What bars? Ask whatbars.com

Whether you are a mechanic at a shop trying to find the best bars for your customer’s custom build, or a daydreamer wistfully putting together a vision board of your dream bike, the options for some components can be staggering. Some componentry comes with built-in parameters such as size, measurements, and budget. In this era of multi-surface, do-it-all biking, the doors really get blown wide open when it comes to handlebars. So how can you tell which ones will give you the best hand positioning, best posture, and the most comfort for your ride? Which ones will work best with your shoulder width?

Chip Martens had that same conundrum when he started building up his Soma Wolverine. He recently acquired a used Crust Evation that came with Jones bars and that new positioning changed his perspective on ride comfort and the benefits of being more upright. If he liked the Jones, what other bars may be out there that he might like? With a graphic design background and some web design knowledge, he built a website to help himself compare bars. Whatbars.com — the handebar comparison tool— is an open source platform that grows by the week. Need help figuring out what bars to use? Check out the site to do some comparion shopping. Got bar measurements you don’t see on there? Email Chip to add them to the database.