Handlebars

MTB Handlebar Buying Guide

The handlebar sets your hand position, controls your leverage over the front wheel, and is a key part of how your bike feels in corners and on steep terrain. Width, rise, backsweep and material all affect the ride — and bars are cheap enough to experiment with.

Width

Modern MTB bars range from 720mm (XC) to 820mm (DH). Wider bars give more leverage in corners and better stability at speed, but too wide and your arms fatigue faster and you lose reach. Most trail riders end up around 760–780mm. Bars are easy to cut down with a pipe cutter — buy wider than you think you need and trim 5mm at a time until it feels right. You can't add width back, so go cautious.

Rise

Rise is how far the bar sweeps upward from the clamping area. Low rise (15–20mm) suits riders who want a lower front end and aggressive position. High rise (30–50mm) raises the bars for a more upright position and better weight distribution on steep descents. Rise is a simpler way to adjust bar height than swapping stems or adding spacers, and it doesn't affect steering response like stem length does.

Backsweep and Upsweep

Backsweep (how far the bar ends angle backward) ranges from 5° to 12°. More backsweep aligns your wrists more naturally and reduces strain on longer rides. Upsweep is typically 4–5° on most bars. These angles are subtle but they affect comfort over hours of riding — if you get hand numbness or wrist pain, try a bar with more backsweep before blaming your grips.

Material

Aluminium bars (7050 or 7075 alloy) are strong, affordable and easier to trust second-hand. Carbon bars are lighter (100–150g saving) and can be tuned to damp vibrations, but they're more susceptible to hidden damage from impacts. A scratched alloy bar is fine — a scratched carbon bar needs careful inspection. For the weight-conscious, carbon makes sense on XC bikes. For trail, enduro and DH, alloy is the pragmatic choice.