riser vs flat bar, discuss

[ishaw]

As I'm indecisive, I have at my disposal a set of use carbon bars in flat and riser flavour. It's for a modern build, and I plan to put miles on it once I've recovered from a couple of recent bouts of surgery. I won't be hitting technical trails for a while, as I'm a novice really when it comes to that type of thing, but will be using local roads to get me to the downs where I'll get the bike dirty.

I've had back/neck issues in the past so don't want to do anything to aggregate that, and the build has a set of nos forks, so uncut steerer, so stem height not an issue.

Would I be better with risers or flats? I assume with risers I can have a shorter steerer, but aside from that, what will the real benefit of each be?

 

[fjpshaw]

Re:

You say that you've had back and neck troubles in the past, and one thing a riser will give you is a more upright riding position (keep the stem reach short - long stem plus riser looks daft IMO). The sweep of a riser is also meant to keep your wrists in a more natural position as opposed to flats, and wider risers are supposed to give greater wheel control (although to what measurable benefit I'm not sure).

There's some stuff online about the engineering between the two: flat bars are argued to be stronger through simpler design (almost straight pipe section) vs riser (four bend radiuses and greater sweep across the whole bar). But that said, since you aren't proposing black grade runs and 10' drops just yet, then like 99% of the population, I personally wouldn't worry too much about this.

I think at the end of the day it comes down to personal preference. I prefer the look of risers, but there will be plenty on here who disagree with me. But if your build is more modern then it might better suit the aesthetic of bike to go with a riser, if not for the reasons above.

 

[Mike Muz]

Re:

Personally , I always use flats .
However , in your position , I would probably start off with the risrrs and see how I get on with them . Then maybe try the flats at a later date to compare
One thing not to do is sell either of them til you're sure of the set-up you want

Mike

 

[jimo746]

Re:

neck/back issues + modern bike = riser bars

 

[02gf74]

Re: Re:

neck/back issues + modern bike = riser bars

+1

 

[ishaw]

I'm thinking that this may be the way forward, plus it's probably slightly easier to go from riser to straight than the other way around.

 

[The History Man]

Don't forget th at the reach has a huge influence on your back. As I've discovered. Run both if types reach is right.