Oh damn that thing is badass. Specialized mtb look really good, but they cost so much money.

Frankly, I trip out that it's uncomfortable for you, since you are a motorcycle dude. Just seems like you'd feel right at home.

to be fair its been a few years since i had my moto, so im more used to drops & bullhorns now
i only had the flat bars for a short time before i used them to build a friends bike so im sure i wouldve gotten used to them

when i imagine myself bombing a DH bike with huge bars i think about the moto days and hooliganing around, good times.

My kids are raised and out of the house, we have no debt, and my other hobbies are reading Spanish thriller novels and hiking, neither of which costs me but a few dollars per month. Since I do not drink, smoke dope anymore, might as well have cool bikes. I must admit that it takes my body about a week to recover from a DH day. I am not super old, but I have broken many bones, including my neck.

Yeah, 42cm drops feel a little narrow. I now have 46cm VO drops on my two main bikes and 44 Noodle on my track bike. Still, after a couple days of mountain biking the drops feel uncomfortably narrow and twitchy for the first half hour of riding. I haven't done long rides on anything narrower.

Every time I do dirt biking with my dad I ask him to get wider bars feels so sketchy with all that power under me.

Finally, a fad where I was trendy before it got outdated!

I ran some 650mm bars back in 2007-2008, so much more comfy than any drops I had tried. Currently on 46cm Salsa Woodchippers, which are OK but nowhere near as comfy as the 800mm on my MTBs. After some time on the bike, I always get some pain in my wrists/elbows with every drop bar I've ridden.

+1 to all hairnet stated

I am running 700mm on my Mt bike, 42cm on my road bike drop bars, My City bike has 580mm risers and my SS bike is 620mm risers.Fun bike

Personal preference but I like narrowish risers.

People always say "oh there's not point in getting narrower than your shoulders" but often I find myself caught between cars with rear view mirrors sticking out right around handlebar height and appreciate my narrow risers very much.

totally nailed it!!!

I have always thought the wide MTB risers on track bikes looked a little odd. Even though I understood the theoretical advantages, i.e. more stability, and more leverage for hill climbing, I still couldn't wrap my head around it. I guess I've become too accustomed to using road drops.

So, after reading this post I decided to give wide risers a try. I found a set of Kona risers for $20 and some grips for $7. I chopped down the risers so they are now just slightly wider than shoulder-width. After commuting for a couple of days with the new bars, I have to say I really like the feel of them, and I can now understand why people would like them.

For now, at least until the novelty wears off, I'll be leaving them on my bike (despite how odd they may look ).

An open minded experiment. I like it. How wide are they after you trimmed them?

They're quite nicer than short cut risers. #breathedeeply

After I trimmed them, they're about 540mm. They're more comfortable (this could be attributed to the 20mm rise and 5 degree sweep) than my road drops and they feel more stable when skidding, climbing hills, and accelerating from a stop. Then again, it could just be the novelty of something new. I'll ride with them for a while, then put the road drops back on, and do a comparison.

I stand corrected, I'm looking at my receipt and the risers didn't cost $20. They cost $16. That plus the $7 grips, it was worth the experiment, I'd say.

The Deda risers I got from RetroGression are on my SS, and I love them. They are quite narrow though, but I dig'em. Its a track frame, but they look good(to me) on it. I wouldn't put them on a "classic" track bike though, they'd def look weird.

They make things feel more stable because they put your arms into a more athletic position. Because your wrists are now perpendicular to the top tube, the only way to ride them comfortably is with elbows flared out. It's less aero, but far better for manipulating and object or machine.

I'm really interested in you comparisons after you re-ride the drops. Please report back.

Check out the vintage-style super wide, super risey and super sweepy risers from Nitto:

********************???Vintage Mountain Bike

That extra back sweep adds a LOT of comfort to the wrists.

those look interesting, id love to see em on a bike

the foos need to start putting these on 3rensho frames

Supposedly it's the shape on 1981 Stumpjumpers.

ohhhh, i call those MUP or mom bars

Yeah, that's the kinda bars that the NORBA-era 19" flat 3° bars were rebelling against!

I had to cut those bars down past the designated spot to get them to be comfortable. They were sooooo wide. I find the Cinelli Pepper bars to be the perfect width for me.

yeah i think it was just the super difference in handling vs drops that are almost half as wide and the fork/geo combination

im planning another mtb build tho and you bet im putting enormous bars on that thing

Ok. I've ridden for two days (long rides each day) with the risers. I put the road drops back on this morning for my commute. Here's my two cents:

Wide Risers
Pros:
1. more stable when skidding
2. more leverage when accelerating from a stop and climbing hills
3. upright position
Cons:
1. wrists get tired/sore from being in one position for too long
2. can't really get used to the aesthetics
3. a little scary splitting lanes (but totally do-able)

Road Drops
Pros:
1. multiple hand position options
2. less wrist fatigue
3. feels more "nimble"
4. like the look of them
Cons:
1. less leverage for hill climbing
2. less upright sitting position
3. feels more "twitchy" when skidding


In summary: Both bars have their pros and cans, and all things being equal, I like both wide risers and road drops for my street-track bike. However, simply based on aesthetics (which is utterly subjective) I'll stick with the road drops. Maybe I'll consider building another bike (thinking Cinelli Histogram or Parallax) so I can have one with wide risers and one with road drops

Thanks for the detailed report.

Your findings are why I like nerd bars. They seem to be a compromise.

* wide
* leverage
* non twitchy
* upright
* multiple hand positions

And with the strong sweep back angle, my wrists are comfy because I'm neither forced to ride elbows in nor out.

Try some the next time you are experimenting, if you can tolerate the look.

It's kinda funny. Look at this commuter parking lot in Amsterdam. Try to find a pair of drops or bullhorns.