# How are handlebars measured?



## nyvram (Apr 11, 2002)

My "old" LOOK from brakehood to brakehood (well the bar right next anyway) is 17 inches (or 43cm). I don't know what the handlebars are listed at.

My new 586 LOOK has 44cm Ritchey WCS handlebars is a whopping 18.5 inches (or 47cm) from hood to hood.

The older bar is more comfortable..my riding position is such that I'm on top of the hoods 90% of the time..either pulling on the front of them to 'help' me power up a climb or resting partially on them and partially on the bar. I rarely grab the bar in the middle and I'm only in the drops when I'm descending or I'm in a sprint.

The newer bar results in numbness in the balls of my hands over time; my LBS fit my new bike exactly to the same specs as my old bike and the only difference is the handlebar is wider so I'm guessing this must be the source of the problem.

Since I'm going to replace my bars, how in the world do I make sense of these measurements? I have no idea what my old handlebar was listed at cm-wise. Is there a standard or do I have to get a tape measure and go measure each manufacturer's bars personally to find the ones that are 17" across?

Any help would definitely be appreciated.


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## Rollo Tommassi (Feb 5, 2004)

*C-C or outer to outer*

There will be variances between manufacturers of course, but the measurement is taken from the bottom end of the bar, not from the brake hood area.The bend style and the reach are the other two parameters. Bend style will be anatomic, deep, etc. The reach is from bar center to center of the depth of the drop curve. All three measurements affect fit.

As a fitter, I measure c-c and adjust per 'how' the manufacturer does it.The aim is to fit to anatomical points on the rider.

Yes, while the LBS 'matched' your old position to the new bike, the bars are too wide and should go away.


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## nyvram (Apr 11, 2002)

thanks rollo..very helpful. i guess the best way would be for me to measure a few different manufacturer's bars and get a sense for the only measurement i care about...sitting on top of the hoods. thats where i need the most comfort.

thanks again


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## tom_h (May 6, 2008)

Most bar's widths are specified "center-to-center" at the end of the drops (ie, open tube ends) . Deda is a notable exception, they spec "outside to outside". Sizing is usually metric even-numbered. 40, 42, & 44 cm are common.


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## nyvram (Apr 11, 2002)

my shoulder length is pretty close to 17 inches so that makes perfect sense why the 17 inch bar worked so well for me before. hard to believe i didn't think about this or notice then when i was having the bike built up. idiot. 

live and learn i suppose.

also, that DEDA Zero 100 black bar is what I'm drooling over so I'll take their 'outside' measurement into consideration.

edited to add: at least i got a chance to try out wider bars and know they don't work for me.  trying to look on the bright side..


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## Rollo Tommassi (Feb 5, 2004)

*Match the bar center width to your shoulder width*

the technical measurement for bar width from skeletal points of reference is from the "acromion process across the back to the acromion processof the opposite shoulder". The acromion process essentially gives you a center point of the humeral head as it relates to the center of the shoulder socket.



nyvram said:


> my shoulder length is pretty close to 17 inches so that makes perfect sense why the 17 inch bar worked so well for me before. hard to believe i didn't think about this or notice then when i was having the bike built up. idiot.
> 
> live and learn i suppose.
> 
> ...


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## Rineholio (May 28, 2010)

You may find this guy's aricle helpful. Go to the bottom where he talks bar width.

http://www.jimlangley.net/crank/bikefit.html


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