As a smaller rider, the biggest difference was swapping out the stock 42cm O-to-O to a Deda RHM 38cm O-to-O bar. I gained comfort and a little extra reach. I've since angled the hoods in a little too, and my hands fell so much better on the hoods as you get a much more neutral wrist/forearm angle, as well as placing your forearms on the tops if you want to get in an aero position on the hoods. Win, win!

Interesting information,looking forward to the next test video.

If you don't want to fork over for the fancy Enve bar right away just to try out a narrow flared bar, Rose makes an inexpensive alloy narrow flared bar, the Attack GF Aero, which can be found for about 20 euros.

Shouldn't you have used the same type of bars. How much of the drag reduction is due to the width or to the aero bar?

I started angling my brake hoods in a few years ago just to help my wrists as I think it's more comfortable than straight forward hoods. If there's an aero benefit too, then bonus!

I love my gravel handlebar that I installed on my roadbike. Flared bars, 40 cm in the hoods, a couple of centimeters wider in the drops. Perfect.

I use those SES Aero bars in that size - 37 hoods 42 drops. They are my favorite bars ever. 37cm in the hoods are very comfortable and the flare with the wider drops gives a great position for sprinting. It's the best bar out there.

Yes some wind tunnel aero goodness! Thk u

Great work mate,again.

Interesting that your follow-up video is going to cover comfort. Being 6' 4" tall, every bike I have ever bought over the years has come with 42cm or even 44cm bars. I had a bike fit last year and was recommended to switch to 40cm bars based on my shoulder width. I don't know if it has saved many watts but it has definitely made longer rides more comfortable now and wrist pain is virtually a thing of the past. Just another instance in my book where bike manufacturers get bike specs totally wrong.

Great video. Very informative thanks

great content. looking forward to the handing&confort test

After my bike fit, I’m now using 380mm Roval Rapide bars. Replacing the 400mm that came with my bike. Initial thoughts are improved position and comfort. And at my age, I’ll gladly take any free watts 😉

This is a really great video. I love the analysis and I have always wondered about narrow vs wider handle bars. I guess I'm a real 'wind catcher' with my 46cm ENVE (round) handlebars on my carbon Synapse, hehehehe!! But I fancy myself a climber, and as such; I like a wider bar for comfort and leverage in the high mountains. But as I often say; I'm in no danger of receiving an UCI world tour contract 🙂

First time my bike fitter changed on my bike was to switch to a less wide handlebar to fit my shoulder width. Made a substantive difference to comfort on the bike.

When I started racing as a junior in 1987, my coach told us to get the widest handlebar we could ride. The theory was it would open up our chest, improving oxygen intake to our lungs.

Good stuff David! 😎🙌🏽

Rob Arnold from Ridemedia said in a video, that Shimanos intention is that the flat part of the hoods should be parallel to the ground. And i am happy with this set up on my bike.

Great video! Tx

I was using quite narrow bars about 15 years ago. One of the big reasons I also liked them was because in Crit racing, I felt that narrower bars were less likely to get bumped by other racers I thought they were probsbly more aero, but I didn't know they were reducing my drag by such a huge amount.

If you do test narrow bars on the road I would probably adjust the stem length. As going narrower in the handlebar shortens your reach. So the handling issues that people say happens should balance out with the correct stem length. So + 5mm in stem length for every 2cm narrow and the opposite for going wider. Bear in mind the handlebar reach is the same. It's like changing crank length without adjust saddle height or changing tire width and keeping the same pressures.

Had good success in gravel races with a 38 cm bar (coming from 42 cm) but cornering could get a bit sketchy. Rode them once in a cx race and was all over the place. Now going for 38s with 42-44 flare in the drops for road and gravel and 42 for cx with 46 in drops.

Awesome video David. My handle bars April 20th wide aka 4/20 dude, LOL.

Would be really interesting to try the same type of handlebar tested in the wind tunnel at different widths to see how much narrower handlebars make. Difficult to know in this test was it aerodynamic nature of the narrower handlebar or just the fact they were narrower that was saving watts. Thanks. Great video.

Excelente video

David, mate!? You are comparing two different bar designs (round v. Aero), but framing this as a test of bar width. The two variables are conflated in your test. I think you are smarter than this.

When do you plan to do the follow up video of real world comfort and control of narrow bars? Looking forward to it.

Seems exactly how I have my regular training bike set up. It's a first gen Gary Fisher 29"er, 2.35" slicks, inverted Cube trekking bar with ~35-40º sweep. I put bar tape all over it , most of the time I can hold the central part even over some bumps. According to Strava I'm not as fast as the hip road bike boys yet, but I've never put such averages 20 years ago when I was racing.

I will say that I have those same ENVE aero bars and while they felt too narrow for my first few rides, up to the first month, I'm quite used to them and run them on my endurance bike too. I'd run them in gravel too, but I would prefer a wider bar for the chunky stuff and I don't run aero bars on my Lauf Seigla, which is my gravel bike for the chunky stuff.

Cool, now we need a comparison video between different depths of aero bars...

You make really good videos David . I noticed you showed but didn’t mention the Enve SES AR handlebar. It is one I have been looking at. Did you find the extra flare too much for road riding. Did it seem to absorb more vibrations than an aluminum bar ? Thanks, Dave

I have noticed a big difference swapping out a 44 cm alloy handlebar for a 42 cm carbon one on my Domane.

I have 40cm bars on both my bikes but I find that my hands turn outward to hold the hoods. I’ve been debating between getting a 38cm bar vs just angling the hoods inward. But I also want aero bars so may just go more narrow with the change.

Difficulty with anything like this is that one change impacts a number of different areas. Just switching the width isn’t a like for like change in terms of body position. If you switch to a narrower bar, this actually shortens the reach a tiny bit, so you end up narrower but taller. To compensate you might have to go to a slightly longer stem, or a slightly greater downward angle on the stem.

One of my life bucket list items is to ride at least 25 miles on a beautiful ride with David himself 🎉

Thanks

the problem with this is it's classic lab vs field and to make a direct comparison you have to have a control group and measure for all the variables so all this test tells you is what is happened in the lab.

Love to see episodes with the wind tunnel…well done!

Review the folding aero bars please. It goes from MTB bars to aero bars with a lever. They also have a version where you can brake while hold the aero bar tt style

One comparison would be between integrated Cockpit and aero stem with Enve AR SES or Pro vibe aero

Great content!! Thank you! I´m on a Metron 5D with 38cm and I´ll never going back to 42 or even 40. Will you do a version for aero road helmets? Many thanks again!!

A fair comparison would be two aero bars, one narrow on top and one not. We cannot know now if it was the aero vs round or the width. I have the exact same aero bars on my new SuperSix EVO, and I don’t like the lack of leverage I have when on the hoods.

I have a Worx 33cm bar at the drops on my road bike and a 33cm Velobike bar on my track bike.

I am a big size rider.. flat & wider handlebar give me more comfort. Guess if workd different for smaller fram rider. 😊

I had 37cm bars and never felt like I could climb very well with them. I much prefer my 39s for climbing and sprinting.

For a headwind test, 30 kph would end up 50-60 km/h air speed, right?

Did you test narrow bars + angled hoods + aero hoods (horizontal forearms) position? The point of narrow handlebars+ turned in hoods is to facilitate a more comfortable aero hoods position for a breakaway, not for chilling in the peloton. Personally since switching to a ISM PN saddle, long stem (140mm), narrow 36mm handlebars w/ hoods turned in I can now get into a fairly comfortable aero hoods position almost as if I had clip on time trial bars. Total game changer. My 300 watt aero hoods position costs other less aero guys 330+ watts just to hold my wheel on a flat.

It would have been interesting to see the rider riding in the hoods with horizontal forearms. It's considered to be the fastest position on a road bike, so actually seeing the watt saving would have been useful.

So switching from a standard round bar to a narrow aero handlebar with angled hoods can save you 10-20 watts depending on speed and wind direction. That’s massive

Interesting video, but it would have been more informative to compare traditional round handlebars of different widths instead of using a combination of narrower aero-shaped handlebars and wider traditional round handlebars. The inclusion of aero-shaped handlebars introduces another variable that makes it difficult to isolate the impact of handlebar width on aerodynamics. A more controlled experiment using solely different widths of traditional round handlebars would provide clearer insights into the specific effect of bar width on wattage savings. Nonetheless, an engaging topic worth exploring further!

I'm not ready for a road bike, but the 44cm bars on my Checkpoint ALR are starting to be an issue. Just did my first one hour criterium practice at 37KPH (solo) and I think I need to start taking aero seriously.

I felt the difference between my stock round drop bar to the cheap Aero carbon fiber handlebar from Kovcelo, I felt like I am more faster now on my gravel bike

Often I am thinking this: Who did more sport or performance? The rider on a Brompton folding bike or the rider on a high end super light 20.000 bucks road bike. So for what we are doing all these afford to reduce weight, drag? Mostly we are not in a competition. The only thing what I would let matters, is the fun on technics, reduce drag and weight as a technical discipline.

through my decades decades in the sport, my studies of myself i had figured 42 to 44 was best for my elite speeds and strengths, im not massive gorilla nor a little frail circus chimp, my organism had better comfort and speeds strengths with the 42 44 widths, kind of along alexs post below, might be a bit more than theoretical

But what about 37cm non-aero to remove the aero bar variable from the comparison? (Doesn't matter how much you do, it's never enough for these people!)

I can’t believe you did this testing without running a test with the rider in an aerodynamic “aero hoods” position. Most people who will be seriously interested in this test data and running narrower bars and in-turned hoods will also be trying to get themselves in an aero position at times when it counts most. Testing only in an upright position makes the data not that relevant for a competitive rider. In an upright position turning the hoods in makes minimal difference to your frontal area. But in an aero position it allows you to move your wrists and elbows much further inwards and a much narrower position can be achieved than with straight hoods on the same bar.

Used to ride 40cm but have gone to 38cm and now if feels weird to go back to 40cm when I switch to my gravel bike.

a helpful test would’ve been the same bar at different widths. you have different bars at different widths.

Mine are 36cm. I chose them for comfort with narrow shoulders.

So how to read final test results on normal vs angled hoods? Like so: you take into consideration the resolution of the wind tunnel and the repeatability of the rider position. You do this by enough repetitions and will probably find a value spread bigger than the differences of the final results you showed on screen. But even if these are a averaged result of a sufficient number of test repetitions I'd wager the difference is still smaller than the confidence region or error margin. Put more simply and evident even for the layperson: the small and divergent differences between yaw settings and speed of normal vs angled hoods are in a way that the conclusion should have been: "Well, quantitatively we can't say anything for this test rider. It can be of benefit for you, it could be a detriment for you or it totally could be that it doesn't matter at all. Angle the hoods like you feel you can hold a proven aero position (in lieu of angled vs normal) for longer and for more secure riding." At least that's what I would say after these results. :)

American here. Are inches commonly found on tape measures in the UK?

I thought angling in hoods is more about hand position and when you're sitting with forearms level - helps keep elbows/arms narrower but keeping wrists comfortable. not clear how much the benefit you show is due to aero bars, not width alone.

How about a narrow round bar vs the wider bar. Is the difference in width only? This is the frustrating thing with non-tech peopke doing stuff like this.

I’d never buy a stock build because the bars are always too wide. Now we’re going the other way which also isn’t good. Measure between your shoulder bones and choose the right handlebar specific for you. Don’t choose it because you might save 5 watts at 40km. Never copy the pros - you just end up poor and uncomfortable on the wrong bike.

Conventional wide bars compared with aero narrow bars confounds the effect of aero vs conventional and narrow vs wide. In other words, the wattage gains cannot be clearly attributed to either the aero bars or their narrowness. This testing should have compared wide aero with narrow aero to see what the aero bar effect is. Same for the conventional bars: wide vs narrow. Maybe you'd find that narrow vs wide is the main reason for the decreased watts. Just sayin'...

My shoulder is only 37cm wide, but I don't like handlebar narrower than 40cm, make the bike difficult to handle.

Saving .034% watts with my angled hoods going 13.8 mph.

But this doesn't compare like with like so it's impossible to know how much is due to aero bars and how much is to do with width.

Feel like results are also dependent on body size and shape the way this test was conducted.

Actually yes narrower handlebar provides better aerodynamic effects and it saves you a lot of watts, there are certain handlebar lengths and it should line up with your shoulders, the arms reach shouldnt be straight but be a bit bent, and bent hoods provide more comfortable grip but at a risk of risking damaging your handlebar or the clamps especially with weak carbon handlebars this is a major issue for some

NYC guy here..... this would not work for us "urban riders" needing lots of agility, the constant weave of other foot/bike/car traffic, squeezes, potholes, constant jumping in and out of the saddle (all similar to technical crits). BUT, understandable for the open road I suppose

Narrow bars are very twitchy at 37cm and hard to keep a straight course.

should tested a flat bar vs the others

Whether angled hood are are more aero or not, they look stupid! Not for me!

My cockpit is full of bell, phone mount, headlight, etc. But I am sure an aero handlebar will make me faster.

yeh i even recall i desired to touch on some pointers on brake lever positions on mindy the monkeys cycling then the little monkey got my ass out (fucking lol snare grimace) such as in the monkeyanse

I ride a fast ebike Specialized Creo near 28 mph and noticed a big difference when I changed to 38cm Roval Rapide aero bars. I use less battery or go faster.

If I angle my hoods in, my elbows tend to stick out. I can fight it, but they will go back out when I stop thinking about it. I'm sure that doesn't help being more aero! Anyone else?

I was hoping same bike no rider different bars from 44 that that bike would be sold with down to 38. With levers because it’s about the bars not lever set up.

Unfortunately those handlebars are not in stock anywhere…..

Where tights go quick

Narrow bars restricted my breathing I’d rather breath and be less aero

Need wider forks, but narrower bars.... all for "aero." 🤣

The only thing narrow is your wallet after spending $10,000 on a bike with a narrow handlebar

Your conclusions don't match up with your data. The data says that in the hoods a narrow AND aero bar are significantly faster even at 30 kph over a wider non-aero bar. The drops were about the same. For the angled, there is barely any difference going straight (perhaps in the noise band of your ability to collect data). There is a slight benefit in crosswinds.

Can you make your content inclusive by formatting the auto captioning into closed captioning please? it is extremely hard to watch it relying only on the auto captioning sadly (I'm Profoundly Deaf)

this test is flawed... they literally changed the narrow bar to an aero one instead of using a narrower standard bar for comparison.

Lose a kew kilos and adopt a Remco style tuck wearing a skin suit for true gains.

Angling your hoods in will force your elbows out. This is dumb position, and only works for Motocross or mountain biking.

you should measure without rider

No more angled hoods due to new UCI rules. Good!

Won't make a scap of difference to the average Joe save your money.

Sorry to say, but this test is useless. You swapped a regular bar to an aero-shaped bar, what probably triggered a bigger difference by itself

Have mostly 2 piece aero on all 11 bikes a couple 1 piece,aliexpress has them way cheaper than anyone,waiting on another set now

My girl keeps telling me size doesn’t matter…