mtb handlebars

avalanche

having switched from a riser bar to a flat bar on my mtb to add more control {at a cost of 100euro} ive noticed my neck is really feeling the pressure. i do much prefer the control as i found the previous riser bars to be way to awkward for downhills and technical riding but i think im too low on the bike now at the front, with my comfortable riding position when im taking it easy being holding the bars with tops of my fingers which cant be good. Im in a racing position which is all good doing races which im not:)
i cant raise the stem as it is at its max height so it seems to be to do with either stem length or handlebar height.

what do you think/should i buy a shorter stem and try it or just go back to a riser bar? {can anyone recommend a good riser at 24.5? } do you think this would sort the problem?

only thing is i dont have loads of cash to be changing setups all the time but if i do buy a stem or handlebars i want to buy good ones, anyone any advice?
thanks:) { if getting a stem i would get a thomson }

Gavin

Try out some bar ends maybe, give you a variation in position?

blorg

Is your stem downwards or upwards? Could you flip it?

If it is already upwards you could get a stem with a steeper angle to bring the bars up.

To be honest I have FSA-OS150 stems on a lot of my bikes, cost a tenner, no problems. Rare you hear of stem failures.

avalanche

thanks gavin. i have some bar ends but to be honest they dont help that much, good for the hands but not for the neck, they seem a bit far away to be honest although the stem is only 110 and im 6ft 2.

stem is pointing upwards. the bike is a canyon 6.0 http://www.canyon.com/_en/mountainbikes/bike.html?b=1802

the stem i have is a syntace which is good so its a pity not to use it,,same would go for the bars which are carbon jobbies.

Morgan

I hope you've got a really nice flat-bar if it cost you €100 .

If I'm understanding this correctly, you got rid of the riser bar to lower your position on the bike. Now you're uncomfortable because you're too low. You could always put the riser bar back on.

I don't understand how the riser bar was having a bad impact on descents or technical riding - surely having a higher front-end would help on descents.

avalanche

its a nice handlerbar alright Truvativ Noir Carbon
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=31126
but not much good if its causing me problems. i used to moutainbike over ten years ago before riser bars existed and only got back into it in the last two years, the bike i bought came with a riser but i really didnt like the feel of it so i went back to what i was used to in the past, just felt better, like i said the riser felt kind of clumsy , to me seemed more suited to a granny than anything else but that was just my opinion.i felt the steering response was slower on descents,unfortunately i dont have the stock riserbar that came with the bike anymore..

avalanche

thinking of getting these
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Easton_EC70_Monkeylite_Riser_XC_Handlebar/5360017511/#more
would you recommend lo or hi rise?

nomadic

Maybe get a shorter stem. 110mm is fairly long for an mtb stem. It'll quicken up the steering response aswell.

Doc_Savage

cut the bars so they suit the width of your shoulders? 580 seems tres wide to me!

Greyspoke

I have a set of X-Lite XC-2 risers which I like so much that they've followed me from bike to bike. They're the narrow diameter, not oversize and I can't remember where I got them from but I'm sure they still available somewhere out there. They're not too wide and are relatively low rise - I just find them very comfortable. I think the problem with risers is that they come in such a variety of rise, sweep, width etc that they are a very personal choice, rather like saddles and only trial and error (or luck) leads you to the right one for you.

blorg

Doc_Savage wrote: »

cut the bars so they suit the width of your shoulders? 580 seems tres wide to me!

Pretty standard for MTB bars, they are substantially wider than road bars. You need the extra control off road.

Enduro

It sounds to me like risers were exactly what met your riding style requirements. I switched from flats to risers because I wanted a bike that was better set up for descending than pure flat speed. Look at the way the downhillers have their bikes set up. Not many flat bars in that world.

You can always try getting a very high angled and maybe longer) stem to raise the bar, literally. A longer stem will have an affect on steering though. But really, it does sound to me like risers is what you really need.

avalanche

Enduro wrote: »

It sounds to me like risers were exactly what met your riding style requirements. I switched from flats to risers because I wanted a bike that was better set up for descending than pure flat speed. Look at the way the downhillers have their bikes set up. Not many flat bars in that world.

You can always try getting a very high angled and maybe longer) stem to raise the bar, literally. A longer stem will have an affect on steering though. But really, it does sound to me like risers is what you really need.

ive managed to borrow a set of riser bars / lo rise and that does seem to have done the trick, i noticed that my neck didnt give me any trouble and to be honest i didnt notice much difference in terms of loss of handling so im going to go riser. pity i have to sell the flat bar now, in terms of riser bars, is there any point buying a fancy one or is the bog standard decent enough? surely they cant be all that different right?

Enduro

There are differences, but if I was you I'd get something mid-range and stick with it for a while. In terms of cost, as usual its a small reduction in weight that you're normally paying for in the more expensive bars.