no i'm joking.

but seriously, what are some reasons for riding flats or risers?
im a big drop afficionado for climbing and just getting in that beautiful position where you can completely maximise power along a good flat road.

disclaimer: i'm not having a dig (one of my play bikes has a set of pro risers on it), i just wanted to know what everyone rode risers for, or why you ride drops.

They look good, riding upright is useful in the city when you need to keep aware, drops are fairly useless there, can be cut shorter for more clearance/comfort, arguably more comfortable for short distances

Tight clearance and upright position. Good for urban environments. Pretty much it, I think.

Also barspinz.

Also, I never have to remember to bring my double-ended ***** with me when I go out.

I just put a set of flat bars on my bike because I hurt myself in a crash last week and wanted a more upright position so i don't have to bend forward too much thus causing discomfort in my chest.

I don't know if anyone in this thread does or has, but I've always wondered that if it's chiefly for 'riding upright' why people flip their stems to the negative rise?

fashion combined with ignorance.

tight clearance?
I've never seen a set of drops that was wider than my shoulders. I guess it makes sense for people who have their bike set up in such a way that they can't reach their drops and just ride on the tops.

Well on my main bike I love my drops. But I tried drops, bullhorns and finally risers on my polo bike and the risers are great. Better position and overall just less sh*t to accidently hit anything with. I used to hate on risers too.

Fail.

no. you fail. 128 has been riding fixed longer than you have been alive.

Oh come on, I ride in SF with 44 cm drops.

Success.

Oooh. Somebody has a crush! Yer sweet on him, huh?

UBER-FAIL! Age is no excuse for ignorance.
If he's been riding more than 42 years, he should know better.
Are you clarivoiant?

I have riser bars with front and rear brake levers for my commuter bike. I really like them - they are comfortable and perfectly useable for the short distances I ride my commuter bike.

oh come on, 128. everyone I know that rides fixed with drop bars in the city rides with their hands immediately on either side of the stem. they never touch the drops- might as well be riding with a 6" flat bar. Tell me that's not fashion and ignorance.

There are plenty of good reasons to ride flat bars other than fashion, chief among them some people prefer a more upright position. I switched when I hurt my back, and I now prefer them greatly for riding around town.

Try my ignorance.

Negative rise stem + risers ~= neutral/positive rise stem and flat bars.

But flat bars aren't really "in" so...

I prefer drops for the variety of hand positions, and for riding into extreme headwinds -- which happens all too often where I tend to ride. As far as being in an upright position, I have a stupidly positive rise stem set up so that the top of the drops is about level with the saddle. I can ride all day without hand numbness or any sort of fit-related pain.

And I think I'm too old a dog to learn any fancy new bar spinning tricks.

I think part of his point is people aren't practical, especially when it comes to the distance from seat to the flats of the drop bars.

The top of drop bars can be plenty upright depending on stem position. And the drops are the best thing ever when it gets windy out.

Personally I still think bullhorns are the greatest urban bars ever.

I actually switched from bullhorns to risers - but I always switched from brakeless fixed to singlespeed. Bullhorns are really nice for fixed-gear street riding but I like risers for my singlespeed, mostly because I like how they work with brakes.

I have, because I ride some on one of my bikes. Great top position as well as drops

i had drop bars my fixed gear for a bit but it made it feel too much like my road bike, so i put risers on there. risers are just plain fun. if i were to do some serious mileage like i do on my road bike i would probably replace them with bullhorns or drops, but for around the town, commuting and running errands and stuff, they work out well.

Sorry for turning the thread into a flame war - I was just wondering how people can claim that risers give a more upright position, then put a negative rise stem on.

This sums up what I was thinking pretty well:

Personally, I like to ride on what would be the hoods of my drop bars. I'm not really into just strictly hoods with no levers, so I ride some neutral bullhorns (with a positive rise stem). The bullhorns let me stretch out like I would with hoods, and then I can also ride the flat part (perpendicular to the bike itself). The bullhorns are on the same level as what would be flat bars and drops.

You're way too old for this kind of petty internet tough guy bull****, you ought to know better than that.