Guest Author - Kaye Barnett

Did you know that you can adjust the length of your bikes handlebars and it isn't as difficult as it might seem! This article explores more on the subject of altering your bikes handlebars to a better size.

Like all the fitting guides it's all down to personal preference and how you want to perform on your bicycle. Are you after a bike that can blissfully carry you through the countryside in comfort or do you need a bike that can bomb downhill at an incredible rate? The activities you'll be pursuing on your bike will make a difference to the length handlebar you'll feel best equipped with.

Commonly it's the mountain bike handlebars that come as standard which have particularly long handlebars for women. Other bikes such as touring and road bikes don't need to be cut down when the bike is specifically built for women. So with your mountain biking this is where you'll need to think about the kind of riding you do/wish to do.

Let's look at those two scenarios again. If you're up to a lot of downhill work then you'll be much happier with a longer length of handlebar as this will offer more stability to your ride. But if you're after more time spent outside on leisurely rides then you might want to take down the size of your handlebars, lessening the strain on your upper body for a more comfortable riding position and also giving you more control on your front wheel.

Chop and Change

Before you make any alterations first try riding with your hands further up the handlebars to see how it feels and give you more of an idea of the difference it can make. To do this you'll simply need to move all your gear and brake controls up further toward the stem and practice your riding with your hands placed in a new position. Try again slightly closer or further away and see how that feels. There's no need to come up with a definite length just yet though as you'll slowly, piece by piece be cutting the handlebars to suit later.

Once you've practised and feel that yes you really could do with having those handlebars cut down to size then the next task is easy! To alter your handlebars you'll simply need to cut them down equally at either side. First take off the grips to see what you're dealing with.

To make the cut all you need is a hacksaw or for a really good clean cut try a pipe cutter. If you're using a hacksaw you also need a metal file to tidy up the burr left behind.

When making your alterations, as mentioned earlier, you'll only be need to take off small amounts of the handlebar at a time. Try a total of an inch each time. To take an inch off the total handlebar length, cut half an inch either side of the handlebars. Refit the grips and the controls and practice in this new position and repeat the process, taking off another inch (another half inch each side) until you're happy with your new riding position.


Drastic Errors?

If you go slowly and carefully and practice after cutting a small piece off each time then you can’t go far wrong with finding you most suitable handlebar width for your riding. But if you do make a drastic error and cut too much off, don’t worry as you can always buy another handlebar to replace it with and start all over again!