Riser bars - why? - discuss!

[TheGreenRabbit]

riser bars wrong END OF.

This thread is now closed !!!

 

[Anthony]

It’s a question of speed. A long flat stem and a flat bar gives slow steering, so tends to be most suitable for bikes with rigid forks and steep head angles. Even then, you need to be a pretty skilful rider to get a bike in that shape to be keen on taking corners. When your weight is that far forward, it’s obviously more difficult to shift it about, so you need to be strong too. It’s just a fact that early 90s rigid bikes were designed for a different riding style, head-down charging basically, that used to be the xc norm then, compared to later suspension bikes that were designed for the woods.

Riser bars and shorter, riser stems became popular along with suspension because they give lively handling to complement the varying geometry characteristics as suspension compresses. You need a more upright position, weight further back, greater ease of moving weight around, to maximise the advantages of suspension.

I used to have flat bars on all my bikes. I tried X-Lite risers on the Kilauea with some scepticism even though I knew the theory, but I couldn’t believe how much faster and livelier they made it, so much easier to manoeuvre. That’s with Z2s, but they’d be even more of an advantage with an 80mm fork. I’ve got a 94 Explosif frame with paint too tatty to sell, so later on this year it’ll be out with a 2002 SID (the raw earth colour goes nicely with the grey/green frame) and you guys can all hate it with its Air Alloy riser, but it’ll be a bloody good bike.

 

[legrandefromage]

you are all weird...


anyway - my share of flatties:

 

[barry2017]

Flat bars give you ultimate control but it's at the expense of comfort. You can't make them acceptable for general use without fitting extra bits that make your wrists face inwards.

Risers are better, but they are still a compromise. I honestly think if you have to ride any distances, your wrists should be facing each other, especially when you're going uphill. You should also be able to move your hands to other parts of the bar, so you can get a different grip.

But if you're light, fit and want ultimate control at the expense of comfort and the risk of carpal tunnel syndrome, flat bars are fine. It's partly the reason there's so many unused 90s mountain bikes in people's sheds, which is only good news for us collectors.

 

[Iwasgoodonce]

I'm not sure if we have met Jon, but I'm guessing you are barely 30 and have a good back?

I haven't ever tried risers (hell, my flats are 21" wide) but I am at the age when my back and shoulders are whispering with some urgency in my ear to give them a try.

 

[Neil]

I'm not sure if we have met Jon, but I'm guessing you are barely 30 and have a good back?

I haven't ever tried risers (hell, my flats are 21" wide) but I am at the age when my back and shoulders are whispering with some urgency in my ear to give them a try.

Or consider the possibility that some exercise specifically for the back and shoulder area may also be worthwhile?

After all, it's not just cycling where back and shoulder problems irritate with age.

 

[legrandefromage]

Pickle is disgustingly young compared to some of us.

 

[xizang]

And anyone makes a comment like "but it looks sh!te anyway, it's a GT" will be getting a visit :twisted:

Looks MUCH better with risers on IMO.

 

[orange71]

face it, some of us aren't getting any younger

so who are the people that are getting younger then, and what is their secret :shock:

 

[lewis1641]

another fence sitter here!

most of my bikes are running flat but those that are have a bit of rise to the stem and good sweep.

my rocky mountain felt great with risers when i had the judy's but felt too high when i went to longer travel bombers. just swapped the bars for flats and its fine again.

dave