rise up, son
 

so i don't know what i was thinking when i purchased these riser bars off nashbar. maybe i was just looking for a change. the bullhorns have done me well, but my hands were getting bored...or something.

track drops on a converted road frame? no thanks.
moustache bars? i'm not there yet.
riser bars? why not.

chopped about an inch off each end, clamped on a new stem (courtesy of jitensha_de_go!), slid on some oury grips, and today sent them out to be tested. and you know what? i was climbing better, skidding better, and even trackstanding better than i ever had with the 'horns. something about my hands being more aligned with my shoulders or something, and i was able to pull up better on them. very nice. although i have a feeling that after a few weeks my hands will begin to feel sore from the the lack of variety in hand positions.

and thus ends the narration of the exciting event of my day.

risers are where it's at. i've done the whole cycle of handlebars, track drops, road drops, bullhorns, and risers. risers are the only bars that seriously rock my world. trackdrops are nice for style points, and bullhorns are good, but i never felt entirely stable with mine on my trackie.

mmm.....riser bars. you've inspired me to ride my lotus to work tomorrow instead of my roadie...although we'll see if it actually happens when i get to leavin' time.

I saw this fixie a few days ago that had inverted riser bars. It looked pretty wierd, but strangely comfortable. The bars were pointed down and forward...

right now im running cut down flat bars. in the past ive ridden the inverted riser, bullhorns, road drops, and risers. i think that bullhorns are best for climbing, but im really into the flat bar right now.

Risers - inverted or upright - and flat bars seem to be a very East coast thing.

In my travels to Beantown, Philly, and D.C. I have seen a disproportionate number of non-roadesque handlebars.

Here in Portland, I see very few set up that way, in fact mine is one of the few that I have seen. To further emphasize my point, having sold a number of fixes on eBay every single one with flat or risers went to the East, save for Florida. All others, mostly flipped and clipped, went to the West.

Odd, but interesting.

yeah, i noticed the same thing about boston when i lived there. in seattle, like portland, there seem to be very few. most fixies i've seen around here have bullhorns, and in the long run they're probably better for climbing (which you need in seatown).

Having been through every imaginable sort of bars, I think bullhorns are better for skidding, too: you can really throw your weight against them comfortably, with the bar sitting between thumb and forefinger, but with risers or straights, there's a weird pressure on the wrists.

I suppose this is one of those things, like saddles, that is different for everyone. Nevertheless, I think my way is best.

It is true. Quite a few Boston fixie riders use risers or flat bars with Oury grips. They work well for keeping your head up in traffic and in general a more upright position. I have been going back and forth from risers to bullhorns all year. I can't decide which I like better but I've found that if I ride for an extended period of time the bullhorns are much more comfortable due to the variety of hand positions. Risers tend to make my shoulders sore after a while on 20+ mile rides but I do prefer them for shorter home to bar etc. rides in the city.

What about the swept back cruiser bars? I see a fair number of those around Boston. I tried them for a while with a stem that reached far forward to compensate for the backward extension of the bars themselves, and the effect was pretty nice. It's not a very aggressive position, but it has the head-up-in-traffic appeal and is pretty good for climbing and skidding.

Gotta give my shout to the bullhorns. I see a lot of those around here, that and straight bars. Personally, I prefer the bullhorns. If I need to climb or sprint, they give me the position that I need, ditto if I want to get a little low in a head wind. When I'm mired in traffic or just cruising along, I'm not pulling too hard anyhow, so my hands just creep in real comfortable on the flats.

As long as there is no traffic and I can relax I prefer not even putting my hands on the handle bars.
I have found risers give me better steering control, but no sprinting
I am using drop bars right now and I like the many hand positions, plus when I get into a track position I just feel likeI riding faster