Nitto B890AA vs B260AA
 

Anyone used either/both and have any opinions on these two Nitto risers (besides "why would you pay so much for risers", which is an entirely valid opinion)?

I've got B260AAs and love them. I've never heard of B890AAs and Google is coming up with nothing.

I just bought the B809AA, is that the one you mean? I got it because the stock Kalloy riser that my bike came with was a noodle. The 809 is much more solid. Other than that, it's a handlebar. It supports my hands as you would expect. Not as expensive for me because I'm local.

809 my mistake.

I would assume the 809 is stiffer than the 260 but I'm a big gorilla and have no problems with mine.

I had 259AAs a while back too (the ones recalled by Nitto because they were breaking) and had no issues.

had the b259s and loved them

How much back sweep do the 260aa's have? I think they are 50mm tall but can't seem to find the sweep.

12°

12, really? Isn't that a tremendous amount of sweep? I thought most mountain bike risers are about 9 and "urban" risers tend to be around 5 (like the Suburban Risers that Retrogression sells). 12 seems like an awful lot. Am I missing something?

The additional sweep allows your hands to be angled a bit more and also brings your elbows in, and to some people, that's more comfortable. Relax your arm at your side and then raise your forearms at the elbow and reach out. Your hands aren't angled perpendicular to the way you're facing (as they would be if you reached out and grabbed a 0-degree bar). This is sort of what the increase in backsweep is supposed to simulate. In general, tho, IMO the wider the bars are, the more sweep angle feels natural. Picture a 700mm mtb bar. At 5-degree of sweep angle, your elbows stick way out to the sides. This may give you more control or leverage on a mtb, but on a city bike, you'll appreciate the comfort and aerodynamics of having your elbows in a bit more, and to get that position, you can sweep the bars more.

Not sure if I'm making sense. It's hard to explain without visuals or actual words.

Makes sense. Just thought narrower bars like these (come stock at 48cm) generally have less sweep.

For example Soma Late Risers are described:

"The nine degrees of sweep on MTB riser bars aren't as ergonomic when chopped to X#%$. The Late Riser is a medium width, shallow bend bar designed especially for street use. The Late Riser a medium width, shallow sweeping bar designed especially for modern urban applications. 6061 T6 aluminum. 24mm rise. 540mm width. 6 degrees bend. 270 grams."

Guess it depends on what you are comfortable with. Not sure anyone is doing any serious ergonomic research here...