The curious case of the ever-expanding bicycle handlebars

First thing I did with my new-to-me Cinelli Gazetta single speed this weekend? Didn’t admire its elegant lines, didn’t take it for a celebratory spin. No. I took a cordless angle grinder to it. Eight centimetres lopped off each end of its comically wide handlebars.

In the world of single-speeds (and arguably bikes in general), bar creep - that slow, steady widening of handlebars - has come at a time when city streets are more congested than ever. Perversely, the tighter the squeeze, the wider the bars.

Once upon a time, mountain bike handlebars were narrow. In the mid-90s, a typical cross-country bar was 540–560mm wide. Riders liked them that way - light, aerodynamic, and good for squeezing between trees.

Then, in the late 2000s, everything changed. Bikes got slacker head angles, longer wheelbases, and suspension (whether riders needed it or not). Suddenly, leverage mattered more than threading through a forest at XC-race speed. By 2008–2010, trail riders were running 680–700mm bars; downhillers were pushing 750 mm.

The “wide and short” revolution was underway: wider bars for stability, shorter stems to keep steering sharp. By the mid-2010s, 780–800mm was the norm for enduro and downhill.

Like many MTB trends, this one didn’t stay on the trails. Suddenly, commuter hybrids and single-speeds were being shipped with bars so broad it felt like you could qualify for an HGV-style wide load bumper sticker.

The Cinelli’s stock bars, for example, are a sprawling 680mm - hugely impractical for stop-start city traffic, where slipping between buses and wing mirrors is half the fun, or getting the bike through a front door when you need to.

By the time gravel bikes arrived around 2015, the “wide” aesthetic seemed baked in. Gravel drops went from 420 mm (centre-to-centre) being considered roomy, to flared 460–500 mm bars as standard on adventure builds. And yes, flat-bar road bikes quietly widened too, often well beyond what their frame geometry or rider’s shoulders would sensibly support.

On a modern mountain bike, they say really wide bars help keep control at speed, especially on technical descents. On a city bike, though? The downsides are obvious. In terms of aerodynamics, your chest becomes a sail. And when the bars are too wide for your shoulders, the ergonomics just feel wrong. Perhaps most importantly, the bars must not obstruct your progress through congested streets.

Which is why my Cinelli’s bars are now a trim, lane-slicing 520 mm.
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