magic-conch

So I live in a small town in California by the name of Merced. Fixies do not exist here, but after living in San Francisco for a while, I've started building up a fixie of my own and I've decided to try out risers. Problem is, I have no clue of what's considered a pair of "good" risers.

I do a lot of riding, but also enjoy tricking. My bike is a 52cm (I'm short) and I'm looking for a handle bar length that'll look nicely on a 52cm frame. I have no clue what they mean by 31.8W or 200mm or whatever.

I'm not sure what kind of grips are compatible with what and if all the bars have different thickness or whatever. Please help! I just really need some advices on what's going to be a suitable pair of risers. Examples please?

5h0m3d4m0n3y

Nitto make some great risers, but they are costly compared to other brands. If you want something cheaper, look into Godspeed or Soma.

As for the size, you need to find out what clamps you have. 31.8 is most likely the thickness of the bars.

As for the width, you can always cut down the bars to make it right for your bike.

The most popular grip for riser bars are probably Oury grips.

elTwitcho

A riser is a riser. Find the one with the amount of rise and sweep you want and they're all the same.

31.8 is the diameter of the bar. You want to find the one that matches the clamp diameter of your stem

elTwitcho

Which is to say they're the same in the sense that there isn't a ton of difference in quality. They're different in shape and diameter.

Go to a bike shop and look at some in person. Every bike shop in the world will stock riser bars

magic-conch

Hmms, okay that sounds good. I'm super noob so thanks for the advice.

magic-conch

Yeah I've seen nittos and they are quite pricey. Thanks for the suggestions. Do you know what's a popular width and rise?

Scrodzilla

To say "risers are risers" and that they are all the same isn't exactly true. An example is that there's an obvious big difference in quality between my alloy Nemesis Project risers and a pair of hi-ten steel ones pulled off a department store MTB.

magic-conch

so what's a good size in terms of width and rise?

Nuggetross

^your fit.

bigvegan

"so what's a good size in terms of width and rise? "

Dude, just call your local bike shop and see if they've got a used set of mountainbike risers or flat bars that somebody left when they upgraded their bike for $5 or so.

Then, mount that on your bike, and ride it around for a while and chop it down to the size you want with a hacksaw.

That way, you're not screwing up something nice if you cut it too short, and you can mess around and figure out your fit, and then order something nice once you know what you need.

Failing that, just buy a set of generic Dimension / Origin8 1" riser bars for $20 or so and call it a day. (You'll need a hacksaw and preferably a saw guide to shorten things properly.)

Leukybear 

Like what other people said, what you prefer.

Anyway I would just like to emphasize that late risers are useless... the amount of rise is so minute it makes no difference at all aside for the fact of having the way too hyped "risers" on your fixie

magic-conch

Well that makes sense lol, thanks.

magic-conch

Ehhh, that sounds like it'd be a good idea, I'm just a bit uneasy about hacksawing the risers myself. I'll probably go with your idea of getting a cheap riser to start off with. Thanks. And i didn't know some risers came off of mtn bikes O.o

Brian

You'll need to verify whether your stem is 25.4, 26.0, or 31.8 at the clamp before you go bar shopping.

adriano 

i dont let my stem tell me what bar i want.

Brian

There are six or seven stems on my desk at home, along with 4 different bars. Yet I still can't always match length, rise, and clamp.

Retro Grouch 

[QUOTE=magic-conch;10195652] I'm just a bit uneasy about hacksawing the risers myself. [QUOTE]

Get over it.

The absolute worst thing that can happen is you'll ruin the handlebar which will put you back to where you are now. That's not too serious.

The upside is that you'll gain confidence about working on your bike and you'll gain the satisfaction of having done it yourself. You're going to learn some stuff through the process too.

If you have any doubt about your ability, get a screw type automobile hose clamp to use as a saw guide to help you get a nice square cut. You'll be fine.

adriano 

such is life.

elTwitcho

functionally, what's the difference?

Scrodzilla

I guess you're right. After all, "a seatpost is a seatpost" and "pedals are pedals".

magic-conch

So I'm sure you guys have all heard of Dimension's risers. What's the word on these? because I can't find any reviews on them. Would these be okay?

https://www.amazon.com/Dimension-Rise...1986002&sr=1-2

magic-conch

[QUOTE=Retro Grouch;10196130][QUOTE=magic-conch;10195652] I'm just a bit uneasy about hacksawing the risers myself. Sorry for my lack of knowledge, but just to be on the safe side, what the hell is a saw guide? or are there any places where I can get some kind of metal cutting service? My old high school has a metal shop, but I'm not sure if they'll cut it for me there. If that doesn't work out, are there any possible alternatives?

Leukybear 

I forgot to add that IF you're using a old style conversion with a one piece quill type stem risers are not going to fit without being painfully hammered in; you'll need a two piece quill stem or a typical threadless stem. Or you can upgrade for the future by using a quill stem adapter in conjunction with a threadless stem to avoid the also possible replacement of the headset to threadless.

I would just like to point out for the humor that if you ride a seatpost without a seat it goes up your hole and your seatpost acts like a (you know what I mean ) "functionally"....

magic-conch

Oh thanks for the info, but my bike is a khs flite 100. I got it used and compared it to other stock ones in the stores, this one is completely stock, so I'm guessin the clamps will be okay?

Retro Grouch 

[QUOTE=magic-conch;10196689][QUOTE=Retro Grouch;10196130]A hack saw is a metal cutting handsaw. A new one probably costs around $10.00.

If you don't have a lot of experience there is a tendency to make a slanty cut across your handlebar. If you install a hose clamp where you want to cut, it'll give you a guide for making the nice square cut that you want.

Keep coming back.