Handlebars rated for ebike use?

jonfon

New Member
Nov 23, 2020
12
9
Banbury
Hi everyone,

I bought my first ebike this weekend. It came with 20mm rise bars and a 45mm stem. I'd like to put a 35-40mm riser bar on and a 35mm stem, as I prefer a higher front and shorter reach. However, the bike shop told me I should not just put any old bars on and that I need to get some that are tested and rated to cope specifically with emtb use, due to the extra weight needing higher strength. Is this right? If so, how can I tell which brands/models are rated!? Google search isn't coming up with anything useful...

So far the only assumption I'm making is 35mm diameter is best?

Thanks for your help
Jonathan
 

Sharpy200

New Member
Nov 12, 2020
12
3
Lake District, Cumbria
Hi everyone,

I bought my first ebike this weekend. It came with 20mm rise bars and a 45mm stem. I'd like to put a 35-40mm riser bar on and a 35mm stem, as I prefer a higher front and shorter reach. However, the bike shop told me I should not just put any old bars on and that I need to get some that are tested and rated to cope specifically with emtb use, due to the extra weight needing higher strength. Is this right? If so, how can I tell which brands/models are rated!? Google search isn't coming up with anything useful...

So far the only assumption I'm making is 35mm diameter is best?

Thanks for your help
Jonathan

Hi Jonathan,

I wanted a higher rise bar on mine so went for the Burgtec RideWide Josh Bryceland. They have a 38mm rise and have lots of hard miles on them with no issues. They are a 35mm diameter fitment rather then standard 31.6mm. I have never had anyone say to me that handle bars need to be E-Bike specific.
 

jonfon

New Member
Nov 23, 2020
12
9
Banbury
Yea I saw a lot of people use those, but I assume Renthal aren't the only "official" aftermarket option for e-bike bars though right?
 

R120

Moderator
Subscriber
Apr 13, 2018
7,819
9,185
Surrey
To be clear you dont need e bike specific bars. There is a recent trend of seeing e bike specific products that are nothing more than marketing gumpf to take advantage of the brining market. If you took a poll of the members on here, I would be surprised if more than a few out of the thousands had a handlebar that was ebike specific, and if they do its likely to be one with internal routing for the shimano controls, and that is all thats ebike specific about it.
 

Superkoochy

Member
Patreon
Oct 19, 2018
68
44
Bathgate
To be clear you dont need e bike specific bars. There is a recent trend of seeing e bike specific products that are nothing more than marketing gumpf to take advantage of the brining market. If you took a poll of the members on here, I would be surprised if more than a few out of the thousands had a handlebar that was ebike specific, and if they do its likely to be one with internal routing for the shimano controls, and that is all thats ebike specific about it.

Very well said, I'm on my fourth ebike and I have tried a multitude of normal bars and never had any issues. I finally settled on OneUp bars and have never looked back.
 

Zimmerframe

MUPPET
Subscriber
Jun 12, 2019
13,771
20,455
Brittany, France
ebike specific bars - the industry is really taking the p!ss.

Normal bars appropriate for your style of riding will do.
We have them in France. Not sure how you're supposed to ride in there though ?

ebar.jpeg
 

EME

MUPPET
Subscriber
Aug 14, 2020
262
229
Zug
I see everyone laughing at the suggestion but why shouldn't there be different needs for an e-bike's bars, even if 'specific' is just marketing?

Geometry , weight, design, COG may be different to acoustic models as will many forces around the bike ( not that I understand the physics at all !).

I think Im right in saying that Specialized moved the LEVO up to a 35mm bar for 2021 models. Does anyone know why they did that?
 

Sean1.0

Member
Aug 2, 2020
71
89
Kernowshire
I think Im right in saying that Specialized moved the LEVO up to a 35mm bar for 2021 models. Does anyone know why they did that?

Don't 'know' but I expect because a lot of folks may assume 35mm is better / stronger because it's 1 louder. (OK. 3.2 louder)

1606226305589.png
 

Jamze

Well-known member
Jun 30, 2020
389
719
Oxfordshire
And that's not an ebike...

Nope. Just some £13 carbon bars from China.

One observation - I think I prefer my old 31.8mm bars to the 35mm stock ones on my eMTB. Not enough to spend money swapping them out though.
 
Last edited:

EME

MUPPET
Subscriber
Aug 14, 2020
262
229
Zug
@KeithR Weight, geometry , COG, dimensions, turning forces ?

I really don't know as I don't understand enough of physics theory or MTB practice, but I can see there may be slightly differing requirements ( although , I Agree, not necessarily an e-bike specific solution as those all change in any case across models)
 

R120

Moderator
Subscriber
Apr 13, 2018
7,819
9,185
Surrey
35MM are not necessarily stronger than 31.8MM. How strong a bar is has more to do with the construction than the size, a 35MM bar tends to be stiffer. Most mid to high end bars are of a similar strength and the variations are more to do with compliance/stiffness ride quality etc.
 

KeithR

Well-known member
Jul 1, 2020
679
610
Blyth, Northumberland
35MM are not necessarily stronger than 31.8MM. How strong a bar is has more to do with the construction than the size, a 35MM bar tends to be stiffer. Most mid to high end bars are of a similar strength and the variations are more to do with compliance/stiffness ride quality etc.
True - which is why I wrote:
[Because stronger (or the perception of stronger)...
 

R120

Moderator
Subscriber
Apr 13, 2018
7,819
9,185
Surrey
Yeah I wasn't specifically replying to you just making a general observation - IIRC the move to 35mm was driven by the the market moving to wider bars, and that to make longer 31.8mm bars it was though they had to get heavier gauge, and at 35mm you could go longer without upping the gauge of the bar, keeping the weight down, and also some gulf about a stronger connection with the stem, but I could be talking out my arse :cool:
 

St4nley

Well-known member
Subscriber
Nov 17, 2020
158
327
Derbyshire
Didn't 35mm bars come about when the manufacturers started making wider bars over or around 800mm plus wide, adding in extra carbon in specific areas of the bar, thats why there are cut down limits to particular bar widths.
 

jonfon

New Member
Nov 23, 2020
12
9
Banbury
Haha Liking the comments! Anyway thanks for clearing this up guys, I did assume it was nonsense when the shop said it! Just wanted to double check. I needed some new bars either way, so I ordered some Racface ones. 35mm dia (as my stem is that already), 35mm rise. Should do the job I need of raising the front a bit (y)
 

MountainBoy

Active member
Mar 4, 2022
221
193
Washington State, USA
Just remember you need to be wearing your ebike specific shoes when you go to your lbs to buy your ebike specific handlebars...

... and don't forget to pick up some ebike specific energy snacks whilst you are there ;)

Make sure you have your e-bike wallet too. These have a thicker cross-sectional area to deal with the higher forces imposed by e-bikes upon the central portion of the wallet.
 

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