Riser bars - why? - discuss!

[longun]

again its all about the looks,for handling its all in the stem,face it a longer stem will never great charging downhill cos your to far forward and to low to keep your centre balanced,however the same could be said for uphill were you need traction to the rear

90-100mm stem at the right rise with the comfiest bars is my personal compromise

 

[Pickle]

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.

No, no, no

 

[xizang]

Hans Rey says Yes, Yes, Yes

 

[DoctorRad]

Is the stem on this saracen specific? ive got one with a realy strange stem diameter.... but never knew it was saracen... think i got it at a bootsale as it just looks cool

Looks very similar to the SR / Sakae one on my 1988 Ammaco gas pipe special. Had a 22.2mm clamp diameter, so took bars without a bulge. The bike was basically a cruiser, and had heavy steel risers on it, not to mention Sturmey Archer hub brakes with tandem gauge spokes...

 

[yo-Nate-y]

Hans Rey says Yes, Yes, Yes

I thought Hans was "No way" Rey!

 

[poiuy1]

Hate them with a passion!

I'm with ededwards on the love for long low stems, and the more flat the bar the better.

I am tired of seeing lovely retro bikes being ruined by this horrible need to put a motorbike handlebar set up on it! Whats wrong with you people :shock:

Retro bikes are built for back breaking riding angles. Deal with it

Lets see some extreme saddle to bar drops! I'll start with my Stumpjumper, but I expect some serious contenders exclipsing my effort by tonight.

Flat bars is retro of course if you dont mind stiff neck and backache, it's ok for short and gentle riding at local woods.

Take yourself to trail centre like Fort Williams, Glentress or Afan and do aleast 3 hours of riding on retrobike with low flat bars and do a ride on a modern mtb with riser bars and find out which one you enjoyed most and more comfy at the end of the day

It's all depend if you are hardcore all-day rider or short local woods rider, if you are not comfy and in pain, the looks is not important, comfy comes first to enjoy your riding.

 

[dirtjumper_dmr]

[
Take yourself to trail centre like Fort William, Glentress or Afan and do aleast 3 hours of riding on retrobike with low flat bars and do a ride on a modern mtb with riser bars and find out which one you enjoyed most and more comfy at the end of the day

Totally agree, the trail centres are so much more fun on a modern bike. Wide risers just feel so much more stable, if that makes sense.

 

[perry]

Hmm not so sure I agree with that . As long as you aren't going silly low and long that's a better position to be in all day ( 3 hours isn't a day ) isn't that why roadies have had their bikes that way for years ?

And bearing in mind long and low on a mtb was specifically an early 90s thing wouldn't it be more likely that they were being ridden across hill and dale unlike the more recent addition to our manicured countryside that we call trailcenters ?

Trailcenters are obviously tailored to the upright bouncy bike . Spend 3k on a 6" travel bike and you had better provide the rider with somewhere to ride on his saturday afternoon

 

[DoctorRad]

Let's face it, flat bars are an ergonomic nightmare. Don't believe me? Go to Tesco and find one of these trolleys:

Hold the 'flat bar' part of the handle and see how easily you can steer it. Then hold the 'bar end' part of the handle - with the insides of your wrists facing each other - and see how much easier it is to steer. Flat bars put your wrists at the wrong angle, it's that simple.

In a race, this may not matter, as you're not really riding for all that long. But if you're riding all day with a backpack, it makes a lot of difference. Flat bars are a racing fad which took off and infiltrated a large part of the MTB world. But in terms of ergonomics, they are a retrograde step.

That said, riser bars aren't that much better. Bar ends are a step in the right direction, but they can be dangerous in dismount situations if they are angled up too far.

I'm after trying a pair of these for long-distance riding...

...angled up pretty high a la the Tesco trolley handles. Definitely retro, I first saw them in Germany back in '92.

Dr. Matt...

 

[perry]

I must admit , all the best motorbikes have bar ends