the riser bar conundrum? the riser bar nasty! pics on P5

jonnyboy666

Moderator
Retrobike Rider
Gold Trader
Feedback
View
was riding my Fat Chance Buckshaver the other day . . . . back ache.

most of my retro stuff is set in quite a racey position typical of the time period of the bikes, which was fine but more recently i have found myself getting a bit achey on rides, weirdly it doesn't seem to happen on all my retro bikes, my 93 elite for example is ok because the stem has some rise on it (110 x 10 degree), the vit t2 seems fine as does the p7 (both 120 x 5 degree-ish), the strange thing is that most of these bikes position is within a 1/4 inch of eachother in various measurements having measured them last night.

the buckshaver has 120 x 0 degree, so it's a lower stem but it has a suspension fork on it unlike all the others which raises the front end hence getting the zero degree stem.

so last night i quickly put a slightly shorter stem 110x6 degree and a riser bar on the Fat, i'll spare you the pictures :oops: (until i have bar/stem that i am happy with) the bike does feel loads better position wise which is always gonna be the main thing to make me want to ride the bike, and a quick spin and it rides right, and i really like this build, it's retro enough but modern enough, steel, front suspension, 9 speed xt, v brakes etc, all round a lovely machine.

so, do you guys thinks it's ok? i'm not looking for approval as such more a "yeah i did that aswel" sort of response to make me feel the doing the riser bar nasty is aesthetically ok for this type of bike (and possible for the others down the line)

:? :|
 
Re: the riser bar conundrum? the riser bar nasty!

Just because its retro doesn't make it right.Even BITD we used to modify our bikes to suit ourselves and I can honestly say none of the bikes I bought from new survived as per catalogue for longer than it took me to get them home.As they aged and bits broke the latest must have would be substituted and so the bike evolved.So keep on trucking and make it right for you.

I am on my third build this year,each of the preceding two started with normal stems and ended with riser stems and mildly rising bars.I do have a back problem though.

Don't get me started on why we used to buy our frames one size too small either.
 
Re: the riser bar conundrum? the riser bar nasty!

Don't like riser handlebars on older rigs ,just as I think it spoils the look, but heck if it's more comfortable and gets you out riding then who cares, enjoy
 
Re: the riser bar conundrum? the riser bar nasty!

I've never really liked the look of riser bars, could you not get your hands in a similar position using a flat bar by raising the stem, either by moving the quill stem up out of the steerer tube, or putting more spacers under it, if it's an A-head stem?
 
Re: the riser bar conundrum? the riser bar nasty!

As much as anything it is the length of old style stems which pushes you forward and flattens you out.The modern trend is to use shorter stems:my Specialized Enduro 2004 has a 60mm stem.If you could get really short quill stems this in itself would pull you back and give a better riding position.
 
Re: the riser bar conundrum? the riser bar nasty!

If you enjoy riding the bike more as a result, roll with it. Too many people value the "retro" over the "bike" when it should be the other way around
 
Re: the riser bar conundrum? the riser bar nasty!

xerxes":34v40e3q said:
I've never really liked the look of riser bars, could you not get your hands in a similar position using a flat bar by raising the stem, either by moving the quill stem up out of the steerer tube, or putting more spacers under it, if it's an A-head stem?

IMHO a riser bar looks better than a high rise stem or stack of spacers.

But maybe that's because I'm fed up with looking at spacers while I ride.
 
Re: the riser bar conundrum? the riser bar nasty!

Our survey says...

Retro Risers!

DSC_1044_zps6a23ad0c.jpg


DSC_0995_zpsde74f8c8.jpg


My Zaskar performed best with a shorter stem (Azonic 'shorty') and World Force risers and that was back in '96.

My back aches just looking at some of my old set-ups.
 
Re: the riser bar conundrum? the riser bar nasty!

I spread the rise between the stem and the bars.I must have done at least 500 miles on this one during the school holidays trying to keep up with my son and no back pain.It ended up on 26"x1" tyres.
 

Attachments

  • yellow Cannondale.jpg
    yellow Cannondale.jpg
    169.6 KB · Views: 919
Re: the riser bar conundrum? the riser bar nasty!

It's your bike, do what suits you / what you want to / what feels best and ignore everyone else :D

That's what I would do anyway ... :LOL:

WD :D
 
Back
Top