View Poll Results: What type of handle bar do you prefer?

Voters
53. You may not vote on this poll
  • Straight bar

    3 5.66%
  • Straight bar with bar ends

    11 20.75%
  • Riser bar

    38 71.70%
  • Don't care

    1 1.89%
Results 1 to 18 of 18
  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    WI
    Posts
    4,398

    Straight or riser bar

    I had a discussion with a co-worker last year about mountain biking. He preferred a riser bar while I preferred a straight bar with bar ends. Just curious as to what everyone else prefers.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Portland, OR, U.S.A.
    Posts
    2,537
    I ride with a riser bar because it helps me fit on the bike better. No fashion, just function
    another Handsome Boy graduate

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    truckee
    Posts
    3,137
    rode straight bars and bar ends for 7 yrs, then switched to risers (even on old hard tail) about 4 yrs ago - never looked back. more upright position, better for handling, esp on tight, single track, etc. i climb a lot too (tahoe rides, marin county where i live...), so was worried about that at first, but they work just as well on climbs as flat bars w/bar ends....

    risers rule, on everything from hard tails to full on DH bikes.....

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Apr 2002
    Location
    utah
    Posts
    4,649
    I started out with a flat bar and bar ends when I was learning to ride. Switched to a riser bar and can't imagine going back.
    "Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming, "Wow, what a Ride!"

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    Wasatch Back
    Posts
    5,424
    I'm riding with a riser bar and these



    Especially on longer rides, I have to be able to change hand positions. But the jury is still out on the Single Track Solutions bar ends.
    A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.
    Science-fiction author Robert Heinlein

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Central Valley
    Posts
    3,050
    Wide is good. Narrow is not.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Posts
    6,097
    Straight bars are much stronger and lighter. If you need higher grips, get an angled stem.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Posts
    137
    wide riser bars are much more comfortable and easy to use though

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Switzerland
    Posts
    7,578
    you need a new poll option: it depends.

    the term "mountain biking" can mean a lot of different things to different people. cross country? freeride? downhill? there is no one bar that is best for everything. it depends on the type of biking. riser or flat is largely a personal preference thing outside of downhill and freeriding.

    flat for xc, risers for downhill & freeride for me.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Where babies are made
    Posts
    2,339
    I prefer riser bars for the following reasons:
    -Wider than straight bars = more open chest = better breathing
    -Higher than straight bars = more comfortable on my back
    -Much more sweep than straight bars = more hand/wrist/arm comfort.

    I know it's a personal preference, but for me, there's no comparison.

    Besides, those bar end thingies, when I had them, just managed to get themselves hooked on trailside branches and such in the narrow sections of trail.
    Of all the muthafuckas on earth, you the muthafuckest.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    Wasatch Back
    Posts
    5,424
    Originally posted by snow_slider
    Besides, those bar end thingies, when I had them, just managed to get themselves hooked on trailside branches and such in the narrow sections of trail.
    I do love my riser bars for the same reasons mentioned. As I said, really like/need to change hand positions, but I'm still not sure the bar end and riser bar combination works. Need more seat time to figure it out, but that's a good problem to have.
    A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.
    Science-fiction author Robert Heinlein

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Nov 2002
    Location
    Eagle River Alaska
    Posts
    10,964
    Riser bars and a giant stem chopper style
    Its not that I suck at spelling, its that I just don't care

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Nov 2002
    Location
    Powpow New Guinea
    Posts
    2,981
    no offense, IG, but my understanding was:

    Riser bars and bar-ends : mountain biking :: fagbags : skiing

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Utah, for now
    Posts
    1,818
    Normal drop bars (road bike) flipped upside down. This way, your back is perfectly straight and you can smoke while you ride. Having a milk crate held on with bungee cords as a backrest helps as well. Great for Downhilling,

    Honestly, riser bars are the only option for me anymore. I have less of a rise on my trail bike bars than on the DH rig; usually about a 1.5” on the trail bike, 2” on the DH. I really think I can ride longer with the riser's, way less back issues.
    "People blame me because these water mains break, but I ask you, if the
    water mains didn't break, would it be my responsibility to fix them then?
    WOULD IT!?!"
    - M. Barry,
    Mayor of Washington, DC

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Boulder
    Posts
    167
    i prefer straights to risers for the simple reason that i have always used them and refuse to change.
    I was amazed at how light and fluffy the powdery snow was and at how the challenge never ended.
    -Charles Kelly, CT

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Posts
    4,126
    Originally posted by homerjay
    no offense, IG, but my understanding was:

    Riser bars and bar-ends : mountain biking :: fagbags : skiing
    you can't really count what he has as true bar ends. i see them alot on bikes with riser bars and inevitably the rider says he/she got them simply to be able to vary hand position. I think they make alot of sense, unfortunately i don't know if i could make them work and still keep my streamers on the bars.

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    Wasatch Back
    Posts
    5,424
    Originally posted by homerjay
    no offense, IG, but my understanding was:

    Riser bars and bar-ends : mountain biking :: fagbags : skiing
    Originally posted by lph
    you can't really count what he has as true bar ends. i see them alot on bikes with riser bars and inevitably the rider says he/she got them simply to be able to vary hand position. I think they make alot of sense, unfortunately i don't know if i could make them work and still keep my streamers on the bars.
    What lph said.

    No offense taken.
    A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.
    Science-fiction author Robert Heinlein

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Seattle
    Posts
    5,351
    3 years ago I thought risers were trendy and dumb; until I tried one. I'm still riding on that same bar (Race Face Air Alloy) 3 years and 4 frames later.

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