The Best Bike Handlebars for Every Type of Rider

Whether you’re riding a road, mountain, fat-tire, or gravel bike, new handlebars can significantly improve your ride quality. The right handlebars can also give you a better position on your bike, reducing your fatigue and shoulder, hand, or neck pain caused by improperly positioned hands on your bike. The size, shape, and material of the bars are all a factor in this. To make every ride more comfortable, we've rounded up the best bike handlebars for all types of riders and riding styles.

The Best Bike Handlebars

What to Consider

Bike handlebars are purpose-built. For instance, most mountain bikers don’t want to ride with a traditional cowbell type handlebar and they most certainly won’t want to use aerobars. Similarly, most road bikers won’t want to use the type of flat bars or BMX bars that those riders user, so finding the right type of handlebar for your riding style is the first and most important consideration. Beyond that there are a number of other things you should consider when looking for a good set of handlebars. Some of these terms only apply to certain types of handlebars, like rise and sweep for mountain bike handlebars or drop and reach for road and gravel handlebars.

Material

The majority of handlebars our there today are either made of carbon fiber or aluminum. Each has its advantages. Carbon fiber is lighter and absorbs more shock. Aluminum is more durable and generally less expensive. Some bars are made of steel or titanium.

Width

This is an important consideration for any handlebar. Gravel and mountain bike handlebars tend to be wider, allowing for greater stability and control. Road bike handlebars are sometimes wide as well, but there are also narrower models available for improved aerodynamics. Those with broader shoulders may also prefer a wider handlebar than those with narrower shoulders.

Clamp Size

It’s important you know your handlebar clamp size when buying new handlebars. But thankfully, the overwhelming majority of bikes these days come with handlebar stem clamps that are either 35 or 31.8mm. The 35mm clamps are ideal for applications that need more surface area and a stiffer clamp. The smaller size clamp allows for more flexibility while riding, absorbing some shock and vibration while riding.

Drop

For road and gravel cowbell-shaped handlebars, the drop is the amount of distance from the top of the handlebar to the bottom of the bells.

Sweep or Flare

For gravel bikes and some road bike handlebars, the sweep or the flare is how much the handlebars flare out from the top width to the width at the end of the drop. This allows for a more comfortable lower hand position on gravel bikes. Sweep or backsweep is also used to define how far back the ends of a mountain bike handle bar are from the center clamp area.

Reach

On gravel and road bike bars, reach measures how far forward the drops are from the horizontal axis of the handlebar at the clamp.

Rise

On mountain bike handlebars, the rise is the amount the handlebars rise up from the clamp area.

Extensions

This is primarily used when discussing the bottom of drops and how far they extend or the forward part of aerobars or bullhorn-style bars.

How We Selected

There are hundreds, if not thousands of options for handlebars out there and we’ve had our gloves on plenty, but not all of them. That said, we made these choices based on our personal experience with handlebars of all shapes and sizes as well as well-reviewed models from reputable brands and retailers that offer great value and are currently in stock.

For more great additions to your ride, check out our picks for the best bike seatposts, mudguards, and bike tubes!