I ride risers b/c I don't want a silly 15 degree stem. I want the more upright riding position. Don't forget that there are different styles of riding that necessitate (or at least are more comfy with) a different rider postition. I used flat bars and long/low stems back in the day when circle'y spinning, heart rate monitoring, lap time, cyclometer using was my style. Now...I don't care all that much how long it takes me to get up the hill as long as I can fully enjoy it on the way back down. It's difficult to tweak it out on jumps and have descending control when you're able to clean your front knobs with your tongue.


BTW...where are you from? That could describe a bit why they're using flats. Lots of Kansans use flats b/c KS is XC. You would see alot more aggressive riser setups maybe in BC, in contrast.

Still though...risers for XC seems to be an ever growing preference.