I’ve finally succumbed to the fact that my back can no longer handle drop bars. Now I’m always riding on the tops and tend to get annoyed when I have to drop down to brake.

I’d like to move into the world of risers (or maybe bullhorns). Can anyone suggest a narrow-ish riser?

Also, what the hell is the difference between a $15 riser and a similar appearing $60 riser? Just weight? What’s the deal here?

Short pull interrupter levers with my current caliper… does that do me right?

Should I keep the drops and just put levers on the top?

I can’t decide. I also don’t want to spend a ton of money but at the same time will buy quality parts when I need to upgrade.

All of my bikes have swept bars. So far I've used the following kinds with success:

Velo Orange "Tourist"
Origin8 "Citi Classic"
FSA "Metropolis" -- larger clamp diameter
Generic steel swept bar from old Schwinn

I found it to be an effort to look through web sites for dimensions. Nitto makes a bunch of styles. I like them wider, but not crazy wide like some of the new MTB bars. An important spec is the length of the straight sections on the ends, to accommodate your hand grips and any other controls.

You can use the interrupters. One bike in the family fleet has them. There not as comfy as regular brake levers.

Some folks find the steel bars to be more comfortable due to having a bit of flex, and they won't add an unreasonable amount of weight. Steel / aluminum might be the difference you're seeing in prices.

Why do you "drop down" to brake? Most people with drops brake from the hoods position.

I had interrupter levers on my gravel bike, thought they were a wonderful idea at first and then realised that I never used them. I removed them.

Don't worry about the weight of minor components unless you are a "weight weenie". Most of us could do with saving more weight by slimming down. Your bunch of keys, or wallet, or bottle of water, make more difference than a few grammes on a riser.

General principle of bike component prices is "diminishing returns". The difference between "cheap and nasty" and "nice" is worthwhile. After that, you start to pay twice as much for "very nice" to get 10% better. A lot of it is fashion and marketing.

If you buy new bars, you will have more control and power with anything that allows you to ride with your palms facing inwards (like riding on the drops or hoods).

I couldn't ride without drop bars. More hand positions and easy to get down when I hit a strong headwind. And I think flat bars look dumb on a road bike but that's just me. I actually climb in the drops most of the time ala Marco Pantani.

My CX bike has cross top levers. When I first bought the bike I was assuming I would remove them but I liked them so much I kept them on, it's nice to sit up and come to a stop. Even thought about putting some on my Wabi. You could have just bought those instead of getting rid of the drops.

Is the hood position not lower?

But I’m not trying to be a weight weenie— just trying to figure out what the difference between a cheap and pricier handlebar is. It’s not like it’s one of the more complex components.

I’ve been considering that, too, as I also like the added positions. It just seems like a lot of extra handlebar if I don’t go into the drops anymore.

I couldn't sit upright like that for long distances. I guess just cruising around the city or something but that's not the kind of riding I do.

Hi, I didn't say you were a weight weenie. I said don't worry unless you are a weight weenie.

The hood position is slightly further forward than riding "on the tops" so your back is sloped a little more, but it is not as low as riding "on the hooks".

You can of course move your brake levers and adjust the tilt of your bars, to make the hoods a little closer.

I'm 58 with a back that occasionally has me walking with a stick, but most of the time I'm pretty fit. When my back has one of its episodes, I find that cycling is OK once I get onto the bike.

Too upright a position can put compression socks up your spine; too low a position can put your spine at an uncomfortably low angle.

Dropped bars are not the be all and end all, but they are very versatile. I'd be thinking of getting some short reach drops, possibly with a small rise in them.

However, there are no rules except try to make the bike so that you can enjoy riding it.

I have found that the fewer the hand positions, the wider I like my bars.

Materials, design, craftsmanship, durability, and weight.

I can't stand those things, myself. If you go with a riser, put some proper brake levers by the grips; they just feel better. If you go with a bullhorn, consider bar-end reverse brake levers.

Buy once, cry once.

Likewise. One comfortable hand position beats several uncomfortable ones. I've never felt the need to change positions on swept bars. Now on straight bars, sure. That's why you see riders on the bike paths, with their hands cupped around the ends of their flat bars, or riding with their fists on top of the grips. Something about the change of wrist angle that makes all the difference. Granted, I would expect drops to be more comfortable than straight bars too, but then the reach is too much for me. Of course our bodies are all different.

I swapped out the drops to bullhorns on my Langster and haven't looked back.
The Origin8 bullhorns are slightly wider than the drops and the "new" stem is a bit shorter. I find the bar-end brake levers give me more braking power vs the hoods.
Before

After

The Sunlite Elson Roadster is another swept bar option. It’s essentially a cheap steel copy of the Nitto Albatross. That shape can work well with single speed, particularly since there are no shifters on the bar.

You can use the whole bar if you wrap it forward of the grips and levers all the way to the stem clamp. That gives you a lot of useful options for both seated and standing.

Otto

In the old days, people used to just rotate the drop bars 180 degrees so they were going up instead of down. You could do that without spending any money.

If it was me, I would go for mountain bike style bars. Taller people can go for something even higher.

I love swept-back bars with rise and curves, and have experimented wildly with the concept... My favorite is the 570mm wide Zoom Cruiser:



My other favorite is the Nitto Albatross, though that can be an expensive option and I must admit: It took me a few rides to fall in love with it—I even abandoned the idea for months before I returned to the concept and was head-over-heels. The Zoom Cruiser, on the other hand, feels instantly lovely and the finish matches a Nitto quill stem.

...One other option which I also have fondness for is the Wald 8095... Though that bar has less rise than the Zoom and the finish does not match a Nitto stem.



Edit: I just realized that these are all 25.4mm clamp-area bars... Such is my world. All of this is likely uninteresting and inapplicable. I apologize for that

You don't even grab the brake hoods? That's more comfortable for me than the tops, especially when I'm pushing it.

I do grab the hoods sometimes but not as much as the tops.

I actually do have a 25.4 clamp so I appreciate the info. I’ve been looking at the Nitto b260aa

No way I could ride like that unless it was a very slow one miler haha. I've never even seen anyone with drop bars ride with their hands on the tops the whole time.

It's pretty common with touring and leisure cyclists. I've had bikes with drops since the 1970s and used to do regular 100 mile days, although I tend to just do one or two hour rides these days. On the tops has always been one of my favourite positions for general riding on the flat. On the bends for some of the time, on the hoods occasionally, and when standing, and on the drops/hooks only when riding into a headwind.

We likely ride very differently. I’m doing all urban riding. I rode a fair amount up until five or six years ago. Now I’m getting back into it— my office is moving at the end of summer and I’ll be able to bike commute so I’ll be doing about 10 miles total daily but imagine I’ll sneak in some longer weekend rides.

I’m slowly but surely turning the old geared bike that killed my love of cycling into a bike that works for me. I finished the single speed conversion a couple months ago. I just put a C17 saddle on it— that was a major help. Now if I can get the rusted handlebar bolt to come loose, I’ll be very happy.

With the new saddle positioned correctly and if I can adjust the dropbars, maybe I won’t need to switch handlebars but I’m not holding my breath. I had back surgery ten years ago and the remaining issues the doctor said would likely become a problem some day are floating to the surface— add the family arthritis and welcome to your 40’s!

Check out the Velo Orange Milan.. slight rise with a sweep

I reluctantly figured this one out many years ago. After riding nothing but road bikes 40 years I just could not get down on the drops and my butt in the air. For me it was a big change. I ended up lowering my seat few 2cm and raising my stem 3cm. After multiple try's with swept back and straight bars I gave the bull horns a try. That was the ticket. So I now go for Bull Horn handle bars with bar end break levers.

Note: I use friction shifters on the down tube so your shifters and break set up have allot to do with what you go to.