Handlebars.
Once wide and comfortable, now narrow and optimized for performance.
After decades of favoring wide grips, we are now opting for 38cm bars.
Why?
In short, we traded comfort for aero gains.
In long….keep reading.
1. The Wide Bar Era: Deep Breaths + Leverage
Back in the 70s and 80s, handlebars were way longer.
The idea was clear, even if the science wasn’t: open your chest, let your lungs breathe, and let the air rush in.
Cycling wasn’t about twitching into aero positions; it was about comfort. And leverage, of course. When you’re climbing out of the saddle, you’re getting a mechanical advantage via the longer moment arm. It’s like using a crowbar to move the world.
2. But Then Came the Aero Revolution: The Need for Speed
Fast forward to the 90s. The world wasn’t just changing; it was shrinking. Riders weren’t interested in breathing deeply — they wanted to move fast, and I mean really fast.
Wind resistance became the devil, and every part of your bike that cut through the air with less resistance became holy. Enter the narrow bars.
Wide bars? They were dead weight. They were like trying to race with a parachute.
The truth? You couldn’t just keep living in the 80s forever. Aero was king. Narrow bars, though uncomfortable and somewhat twitchy, were the new trend in town. The theory was simple, almost brutal: less bar, less drag. More speed. More watts.
Riders started to crouch over their bikes in positions that looked like they were about to die. The wind sliced by, but they didn’t care. They weren’t out to enjoy the ride; they were out to crush the ride.
3. Track Sprinters: The Gods of Narrow Bars
Ever watch a track sprinter? Those guys? They’re the freaks, the ones who ride handlebars so narrow it looks like they’re holding onto chopsticks. They didn’t care about comfort. They didn’t care about feeling free. They cared about cutting through the air like a butcher with a sharp knife.
Narrow bars aren’t just a design choice for them — they’re a damn necessity. Every millimeter matters.
Track sprinters are the real deal, and they’re telling you with their narrow grips: Speed, baby.
It’s all about the frontal area, and narrow bars? They give you fewer inches to fight against the wind. Your chest is tucked in, your elbows are in, and everything’s tighter.
You’re not riding a bike anymore; you’re carving through the atmosphere.
P.S. Track cyclists use a special set of drop bars known as pista drops.
4. Precision Over Power: The Sacrifice We Made
Here’s the hard pill to swallow. The wider bars of the 70s and 80s gave us something: stability. Comfort. Control. You felt like you were the king of the road, a freight train cruising through your neighborhood. But then came the realization — when you’re riding on narrow bars, you sacrifice a little of that control. Things get twitchy. They get fast. The bike feels like it could throw you off at any second. But you know what? The sacrifice is worth it.
The bike industry has been relentlessly pushing us toward this precision. It’s all about the quick handling now. Quick turns. The bike becomes an extension of your body — a weapon in your hands. You don’t just sit up and take in the view. You’re in it, gripping tight to your narrow handlebars, feeling every little nuance of the road beneath you. There’s no time to breathe; there’s only time to win.
5. Narrower Bars: The Marginal Gain Fever
I’ll tell you what. Narrow handlebars are a subtle kind of torture. You might feel the loss of comfort, your hands close in a way that feels unnatural at first.
But then something happens. You adapt. Your body changes. You start riding faster, smoother. It’s the magic of marginal gains. They told you it wouldn’t make a difference, but when you switch from a 42cm bar to a 38cm, you feel it. It’s not just the feeling in your hands. It’s the feeling of the world flying by at a pace you could only dream of before.
A narrower bar doesn’t just mean fewer inches. It means fewer seconds. And when you’re chasing speed, those seconds — hell, even milliseconds — are the difference between glory and defeat.
| Factor | Wide Handlebars (70s & 80s) | Narrow Handlebars (Today) |
|---|---|---|
| Comfort | Open chest, relaxed riding | Tight, aggressive posture |
| Leverage | Power for climbing, control | Less leverage, more twitchy |
| Aero Efficiency | High drag, less speed | Minimal drag, faster speeds |
| Handling | Stable, forgiving | Precise, responsive |
| Wind Resistance | Heavy resistance | Minimal resistance, quick pace |
Conclusion
It all comes down to this: We used to ride wide handlebars because they made us feel like kings of the open road, free and unstoppable.
But those wide bars? They’re a thing of the past. The truth is, we’ve become obsessed with speed, with cutting through the wind, with every fraction of a second counting.
We’ve traded comfort for control, freedom for precision, and the result? A new kind of bike.
But here’s the thing. The narrow handlebars have got us where we are, pushing the limits of what’s possible.
And now? We’re hungry for the next thing. What’s next? Narrower? Non-existent? Maybe the handlebars will disappear altogether, and we’ll just ride invisible bikes.
It doesn’t matter. We’re addicted to the ride, to the speed, to that feeling of flying.
And we’ll keep going. Until we’re nothing but a blur.
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