Should I get flared handlebars for my road bike?

Turns out flared handlebars aren’t a trend reserved for gravel riders alone, Stefan Abram discovers

- Stefan Abram

Flared handlebars have been widely adopted by the gravel riding world; the wider stance when locked in the drops offers greater control on technical terrain. But are there any performance gains a roadie could reap from the addition of a little flare?

Why go narrower, anyway?

Aerodynamicist and 2020 National 10 mile time trial champion Dan Bigham fully supports a narrower position in the interest of watt savings, though he personally prefers to keep his bars in line.

He said: “My personal opinion is that the standard handlebars width 40–44cm is too wide. There are many people who say if you go smaller you can’t expand your lungs enough and your power will drop off but it’s an absolute myth. The same used to be said about time trial positions, but every single top time triallist in the world right now is in a very narrow cockpit position – the aerodynamics are simply better.”

The gains to be gotten from a narrower set-up are quite substantial. Bigham said: “I’ve ridden bars around 35cm [on my road bike] for the last three years. By being more compact you can be significantly more aero, with just a little bar change you can find another 15 or 20 watts at 45kph. Personally, I’m going to be running even narrower next year.”

The handling does change with narrower bars, but Bigham believes riders can adapt to this.