Flat bar vs riser bar?
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Flat bar vs riser bar?
Postby Jean » Tue Jun 15, 2010 12:24 pm
My MTB (my first) came with a flat bar with the usual touch of sweep back. It's a fine no name Taiwanese aluminium thing, but I have noticed that flat bars are not very common compared to riser bars. I don't feel that my MTB fit is perfect yet and thinking over the options I'm wondering what difference a riser (or 'semi-riser') bar might make.
I suppose I'd be more 'upright' for my given stem length, which might help given I'm on a hardtail and after a while my lower back begins to feel it.
Cheers
Jean
PS. my riding is strictly XC style.
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Re: Flat bar vs riser bar?
Postby Nobody » Tue Jun 15, 2010 1:36 pm
About 3cm rise.Jean wrote:My MTB (my first) came with a flat bar with the usual touch of sweep back. It's a fine no name Taiwanese aluminium thing, but I have noticed that flat bars are not very common compared to riser bars. I don't feel that my MTB fit is perfect yet and thinking over the options I'm wondering what difference a riser (or 'semi-riser') bar might make.
Likely worth a try then. You can also get adjustable angle stems if you've run out of steerer length. I've found the Ritchey ones quite solid (no movement when set) and allows you to at least try different heights.Jean wrote:I suppose I'd be more 'upright' for my given stem length, which might help given I'm on a hardtail and after a while my lower back begins to feel it.
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Re: Flat bar vs riser bar?
Postby trailgumby » Tue Jun 15, 2010 2:00 pm
Stick your hands out on front of you now, at bar width apart with your fists clenched and wrists in a straight and neutral position, and see what the line though your grip looks like. This will give you a (very) rough idea of what amount of sweep would be a natural fit for you in a bar.
Riser bars do make you sit a bit more upright - as a newcomer to mtb this will make the bike more forgiving on descents, which is a good thing since this is where the consequences of an OTB can be worse. Once you've developed some bike skills, and inadvertently dropping the front of the bike into a hole is less probable, a lower bar will give you better steering response due to lower CG and more weight on the front tyre. It will also help significantly with climbing.
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Re: Flat bar vs riser bar?
Postby toolonglegs » Wed Jun 23, 2010 3:02 am
Riser bars and barends....oh the shame .
- Mulger bill
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Re: Flat bar vs riser bar?
Postby Mulger bill » Wed Jun 23, 2010 8:31 pm
London Boy 29/12/2011
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Re: Flat bar vs riser bar?
Postby toolonglegs » Wed Jun 23, 2010 9:47 pm
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Re: Flat bar vs riser bar?
Postby Mulger bill » Wed Jun 23, 2010 9:55 pm
I've underworked the roadie and the commuter for a couple weeks now, taking the MTB out most times. Yarra trails is nice. Wombat Forest soon, prolly Monday. Lysterfield later the week if the hammy don't go again.
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Re: Flat bar vs riser bar?
Postby Nobody » Wed Jun 23, 2010 10:28 pm
I only ride the MTB during winter generally. The colder wind moves slower past you so negates the need to "rug up".Mulger bill wrote:Define "real"...
I've underworked the roadie and the commuter for a couple weeks now, taking the MTB out most times. Yarra trails is nice. Wombat Forest soon, prolly Monday. Lysterfield later the week if the hammy don't go again.
I thought a real MTBer is someone who rides a rigid.
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Re: Flat bar vs riser bar?
Postby Mulger bill » Thu Jun 24, 2010 10:47 pm
Damn these people who don't understand that when the car in front of you stops, you should too.
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Re: Flat bar vs riser bar?
Postby .isaac. » Mon Oct 11, 2010 8:15 pm
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Re: Flat bar vs riser bar?
Postby reindeer » Wed Oct 13, 2010 10:19 pm
So are there problems with bar ends on riser bars? Or is it just a pesonal dislike?toolonglegs wrote:..and don't USUALLY have bar ends.
Riser bars and barends....oh the sham
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Re: Flat bar vs riser bar?
Postby Uncle Grumpy » Wed Oct 13, 2010 11:18 pm
You can get flat bars with a lot of sweep, Ritchey, Salsa, Syntace, to name a couple, but I digress.
When you put bar ends on risers, they stick out at a (slight) angle rather than pointing forward. If it works for you, fine. But it's a personal taste thing.
Me, I see risers with bar ends and I feel like I should be diving off my (tastefully set up) bike, crash tackling the other bike, roping it's wheels and branding that longhorn cattle sucker before letting it return to the herd.
Bar ends. Pffft. 1998 rang, it wants it's stuff back.
I like watching dudes with bar ends get hooked up on branches.
Grumps
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Re: Flat bar vs riser bar?
Postby trailgumby » Thu Oct 14, 2010 2:08 pm
Erm, I don't need bar ends to do that.Uncle Grumpy wrote:I like watching dudes with bar ends get hooked up on branches.
I've changed my view on flatbars somewhat, since discovering that the Easton EA70 unit has the kind of width (685mm) and sweepback that I like.
Once I get the fork on my hardtail serviced and get all the travel back, I'll probably get one.
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Re: Flat bar vs riser bar?
Postby ausdb » Thu Oct 14, 2010 5:06 pm
Each to his own but when you are doing 6 plus hours in the saddle on an off road tour it is nice to be able to move your hands around a bit.Uncle Grumpy wrote: Bar ends. Pffft. 1998 rang, it wants it's stuff back.
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Re: Flat bar vs riser bar?
Postby idw » Sun Oct 24, 2010 11:28 am
ausdb wrote:Each to his own but when you are doing 6 plus hours in the saddle on an off road tour it is nice to be able to move your hands around a bit.Uncle Grumpy wrote: Bar ends. Pffft. 1998 rang, it wants it's stuff back.
agreed when your out off road touring for weeks at a time bar ends make all the difference. for rides tho 20km or less i dont really see much point just something to get caught on a branch when on single track.
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Re: Flat bar vs riser bar?
Postby toolonglegs » Sun Oct 24, 2010 5:04 pm
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Re: Flat bar vs riser bar?
Postby trailgumby » Sun Oct 24, 2010 7:46 pm
When I was hit by that car back in December, the impact with the pavement and consequent impact between the side of my hand and the bar end broke my metacarpal into little fragments. Seven pins and a plate later (and now due for a second op to have them out) I've decided I don't need 'em. Didn't realise what caused the damage until I went to get back on the bike and had an "Aha!" moment tying to find a comfortable hand position.
I don't get hung up on trailside undergrowth as much as when I had them on. For alternate hand positions I just cup my hand over the end of the bar.
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Re: Flat bar vs riser bar?
Postby .isaac. » Mon Oct 25, 2010 7:18 am
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Re: Flat bar vs riser bar?
Postby Gabe » Mon Oct 25, 2010 1:13 pm
I do agree that on long easy trails it's nice to be able to change grip, when I did urban back-road riding I did use them quite regularly. And I was probably only doing 15-18km distances, albeit up-and-down a lot.
Flat bars seem to be good for casual road cycling because they make you lean slightly further than risers but aren't as extreme as drop bars. I've seen lots of road bikes with them, but I don't think I've seen them on too many 'proper' MTBs. I'm definitely no expert though...
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Re: Flat bar vs riser bar?
Postby Bentnose » Fri Nov 05, 2010 8:08 pm
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