers are a little far to reach. Please tell me how to choose the correct handlebar size.

Thanks.

Hugo Garcia.

Hi Hugo.

The method you used to you chose the width of your handle bars was correct, the width of your shoulders is very important as is the width of your chest. You want your arms to be fairly straight when on the drops of the bars, if your arms are coming together and your hands are too close together this can constrict your breathing which will cause a problem when cycling.

If the handle bars are too wide then your hands will be too far apart and steering will be difficult and uncomfortable. If the hands are wide then the shoulder blades will be too close and can cause back problems. So if the arms are fairly straight from the shoulders to the hands then all is correct.

Hugo, your problem doesn’t sound like a width problem but a reach problem. Is the problem that you can’t reach the brake levers when your hands are on the drops of the bars? If so, then this could be that the bars are “anatomically” shaped, which actually take your hands away from the lever and normal old fashioned round handle bars are better especially for smaller hands.

The problem could also be the distance of the drop of the bars from the tops to the bottom, there are different sizes which are normally referred to as shallow or deep or called; Italian style (shallow) or Belgian style (deep), depending on the manufacturer. Be careful if you are ordering by internet as there are different sizes of centre section of the bars; check the size of your stem first before ordering.

Try moving the brake levers further up or down on the handle bars, this may help and give you more comfort without having to change the bars.