tl;dr
I want to know why people use flat bars. Just tell us why you like your flat bars if you use them.

Rambling reasoning:

Flat bars, especially riser bars, are popular among the freestyle fixed gear crowd. And, admittedly, they don't look half bad. However, I can't for the life of me put together a reason for them other than bar spins. Are there any other reasons?

I ask this because I see them on so many builds riding around the city. The female bike messenger interviewed on CNN in another thread on BFSSFG sports a set. This makes even less sense for her to do, in my opinion.

Flat bars are meant to be held with a palm-down grip. This gives riders what I call "chicken wing." Many of them stick out their elbows as they ride. If you drop your arms to your side, palm against your thighs, that is the orientation our wrist naturally makes with our arm. If you then raise your arms in front of you, your palms will be facing each other. If you rotate your palms downward, your elbows will naturally want to stick out. You can, of course, tuck them in, but this is less ergonomic.

The hoods on a set of drop bars with brakes or bullhorns at shoulder width allow for a grip which is more natural, more ergonomic. Bullhorns have been getting pretty popular, but they don't seem to have overtaken flat bars. Drop bars with hoods are less common due to the trend of riding brakeless (I won't get into that issue here). However, drop bars with hoods make more sense to me as you have more options for hand position, but if you never use those options than bullhorns are also nice. Also, bullhorns and drops come in widths that are equal to your hips, so they can weave through traffic just as easily while offering better ergonomics.

So, I'm having trouble understanding why you would choose to put on a set of flat bars if you aren't going to be doing bar spins. If you're doing bar spins, I don't question you, you make sense to me. But why that messenger girl on CNN was using a flat bar seems silly to me. If she's a professional who likes to fly through the city, shouldn't she be on bullhorns or, better yet, drops?

If you're going to say that it's all about aesthetics, could you please explain what you think looks better about them? My rationalization is that they are more simple in appearance than the other options. Is it minimalism at work here?

Thanks for your time.

Sorry, lost interest after first paragraph, hope this helps.
Easier to maneuver in traffic without hitting side view mirrors with your hand, elbow, forearm....

+1
cept its just easier to not hit things with your handlebars, your body can just move outta the way

I realized that risers were ridiculous on a track bike a while back. You gotta try it and stay subjective.

OH, and I think risers are used in the messenger context bc they make better sense in traffic than ultra aggressive drops or bullhorns.

His point is, flat bars cause your elbows to pull away from you body a little, into car side mirrors. When gripping horns or drop bars, your elbows are naturally tucked in. Of course if your arms are straight on narrow flat bars, then the elbows aren't going anywhere. It all seems to be a personal preference thing.

The first paragraph is not a good indication of the OPs full thought.

I have flat bars because I'm cheap (came with the free bike) and not a messenger. I also have a front brake.

Because who cares.

What do you mean bullhorns "have been" getting popular?

I ride risers because they're more comfortable to me than track drops (which I also ride from time to time) for most of the riding I do. I don't barspin, and I rarely cut through heavy traffic. My elbows don't stick out either...

So what's your point? Some people don't like drops. It's as simple as that.

flat bars are easy to steer and provide good leverage. both of these things are lost when you cut them down to nubs though.

while i don't have the exact answer to your question, i will say that many types of bicycles use a palm-down stance. every mountain bike (except the few who prefer dirt drops, which is probably less than 1%), bmx, trials, many recumbents, most "hybrids" and many "commuters" it's not just fixed gear kids on the street... there is definitely an advantage to be had somewhere.

Exactly. Plus they provide an upright riding position, which helps in traffic.

@WoundedKnee, when your bars are narrower than your hips, you're just being an idiot if you think the narrow bars are giving you an advantage.

Drops and bullhorns have a flat bar that also allows an upright option. I just can't see this as an advantage.

I don't have a point, I have a question. Yeah, I wrote a lot, sorry if you don't have the time to read it. I'm giving my reasons for why I see drops and bullhorns as advantageous over flat bars only so you can understand what's going on in my head.

I want to know why people use flat bars.

I care. You don't have to care.

I mean that bullhorns aren't as popular as flat bars. Sorry if that wasn't clear, I kind of just ****zed out on the keyboard for a bit.

I don't understand. How do they make more sense in a traffic context? A narrow set of drops or bullhorns will get you into a better tuck to dodge traffic and is more ergonomic for tucked-in elbows when you're leaning forward.

I use risers for bike polo and occasionally leave them on for rides around town. It's not my favorite because I like having the drops for hills and sprints but in all honestly the only difference I can feel under relaxed riding conditions is some relief in the taint area. I have looked over my shoulder and seen my girlfriend cocking her elbows out though. I'm not sure what that is about and I'm not going to ask because she is very touchy about her riding technique.

Ooops, just regained interest....(grabs popcorn)...

What about the bars do you like for bike polo?

Hah, no worries. The cocked out elbows is actually a natural response to palms down when your hand are closer than an arms length from your chest.

well i suppose to be fair, there is a difference between why people use flat bars, and what are the advantages of running a flat bar.

i think people run flat bars because
a) they are dirt cheap
b) brake levers for them are dirt cheap
c) they are more comfortable (mentally) since most of us grew up on flat bars of some sort, not drops
d) because of wheelies and bar spinzzzzzz, they are in fashion

d is probably the most important one. i haven't been around forever, but i've seen trends come and go. there was a time we were having these exact same discussions, but instead of talking about impractical risers cut too short, we were talking about impractical track drops on super-dropped stems, along those lines were discussions of impractical gear ratios (track ratio on the street). the reason people ran those setups? because that's what was cool to run. you had deep v's, a 52 front chainring, and the deepest, most polished drops you could find. now you have one aerospoke, an anodized crank and risers narrower than your shoulders.

i think it's just part of human nature, really. when someone thinks "hey i think i'd like to try that out" they go look at what everyone else is doing and then emulate it. i'm sure flatbars/risers will fade out.

Apparently, you're just here to argue. I don't recall seeing flat bars on long stems, or stems with negative rise. They're generally used to provide a more upright position via a shorter cockpit.

Seems like you can always find a flat bar that will be narrower than the narrowest drops or bullhorns, but that's not the point. Yo!'s quote didn't mention anything about tucking in. You don't list your location, so I don't know if you've ridden in real city traffic. Going full aero is more likely to get you hit than be the best choice for navigating through packed traffic at speed.

+1 Lol, I always have to duck for the lifted trucks, Buses

Is it "argue about people's personal handlebar preferences" season again?

If you want to sit upright, why not these then?



I always thought people like flat bars because they look stupid. :\9

edit: the bars, not the people.

No, mine was a statement of my own confusion, not of me making a point.

The cockpit length is more a factor of the stem and less the handlebar choice.

Boston, MA, USA

Sure, but you don't have to go full aero to see gains. A simple tuck will do, and it just seems easier to stay elbows in and duck when you have bullhorns or drops and you're dodging a box truck's sideview.

No. I honestly don't care about what other people choose to use. I just want to understand the reasoning behind it. I'm only curious. When I say, "I can't see the advantage" then that's my fault or my choice. It's not a judgement on anyone else.

2010 is the year of asymetrical bars, brah. i got drops on the left, bullhorn on the right.

I have no idea why you said this to me.

Probably a misunderstanding then. You posted this picture from Sheldon Brown:



I assumed you were pointing out that the flat bar is narrower than the drops, thus making it superior.

When you assume, you make an ass of u and me. So there you have it, I made an assumption and then an ass of myself. Sorry about that.

I've commuted on this bike, gone on metric centuries on this bike and used it for general transport. The flat bars are comfortable, provide good control, brakes are close at hand, I can see and be seen in traffic, and am better able to absorb shock on rough urban roads. It's not a FG or SS, it's not hip, it's just practical. So, that's why I use flat bars anyway.