Riser bars

M

mas2

Likes Bikes and Dirt
When/why should someone get riser bars?

I am thinking about getting some riser bars (about 35mm) because I struggle to get the front wheel up and over obstacles, don't have a very flexible back but my bars are lower than my extended seat, and I notice when riding my palms seem to really hurt like I am pushing against my bars the whole time.

What I worry about though is that I currently feel like I struggle committing to corners going fast as if my weight isn't forward enough and that if I risers it will just make this worse as I will have even less weight on the front and will wash out more in corners. This could be poor technique too though.

Thoughts?
 
K

kten

understands stuff moorey doesn't
Can you lift the stem any before you buy new bars? What rise bars are you using now? Maybe you are struggling with corner entry speed due to having too much weight over the front currently....quite confidence sapping being too far over the front
 
M

mas2

Likes Bikes and Dirt
kten said:
Can you lift the stem any before you buy new bars? What rise bars are you using now? Maybe you are struggling with corner entry speed due to having too much weight over the front currently....quite confidence sapping being too far over the front
Click to expand...
Nah stem has max spacers underneath it. Current bars I think have about a 10mm rise but not positive.
There are just so many variables that I could change and it's hard to know where to spend the money to make it worth testing.
 
Lazmo

Lazmo

Old and hopeless
Howdy mas2.

Well I’m no expert, but my first mountain bike and a pair of Merida 96’s we bought much later on, had skinny dead flat xc bars, and I couldn’t change them fast enough… uggghhhh, just horrible.

To me it is not so much about the bar height but more to do with the riser bars creating the right angle for your arms and elbows to input body language into the bike. The risers allow your arms to flex and absorb riding inputs while giving you the means to exert your will on the bike.

I’m old and hopeless, so I don’t run ‘em as wide as the young’uns, but my stumpy bars are 680mm and the BFe has 700mm wide.

Risers, to me, feel way better than flat skinny xc bars… no question.


stumpy and wallaby.JPG



Cotic BFe.JPG
 
rowdyflat

rowdyflat

chez le médecin
Just more technique and body language required..... practice practice going over gutters and logs. Timing is everything.
Push down first then lift helps.
If your palms are too sore get Ergon type grips with flat areas on the grip.
 
John U

John U

MTB Precision
Dropper Post? Have you got one? Might fix your issues.

How fast are you going when approaching these obstacles? Giving it something through the pedals is also required to get the front up.

Got any pics of your set up?
 
pink poodle

pink poodle

気が狂っている男
Nothing wrong with going riser bars to mix up your geometry. They should help you keep your head and shoulders a little higher and this will help push the weight back a bit and get you in a position to rip the front up as needed. Bar width and stem length (especially if you've got a long one) will also come into it. You can even get a stem with some rise in it while you're at it. I wouldn't go full dj style and stick on the old 3 inch risers though!

Technique is just as important. If you aren't riding often or throwing in some practise you'll struggle no matter how perfect the set up.
 
M

mas2

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Lazmo said:
Howdy mas2.

Well I’m no expert, but my first mountain bike and a pair of Merida 96’s we bought much later on, had skinny dead flat xc bars, and I couldn’t change them fast enough… uggghhhh, just horrible.

To me it is not so much about the bar height but more to do with the riser bars creating the right angle for your arms and elbows to input body language into the bike. The risers allow your arms to flex and absorb riding inputs while giving you the means to exert your will on the bike.

I’m old and hopeless, so I don’t run ‘em as wide as the young’uns, but my stumpy bars are 680mm and the BFe has 700mm wide.

Risers, to me, feel way better than flat skinny xc bars… no question.


View attachment 348148


View attachment 348149
Click to expand...
Thanks for the pics Lazmo. You certainly run narrow bars.
 
M

mas2

Likes Bikes and Dirt
rowdyflat said:
Just more technique and body language required..... practice practice going over gutters and logs. Timing is everything.
Push down first then lift helps.
If your palms are too sore get Ergon type grips with flat areas on the grip.
Click to expand...
I run esi chunky's.
 
Ultra Lord

Ultra Lord

Hurts. Requires Money. And is nerdy.
How’s the ol’ core strength going? I got pretty sore hands up untill I started building that core strength up. My back was stupid stiff and all that weight on the hands was no good.

Just engaging the core muscles to help pull a little bit of weight off the bars will help heaps. You won’t be able to hold it all the time but after awhile you won’t notice it as much as it becomes a natural part of riding.




I still get sore hands now but it’s at the end of a solid days riding and I’m tanking hard.


And yes, taller bars do help :)
 
M

mas2

Likes Bikes and Dirt
John U said:
Dropper Post? Have you got one? Might fix your issues.

How fast are you going when approaching these obstacles? Giving it something through the pedals is also required to get the front up.

Got any pics of your set up?
Click to expand...
Yep got a dropper. I think the faster I go the more effort I put into it out of fear of death and I can move back over the seat. Slower feels a lot harder even when seat is low.
 
M

mas2

Likes Bikes and Dirt
At the moment I run 760mm wide bars with a 60mm stem. It was a 50mm stem but felt too twitchy for me. I was thinking of getting 800 wide bars to test with about a 35mm rise and then cut them to 780mm (felt like a comfortable width on my old bike) and possibly change back to the 50mm stem.

Core strength is a good question. It's not good and could definitely be improved. My back is always very stiff and I actually have lower right side rib pain from bad work posture. At the end of last year the physio said to stop riding for a while till it got better which it was for about 6 months but its returning now.
 
DMan

DMan

shawly the least hangeriest guy on rotorburn
mas2 said:
At the moment I run 760mm wide bars with a 60mm stem. It was a 50mm stem but felt too twitchy for me. I was thinking of getting 800 wide bars to test with about a 35mm rise and then cut them to 780mm (felt like a comfortable width on my old bike) and possibly change back to the 50mm stem.

Core strength is a good question. It's not good and could definitely be improved. My back is always very stiff and I actually have lower right side rib pain from bad work posture. At the end of last year the physio said to stop riding for a while till it got better which it was for about 6 months but its returning now.
Click to expand...
What's your current rise? I played with risers and tried 30mm risers. I didn't really notice any difference between them and my current 19mm rise bars. Width was the best change. I went from 712 to 760 and enjoyed that difference more. Playing with the bar roll had a bigger impact on comfort and control I felt. I was running my bars quite "back" and when I went to a "neutral" position I felt that changed the feel a lot more than the rise change did. Really changed the stability of the bike for jumps and lifts. Play with that too is my 2c
 
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