Originally Posted by The Fixer
Now, I don't understand the concept behind riser bars. I've never used them either so I can't comment.
I think it's all about handlebar positioning. For some reason, people felt that in order to get the handlebar at the proper height, they had to change the profile of the bar from flat to ones with risers. I guess they never thought to just change the stem. As the years went by and more people were running risers, it turned into a fashion and as a sign of "aggressive MTBing" to be using risers so more and more bikes came spec'ed that way because manufacturers felt the image would sell. And for some reason, bar-ends fell out of favour too. I'm also not sure how that got coupled with the trend in riser bars since risers don't give you any more hand positions than a flat bar. Some might even say it gives you less. Perhaps the trend towards shorter more aggressive rides that don't require people to utilise more hand positions to relieve fatigue but instead promotes always having the hands in the same position near the controls throughout the length of the ride accounts for it.