Drop bars come in a bunch of different shapes and sizes, and picking the right bar can be an overwhelming task. From reach, to width, to flare, the options are myriad. We’ve written about drop bar anatomy in the past. For a quick primer on ramp, reach, drop and more, head to Drop Bar Dissection.
It was only in the mid- to late-80’s that drop bar width became similar to what is now considered a ‘norm’. Before that, bars were really narrow for about 70 years. Jump back before that and they were wider, closer to what we at Analog consider ideal. (Feelin’ a little deja vu? This historical ebb ‘n flow is always part of the story.)
Today there are more drop bar variations than ever before, but the vast majority are still designed and rated for racing on the road. Which is ridiculous, because about 1% of cyclists actually get out and race, but all our options are dictated by that 1%. However, a few companies have started to design bars for general riding, and some even design bars specifically for riding in a variety of conditions, on and off road.
Most bars, measured center-to-center at the hoods, are 40–46cm wide. Some are narrower, 36cm, and some are much wider, up to 66cm. But the vast majority are in that 6cm range.
Picking a drop bar width is pretty easy, but you have to throw out your 80’s bike knowledge and replace it with Ana-logic, and with this power you can ride comfortably and stay in control off road.
We’ll break this down by bar height and shoulder width. Overall rider height doesn’t really matter. Sex doesn’t matter. This is equal opportunity bar sizing. Start by measuring your shoulder width. If you are a heavier rider, or have lots of arm and/or chest muscle, go 2cm wider to this measurement.
Shoulders are measured from acromion process to acromion process. You need a friend who you are ok with poking around on your shoulder and a metric tape measure, or string + yard stick to do this. When employing the latter method, measure your shoulders with a string and your fingers, then hold the length of string against the yard stick. Magic!
The acromion process is a little bony spur, located above your humerus, at the end of your clavicle. Technically the acromion is its own bone, but it feels like the end of your clavicle. Find where your big upper arm bone (humerus) has its northern terminus, then feel around for a rounded bone protrusion. Measure from that point on one side of your shoulders to the other. If you measure in inches, multiply the resulting number by 2.54 to change the number to centimeters.
Do it twice or thricely, and take the widest measurement, unless it’s wildly off from the other two. If it is, throw it out, and do it 3 more times! So if you get 44, 44.5 and 43.5, take the 44.5 measurement. Wider is rarely a bad idea, within a centimeter or two.
Now, round up for ATB / Mountain use, and round down for road / gravel. So if you got 44.5, make it 45 for mountain, which will end up being a 46cm cause no one makes a 45cm bar. If you are heavyset or muscle bound, add 1 more to that number: 46cm. If you don’t, your arms will compress your chest when you are in the drops, and you won’t be able to breathe as well.
For road use, this is sorta hard to explain, but in practice rounding down is a good policy. It’s just more comfortable for prolonged riding in the drops. Particularly on bars that don’t have much flare. 0–13 degrees: round down.
Example: If your shoulder measurement is 44.5cm, round up toward a 46cm bar for mountain/ATB use. For road riding, especially with little flare, round down toward 44cm.
Like the look of those bars? Check out our Hardtack collection.
Shop HardtackFor most drop bar fits, you are leaning forward into the bars. This means that instead of your sit bones and feet taking the majority of your body weight, your hands/arms/shoulders/neck are sharing that load. Your arms function like pillars when they are in line with each other (shoulders over elbows over wrists), making the support of big loads easier. That can be hard to get your head around, unless we use a real world Analog-y (not sorry about that):
Get on the ground and do an elbows-in push-up (i.e. keep your arms and elbows tucked at your side. You can keep your knees on the ground, if you want, but the effect is more noticeable if you do an old school normal push-up.) At the top of the push-up, when your torso is furthest from the ground, hold that position for a few seconds. Maybe 10.
Now lower yourself all the way back down to the cold, cold floor. Move your hands away from your torso, 8–12”, and try the same push up. When you pause to hold, you will immediately feel the tension in your neck and shoulders. That’s what riding with low, too wide bars feels like, all the time. Even without locking your elbows (which is bad), your arms form a structural pillar that is missing when you cannot keep your arms in-line with your shoulders.
Be wary of long reach dirt drops, like the Funn dirt drop. If the reach is over 80mm, wide bars are going to feel really weird on your wrists. Additionally, that extra reach equates to extra rotational leverage. The longer the reach the more likely the bars will slip in the stem when you smack a pot hole or hop a log, if, of course, you are riding in the hoods.
This scary feature is exacerbated by 1 or 2 bolt handlebar clamp stems, which do not have the same clamping force as a 4 bolt stem. This short reach rule eliminates lots of ultra wide drop bars (and even some normal road bars!). Adjust reach with your stem, and just rock the shortest reach bars you can get in the width and flare you want. There is no downside to short reach bars.
There are a lot of drop bars out there, but not nearly as many we'd recommend for riding off road. We like bars with sensible reach, useful flare, and enough strength to handle actual mountain biking.
Get a short reach bar according to the guidelines above. Navigating the anatomies of bars can be tedious, so here's the list of bars we're into:
Strong enough for mountain biking.
