Riser bars - why? - discuss!

[cows_in_cars]

I like the look of both flats and risers, although flats do look 'cleaner' to me. As for control and comfort, in my experance it's a bike to bike thing, my pace felt horrible with risers and it wasn't after a year or so I tried flats and it felt sooooo much better, both up and down. But would have never run flats on my last bike and is felt like my nose was on the front wheel...will run what ever fits best on the next one.

I also might be weird but find the sweep of risers a bit much sometimes and like something a bit straighter. The sweep and the extra height that on certain bikes makes the front end a bit light, tends to make my shoulders sore as I have to 'keep' the front down in stead of sitting up and resting my weight on a lower bar.

Thats my 'personal' two pence worth.

 

[J i m s t e r]

I've tried 'em all but sitting up a bit is definitely more comfortable - I say this as a commuter. If I was in the TdF and looking to shave 1/100th off everywhere, comfort goes out of the window, but you only get one back, so if beating Lance isn't a priority, save your back.

 

[drcarlos]

I do remember a trend of silly narrow flat bars which were f**k all use for controlling a bike but just for weight reduction.

MBK Ranger hi-tec springs to mind here, thing is it weighed a ton and chopping a couple of inches off the bar made no difference at all.
I think it was the worst ride of any MTB I have ever tried.

Carl.

 

[Dr S]

Marmite bars are the future. The control and comfort is on another level.

 

[DoctorRad]

Marmite bars are the future. The control and comfort is on another level.

I reckon you can do a version of those with On-one Mary bars with a set of bar ends at the first bends...

 

[GrahamJohnWallace]

I started playing around with handle bar designs when I put some deep, wide drops on my 1984 F.W. Evans ATB. Later the same year I tried Geoff Apps' "Cleland" high bar bikes, that give a totally upright ride with no weight on the hands at all. I also love long low bars and the way they put your body weight directly above the pedals.

My conclusion after all these years of experimentation is that there is no best handle bar design as what works well for one set of trail conditions, never works for all. This is why I now use stems that are highly adjustable and provide everything from totally upright, to low and stretched out, on the same bike. The only pain is that you have to stop riding in order to adjust the stem position.

Here's my opinion on the advantages/disadvantages of riding positions:

Low and stretched out-
This only works well if you are pushing hard on the pedals because the reaction forces from the pedaling supports the upper body and takes the weight off the arms. Disadvantages include: the crick in the neck/looking at the ground, and strain on the back and arms especially if the body weight/pedaling forces aren't balanced.

Totally upright- "Cleland" & Dutch roadster style. This when combined with a good sprung saddle or suspension is the most comfortable set up, no weight on the arms and the body posture is the same as when walking or running. It's very good for technical riding as bodyweight can be moved around BMX style, rearwards weight is also good for traction and the front wheel digs in less on soft ground. Disadvantages include: Less efficient because the bodyweight, when in the saddle, is not directly over the pedals and the body is less streamlined.

Semi upright- This is what most riders think of as upright (riser bar style). Like any compromise it is neither one thing or the other. There's too much weight on the arms for rolling along and not enough weight over the pedals for pushing hard. The only way I know of making this position comfortable off-road is to use Bullhorn/Pursuit bars, which allow for a wide range of hand positions. Though brake positioning is awkward.

 

[DoctorRad]

My conclusion after all these years of experimentation is that there is no best handle bar design as what works well for one set of trail conditions, never works for all. This is why I now use stems that are highly adjustable and provide everything from totally upright, to low and stretched out, on the same bike. The only pain is that you have to stop riding in order to adjust the stem position.

Given that we have adjustable saddle position - height-wise at least - why on earth have we not had more development of adjustable handlebar position? Seems to make great sense to me.

 

[DoctorRad]

I reckon you can do a version of those with On-one Mary bars with a set of bar ends at the first bends...

Someone's beaten me to it:

 

[DoctorRad]

Doesn't really look much worse than add-on tri-bars to me... but then I'm a form-follows-function sort of guy...

 

[hamster]

Hmm, let's leave the style question to one side. At 43 I'm not qualified to answer any question on style...

It's a lot about usage. I think Perry has hit the nail on the head. If you ride 6 hours or so over serious distance, then you need weight shared between arms and saddle. Climbing out of the saddle is also easier if you have bars forwards and low.

So if you have suspension, climb seated, move around a lot and have short thrashes out then a short reach upright position will work better.

One thing that I do think works well is the sweep of risers and I do think that more swept flat bars would make them a lot more comfortable - I have a pair of Cane Creek ergo bar ends that ft into the end of the bars and they are excellent.