NoCash27

I was originally using some real crappy drops on my bike, then my LBS gave me some straight bars for free and cut them down. I've been using them for a few weeks and I'm okay with them. Some of my friends hate them and it looks like a lot of people on the board do as well.

So my question is, are different bars actually better? Or is it all just personal preference?

dddave

bullhorns are better than risers.

yoyosup

Barspins and tight pants.

cbfight

not enough hand positions, no real benefits over drop bars (pretty much the ultimate in practicality for anything road)

ZiP0082

i think benefits over drop bars include: lighter, less material, sometimes looks even cleaner. i find them pretty practical for urban tasks.

jdms mvp

who cares if people hate on YOUR bike. as long as you like it. that's all that matters...

Tomo_Ishi

Hey,

You could go for a boomerang bar.



Heehee. I can't wait to hear the hates. ... But you are right. A riser was more simpler and I ended up going back to a riser.

T

queerpunk

I roll my eyes at risers because it seems like half the bikes I see 'em on pair them up with drop stems. All the while matching Oury grips to toe straps. Seems silly to me.

My daily bike has flatbars.

667

So are you thinking of getting riser bars? I'm a little confused - because you have straight bars, but are asking about risers.

If you are having issues with your riding position and you need to bring your hands up and in... you have two choices... either change the stem or risers. It seems as if you like your straight bars though.

Your personal comfort and style should be all that matters. Opinions are like @ssholes.....

667

Is that a one piece stem/bar combo?
I think they're ok...different. but I doubt I'd be able to get use to the lack of leverage. Those seem way too narrow.

1fluffhead

I don't understand the deep drop stem with risers either, like QP said, BUT I find risers to be my favorite bar for city riding. Honestly I don't really understand why anyone would use a deep drop stem for city riding period, but I understand that it is usually a fashion statement more than practicality. I use the Cinelli vai road stem with 2" risers and it works great.

queerpunk

^^^or it's an issue of somebody using whatever stem they've already got. either way, it offends my sensibilities, which goes back to what somebody said about opinions being like arseholes.

Tomo_Ishi

Yeah,

I agree. But sometimes you just have deep drop stems (58 degrees) on hand; too low for a straight bar. Which is precisely why I had to use my riser. But as soon as I got my 72 degree stem, I swapped it. And, now it is too high so I had to swap out the riser.

As for my picture, that one was my practice bike. That one has 90 degree Nitto quill attached to a thrashed B123 (380mm). I wasn't thinking of leverage when I did this. I was trying to move my hand position so the bar rests on more meaty part of my hands. However, I got pretty decent leverage out of it by holding the ends. But you are probably right about it having little leverage as I never used any other part of the bar often.

T

Thetank

I keep a set of risers around to switch it up now and then along with a set of bullhorns and drops. its all a matter of preference really, they all have their own pros and cons but I think people hate on risers most cause they're synonymous with the hipster-need to barspin. I don't do tricks on my bike but I like the upright position of risers. They're not much different than riding track drops in the street since you only get a very narrow position on the tops anyways. Choose what you like, you paid for the bike anyways.

1fluffhead

I can see both of your points about using the deep drop stem and risers to get the bike moving. That make sense. I just don't think that is the case for most of the bikes I see set up this way.

FWIW I think deep drop stems do look hot when set up with drops. Risers just kill the look.

ZiP0082

MIN 

Riser provide more adjustability than flat bars due to the sweep and rise. Aesthetics be damned.

Bars are only "good" or "better" in the context of the usage. I don't use riser for road races but on the other hand don't want to use anything other than wide risers on my cargo bike for the increase leverage and heads up position.

Jabba Degrassi

You posted this as a reason why people hate risers, right?

Right?

ZiP0082

haha, yes - a pickup from a London SSFG board, in terms of a poor use of risers. i am a fan of risers though and am almost considering a positive stem (instead of a zero-rise stem).

walking disease

I swap between drops, flats, and horns depending on what I'm doing. Cutting around on casual rides with friends I ride the flat bar for comfort. Riding by myself I usually ride the drops because I like them for riding faster (sprinting out of saddle with track drops feels great.) Long distance I usually ride the horns because they have the most hand positions.

dayvan cowboy

i have a set of drops, bullhorns and risers. I usually use the horns, but right now i've got the flats on right now. The flats are fine for my commute(which is all i've been doing due to cold) but I prefer the horns for when i'm doing a lot of climbing and the drops for longer rides.

I like the look of the flats but it's not enough for me to keep them on there after winter.