Surly Big Dummy Handle Bar Width

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Heltor Chasca
Posts: 3016
Joined: 30 Aug 2014, 8:18pm
Location: Near Bath & The Mendips in Somerset

Surly Big Dummy Handle Bar Width

Post by Heltor Chasca »

Although the Big Dummy isn't strictly a mountain bike I thought this would be the best place to ask. The geometry of the SBD is essentially a MB up front and the handle bars are Salsa Salt flat 700mm. I've fitted Ergo Biokorks with bar ends.

The whole set up just seems VERY wide to me. I know you need the extra stability from such wide bars, but 'as the crow flies' from one bar end to the other it is over 64cm. (Maybe the 70cm is the measurement along the curve of the bar)

I find getting the bike in and out of doors fiddly and there are 2 gates I use where I need to walk the bike through.

There are little calibrated, painted marks under the grips which I assume are suggested guides to where you can cut the ends off. I guess where this convoluted thread is going is: Should I start nibbling away at the bars until I find the width I like? Or should I just leave the set up alone and go with the maximum width considering my loads on this bike will border on the absurd?

Help...b
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Heltor Chasca
Posts: 3016
Joined: 30 Aug 2014, 8:18pm
Location: Near Bath & The Mendips in Somerset

Re: Surly Big Dummy Handle Bar Width

Post by Heltor Chasca »

Doh! I knew this would happen. I just can't keep still and need a project especially if the Sun's out.

I've sawn off 20mm each side and my initial 'feeling' is that it is more comfortable and it 'looks' more like MY bike. The extraordinary thing is that the saddle now feels like it is in a different position. I find bike/body geometry fascinating.

At least I can fiddle with the saddle but there is no way I can cut the handlebars longer now [emoji88]
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RickH
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Joined: 5 Mar 2012, 6:39pm
Location: Horwich, Lancs.

Re: Surly Big Dummy Handle Bar Width

Post by RickH »

Both my mountain bike bars and the straight bars on my Circe Helios (which in load carrier mode not dissimilar to the BD - it appears to be a similar overall length) got chopped down to about 53cm end to end, mainly because that was a short as I could get them by moving everything towards the middle as far as it would go.

I've never found myself thinking "I wish I had wider bars" but have on occasion been glad they weren't any wider. Before chopping the bars on the Helios (the MTB - a 1986 Muddy Fox but not the origianl bars - had the bars chopped long enough ago that I can't remember if I had problems) they wouldn't fit through A barriers in the Greater Manchester area (although they did just fit through ones around Chester - they must have different installation specs). On the Helios I wouldn't want the bars much narrower as I prefer the front bars to be wider, even if just by a small amount, than the stoker bars (when in tandem mode - which is for me the most frequent configuration) so I don't have to worry about getting stuck halfway through a narrow openings as we do use it on traffic free routes (which often have barriers of one sort or another) regularly.

Rick.
Former member of the Cult of the Polystyrene Head Carbuncle.
User avatar
Heltor Chasca
Posts: 3016
Joined: 30 Aug 2014, 8:18pm
Location: Near Bath & The Mendips in Somerset

Re: Surly Big Dummy Handle Bar Width

Post by Heltor Chasca »

Cheers Rick. I did 6 miles today with about 20kg on the back and it all seemed tickedy boo. I'm going to leave it for now having taken off 20mm from each side and if I think it needs more off, I'll start with 5mm each time....b
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