I always find it funny how you fellows over the water always have the short short bars on your saws.... :greenchainsaw:
Ian
I find it interesting how much time some Americans use thinking on bar size. The answer to this subject is quite simple: For cutting smaller trees, Europans think a smaller bar is needed. Much of the timber cut here, is taken down, limbed and cut by 6 or 8 WD prosessors. The timber manually felles by chainsaw is less and less every year, I now talk of Norway. I guess the same goes for Sweden and Finland.
One reason for smaller bars, is research done showing that accidents when limbing is reduced when the bar is shorter. I now talk of the timber found in the Nordic countries, and limbing with a long bar is not good in my head. I have tried 15", 16", 18" and 20" and has switched back to 13".
A also have a Husky 372XP, equipped with 18". A saw this size could easily go with larger bars with that, but why should I when I do my job very well with this saw/bar combination?
The saws sold here are almost all for the hobby - house owner - part time farmer segment. This means Husqvarna, Stihl and Jonsered with 40-50 ccm engine mostly. These have 13" bar as standard. Only very few saws larger than 50 ccm are sold. For pro use, I guess larger bars are sold with larger saws.
Most user have only one saw, and most user keep the original bar in the lifespan of the saw.