This explains it.

I don't get it? Should I swap my drops for flatbars due to my location? Will I gain more street cred, so I can have similar handlebars to the 9 million SE Drafts around BU?

yes

I have a bike with drops for longer riders/ training and a bike with risers for commuting to work. I used to ride flat bars I took off an old mtb. They are pretty comfortable. I like flat/riser for commuting as I feel I have more leverage with them if I am racing through traffic(i leave for work at the last possible minute). I also like risers for the rise effect, more so than that of a drop bars flat position.

C'mon, man...you should know that I wasn't trying to slag you personally and I'm sure you've been around the city long enough to be aware of just what my tongue is in my cheek about.

I mean, hypothetically speaking here, hips are fairly maneuverable. Then again, so are bars. It's all irrelevant, since I like road drops or groovy townie bars. To each his or her own, although hating is probably 85% of what goes on here. So I should say "to me mine, and all you haters _______."

Because the bike came with them and they suit the bike well.

I believe it is fair to say that proper pista drops are not particularly comfortable. Riding brakeless, you cannot exactly ride the hoods like you can on a nice ergo road drop. Face it-- proper track drops are designed for riding in the drops.

I like some variety--- have mustache bars on one of my fixed gears. Those babies are wide. With all the hills, I prefer bullhorns. They provide a similar position to riding the hoods on my road bike. I have one bike with flat bars, and they pinch a nerve in my wrists on long rides.

I used to ride Nitto Bullhorns and while they give more hand positions than a flat bar, I recently switched to Deda flats. They are completely no rise or bend - 100% flat. I put on grips and went for a spin tonight (no pun intended). I am not a trickster or messenger. I just feel like the ride is more relaxed, which is what i was looking for. I could have had similar hand positions with the bullhorns but not quite. To hild the horizontal part of bulls, your thunbs would pretty much be snug against the stem and that's kind of awkward and unnatural to me. I like them as wide as my shoulder. What's great is the Dedas are 50 cm and can be cut down to any size. I think mine are 40 cm.

I ride with risers because I like to look stupid in public. Seriously...

People ride whatever feels good to them. What feels good to you may not feel good to another.

Dude, come on!

http://littlemansmom.files.wordpress...cked-crowd.jpg

i ride drops until my back starts hurting , then i switch to risers until it heals, or a curved bar of sorts, then when my back feeling strong again i go back to drops, plus i like collecting stuff and bars are somewhat cheap

I use them because it is what my bike came with. That said, I am looking for a good set of drop bars because around mile 30 of my last 60 mile ride my hands were going numb. If I only rode around town I would not change them out because I am cheap and they are fine for rides of < 20 miles.

I never said I don't like them. I said I don't get them, and I'm curious. I'm hearing people out, and some of their thoughts actually make me want to play around with a few concepts. I like drops, sure, but not exclusively. I haven't been so shallow as to say that drops are the only option, and I don't run only drops. This isn't a thread about what I like, it's about what others like, and why.

So you do more turning with the handlebars instead of leaning, which makes sense when dodging cars. At low speeds in heavy traffic, flat bars / riser bars give you nice leverage for swinging your front wheel around bumpers. I can totally see that, thank you!

Also, you're saying you'd rather have riser bars for the height as oppose to a longer steering tube for drops, which makes a ton of sense. Thanks for your comments.

Yeah, track bars on the street make zero sense to me other than style. They don't open up new tricks on your bike, they don't offer improved ergonomics or comfort, they don't let you dodge around traffic more easily... If you're racing on a track and will be going fast in your drops only, then they make sense, but I can't see them being correct for street use...

This isn't news. I know that. I want to know why it feels good to them. I'm not here to say my way is the only way, or that your way sucks. I don't feel that. I'm looking for more in-depth answers.

Well that was anti-climactic....like watching Contact

Hah, yeah... not exactly anything exciting in here. Wanna fight about something instead?

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/144/3...ce9c45ed_o.jpg

Flat bars/mtb bar ends checking in...

what bar ends are those?

Beats the hell out of me. I found them like new but without box for $10 at a shop in Missouri.

nice find.

Risers were on my Steamroller.
http://img378.imageshack.us/img378/1...twinsimg06.jpg
-MTB-er 1st & foremost for years, so I set up the SR to match my KM.
-I was more upright, so I had much better view of the street, moreso than the tops of my drops.
-Comfortable. After getting about 40miles into a ride trying out Major Taylors, I thought I would never regain feeling in my wrists/hands. Switched back as soon as I got home.
-I got several risers lying around with levers to fit = I'm cheap.
-More control. I have no problem rolling through rock gardens w/risers, but there's no way I'd try it w/drops.
-Still have OG drops from 1985 on my beater, but it's mainly my grocery getter. That just went against all my above reasoning. My thoughts are now invalidated.

wait.. what?

Same here for a few reasons. Bullhorns look silly on a mtb, not that my fixed mtbs don't already look silly. I really like my easton bar, and ergon grips don't fit on anything else and no matter how dorky ergons may look, they rock.

i use drops on all my rides :)

I just put a pair of mtb flat bars on my fixed gear today ironically enough. I switched them out with the drop bars that were on them. I did it because

1) they were free
2) I found myself riding with my hands on the bar part of the drop bars as opposed to the actual drop bars anyway.
3) breaks i had fit nicely and came for free
4) decided it would be better to take free bar, brake lever, and grips as opposed to buying bar tape for the drops bars I wasn't feeling that much anyway.

i had this same reaction.

DOES NOT COMPUTE!

I said:
"Flat bars, especially riser bars, are popular among the freestyle fixed gear crowd."

I can see the confusion. I meant that, from my perspective, flat bars are popular and riser bars are even more popular among the freestyle fixed gear crowd. Essentially, both are horizontal grip bars, which is what I'm interested in for this thread.

Anyway, cool how people are jumping in and reping their flat bars and riser bars. It gives a better perspective on who uses them and why.

i have some mild risers. i cut them a half inch too narrow and now they suck.

they also suck because they're on a bike that's really skinny.

having a karate monkey with risers is awesome. they really work to keep the bike under you over obstacles and keep your weight over where you need it to be. having a track bike with riser bars makes it harder to turn, decreases leverage, and makes the bike look like a bar crawler. you get none of the benefits and all of the negative effects.

if that's what you want, go for it.

Flat bars offer you more control, because they are wider and offer a more secure grip point. I can do endos with flat bars.

Cut the **** down flat bars loose the benefit, but they do offer a slightly more relaxed upright position and look pretty sweet.