flat v low riser bars

tofu21

Hello,

This may be a daft question but I'm going to ask it anyway....

should there any riding feel difference between a flat bar and low riser if they both have the same affective grip hight?

I've got a two bikes with low riser bars and one with a flat bar all with the same back sweep. and the flat bar doesn't feel right. I'm tinkering with it to try and get it to feel the same as the low riser bars.

I'm trying to avoid buying a flatter-shorter stem and low riser bar.

Uchiga

There is a distinctive differance between a flat set of bars and a riser set of bars in terms of how they feel.

Flat bars feel to have a more direct power output through them and the stem when you are in effect rocking the bike. Risers dont tend to have such a direct feel to them due to the slight rise in the bars.

Flat bars also provide a slightly racier ride to them because your not in that upright feel when you have the risers.

Flats also dont tend to have such a large sweep back which may affect this feeling as well, though you mention the sweep back is the same...

DCR00

are the bars the same width ?

i recently changed my flat bars to a slightly wider flat pair, and they feel more like the old risers i had on the bike when i first got it

tofu21

Near enough.

9 backsweep 0 up 685mm Flat bar
9 backsweep 4 up 685mm Race face Atlas Riser

Only ridden this one 3 times so not got used to the bike yet.
8 backsweep 6 up 660mm Spesh Low Riser bar

konadawg

If you are mounting correctly, you will feel the upsweep of the riser. The upsweep has nowt to do with the height (well at least that is not the intention) it's just the angle that makes the bars more comfortable. You should be able to rotate the flats so some of the backsweep becomes upsweep as well but then of course you would be "losing" some backsweep.

Proper flats / straight bars are really not such a good idea when wide, imho 685 is ever so slightly on the wide side for a flat.

diy

Are they set at the same stem angle - i.e. the rotation in the clamp if you get my meaning.

I love flat bars, but found them a bit un-nerving on steep down hill. I have gone back to low riser and even though the low riser is only 2" wider it makes a big difference.

If they are the same sweep and height, I assume you have different stem lengths?

this will affect the trail/path of the steering.

DCR00

konadawg wrote:

If you are mounting correctly, you will feel the upsweep of the riser. The upsweep has nowt to do with the height (well at least that is not the intention) it's just the angle that makes the bars more comfortable. You should be able to rotate the flats so some of the backsweep becomes upsweep as well but then of course you would be "losing" some backsweep.

Proper flats / straight bars are really not such a good idea when wide, imho 685 is ever so slightly on the wide side for a flat.

see i was of the same opinion, but in a "must buy carbon bars" haze, i bought some 685mm flat bars without realising what i was doing

TBH im glad i did as they are much more comfortable than the alu bars i was using before, and the bike feels "right" now

supersonic

If your hands are in exactly the same place, flex issues apart, it ill feel exactly the same.

Andy!

supersonic wrote:

If your hands are in exactly the same place, flex issues apart, it ill feel exactly the same.

that is exactly what I was thinking.

Surely the only difference between say a high rise stem and flat bars and a no rise stem and riser bars is if there is a bit of difference in rotation on your wrist? In this case the backsweep is the same so the only difference might be if the tips of the bars point up slightly on the riser and the flats dont.

rtype909

When I purchased my bike i got a flat bar with a slight back-sweep. I have just swapped it out for an Easton EC90 SL low riser which has a similar back-sweep if rotate counter-clockwise and an up-sweep if rotate forwards. That way i get the best of both worlds as riding up-sweep is more comfortable over distances.

tofu21

I think I need to continue to play with the angle of danlge. :oops:

The flat bar is currently set so that it is all back sweep and no up sweep. I think I need to rotate them upwards to possibly match the low riser bar that I'm used to.

paul.skibum

surely if the two bars arent on the same bike with the same stem and the same angle they are going to feel different - if you have whipped on set off to replace with the flat then it will definitely feel different as it is going to be a completely different riding position (no low rise to get you more upright).

I have two very similar riser bars and they feel very different because of the bikes they are on.

I may be missing some factor of your question.

konadawg

Andy! wrote:

supersonic wrote:

If your hands are in exactly the same place, flex issues apart, it ill feel exactly the same.

that is exactly what I was thinking.

Surely the only difference between say a high rise stem and flat bars and a no rise stem and riser bars is if there is a bit of difference in rotation on your wrist? In this case the backsweep is the same so the only difference might be if the tips of the bars point up slightly on the riser and the flats dont.

World of difference matey... - that upsweep (just like the backsweep) is there for a reason, and that reason is comfort. The wider the bars, the more important it becomes.

Whenever I ride anyone's bike that happens to have handlebars without upsweep, I notice straight away, my wrists feel "drooped" as if I was riding a '50's racer.

supersonic

Different bikes make a difference of course. But on the same bike, if your hands are in the same position (in all three planes) then there is no difference.

konadawg

supersonic wrote:

Different bikes make a difference of course. But on the same bike, if your hands are in the same position (in all three planes) then there is no difference.

But it has nothing to do with position - but angle.

tofu21

konadawg wrote:

But it has nothing to do with position - but angle.

My wife says that

supersonic

konadawg wrote:

supersonic wrote:

Different bikes make a difference of course. But on the same bike, if your hands are in the same position (in all three planes) then there is no difference.

But it has nothing to do with position - but angle.

But if your hands are in the same position, they rotate around the same axis - nothing changes. If the angle is different, your hands are in a different place. It maybe different places on your bar give you different hand positions, but for exactly the same position on the same bike, they will handle the same.

Only the headset is turning, and the axis is the fork steerer. How your hands get to the position they are in is irrelevant. (unless parts are really heavy and you get some inertia factored in!)

Anonymous

If you have flat bars, and riser bars, and the grip height is the same, then SOMETHING else must be different. The fork length, or headtube length for example. And with that, more than likely comes a different head angle.
That will make a fair old bit of difference.

supersonic

Head angle yes, but if the difference is the stem, bars and spacers, no.

Anonymous

He says he has two bikes that feel differently, I'm thinking he may be missing the most obvious thing.

supersonic

Yep, sorry if I confused matters lol! I guess it was in response to the age old 'is a riser bar better', but of course does depend.

konadawg

This thread is getting very nerdy

:oops: :roll:

meet you all outside :?