Hello everyone and welcome to the Acmotos blog.

Today we will talk about handlebars and clarify the most common doubts that people have when they have to change it.

When and why should a bike’s handlebar be changed?

Usually the most common reasons that might lead you to have to change your handlebars are:

When suffering a fall

If you suffer a fall with the bike, even if its a small one, it is very likely that the handlebar has suffered a scratch. The leverage generated while hitting the ground, usually is the sufficiently strong so as to bend your handlebars. And even if this is not noticeable at plain sight, this might affect while driving.

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For functionality

The handlebar affects directly the bike’s functioning, because it is the one that dictates our positioning with the bike and the performance while driving on curves. The higher the handlebar is, the more comfortable the posture will be, but less efficient when driving in curves. With a higher one, the posture will be less comfortable, but curves will be more easy to handle.

Usually manufacturers make their handlebars with diverse heights, and if you are not familiarized you might have some doubts on which one to choose. Normally, there are three types of handlebars:

  • High handlebar (+70mm): The driver’s position is comfortable because the weight does not fall directly on to the handlebars, however, it allows less maneuver while driving curves. It is most suitable to use in motorways, in the city, and low density roads…
  • Medium handlebar (30-70 mm): They have a very comfortable standard hight for the majority of the bikes. They tend to be used amongst bikers that use their vehicles in a very polyvalent way, during the day but also for long routs.
  • Low handlebar (-30mm): the hight is very low, which allows you to adopt a more sportive position, and drive through curves way more easily, however, during long routes this posture might make you feel more uncomfortable. They are usually used for routs, circuits and twisty roads.

The measures mentioned beforehand are only a reference point, because it also depends a lot on the turrets’ and the bike’s hight.

For aesthetics

As it is one of the components that the driver will see the most while driving the bike, it is also one of the most customizable. Either because of the hight, the brand, type or colors, the handlebars are usually customized according to the characteristics of the driver and their style of driving.

Assuming that you are already looking for a handlebar, but you don’t know which one to choose or which one you need, we will advice some that you might find useful.

Conical handlebar or cylindrical?

Usually you’ll see that the handlebars are classified, amongst other things, for being conical or cylindrical, but what does this mean?

  • Conical: A conical handlebars is one whose tube diameter is variable. That is to say that the handlebar is thicker in the center (29mm) and thinner on the extremes (22mm).
  • Cylindrical: A cylindrical handlebar is one whose tube diameter is the same all along (22mm).

Can I assemble whichever I want?

As an advise we recommend you to choose a handlebar that it is the same as the one that your bike originally had. however if you want, there are adapters that will let you mount a cylindrical one on to a support for a conical one, and viceversa.

Compatibility of accessories

Last but not least, we have to mention also the compatibility amongst other accessories. That is to say that if rightnow you have some counterweights that you like, look closely if you can adapt them well with the new handlebars, because some of the measurements may vary.

Also calculate the distances and measurements with respect to the original one in order to save you from something that you might regret. A couple of centimeters more form the handlebar may lead you to not having the brake lines or gas cables reach it. Better safe than sorry.

Conclusions

So much for this article's in-depth look at the choice of handlebars.

If you think it is necessary to mention a point or have any questions about it, do not hesitate to leave your comment below and we will gladly respond.

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