Riser bars... Why all the hate?

Risers and bar-ends? It will never catch on.

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I dont think theres all that much anti-riser feelings here, flat narrow bars are quintessentially retro/British from the early 90's when XC racing dominated (think cx drop bars with the drops cut off!) I'm sure by '95-ish and downhill becoming bigger and separate that Riser bars were much more common, at least as an aftermarket option.
 
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It just wasn't really a thing u til the latter part of the 90s, which is a smaller part of the retro part of this site and tend to sit in the 98+ section.

I don't like risers just because they look daft and you look a noddy with them on. Leave it the the DH scene, which is not for me.
Why do that when a high rise stem does the job*

Many use them though and they find them comfy and good looking, but these tend to be on late 90s onward bikes.

Stick bar ends on, helps with the shopping bags and someplace to hang the helmet on.
And just to piss people off ;-)

*interestingly, this debate has started again with Gravel Bikes and the Riser bars they are fitting to them, just they are drop riser bars.
 
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The ladies doth protest too much... ;)

There's no hate here... queue the outpouring of some very strong feelings!

But I'm glad my post at least brought some opinions forward, which largely seem to follow what I assumed.

Because I had wondered recently whether the lack of them showing up on mid-90s builds was a form or function thing.

Of course, building something early 90s would look off with a pair, but my feelings have always been that on the right bike from the midpoint of the decade onwards they're more than fair game.

Because I'm not sure I agree with the latter part of the decade being when they really showed up - they were definitely appearing on "play" bikes, not just DH rigs, by 95/96.

Or am I imagining this? I was a teenager after all.

Oh, and why have risers when a high rise stem does the job? I guess because that logic works just as well in reverse...
 
Riser bars go on all of my retrobikes - and bar ends are on a couple of them too. Bitd my wrists and back suffered. Now they no longer do. I'll take that over aesthetics.
 
Lovely aesthetic.
 

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Quite. Not to my personal taste, but it's only convention that says that something has to look a certain way. The guy above is happy with how his bike looks and works. Who are we to challenge it?
 
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pw_pw_la":m1pt0vid said:
The ladies doth protest too much... ;)

There's no hate here... queue the outpouring of some very strong feelings!

There's a difference between hate and just don't see the point or not like them.

Back in the mid 90s you'll have been influenced by your circle of friends and magazines you might have seen.
Which may have been quite different to many others and and people coming from the early 90s.

Most catalogue spec bikes did not have risers until the DH spec late 90s trend caught on.
And yes I do think JMC repro bikes all look daft with the risers and BMX stem and would be better with a normal setup, but a friend of mine loves it and it make him really happy. (so happy I'm surprised the bikes not sprang babies ;-))
It doesn't mean I hate it, it's a great bike.

But then the bike wouldn't have stood out or be as iconic to some people as it is if it was traditional for the time.


But then just look at some 'normal' bikes here (even some of mine) and they look wrong, some look very wrong...
I'll mention no names...


And then you have the Vintage Illuminati builds, who think Cantis are wrong, let alone vbrakes.

Get building.
 
IMHO risers bars have no really place on bikes re-build before 94'. Until this date flat bars often with bar ends are the norm, so... 94'/95' has been the debut of more specific bikes with more short stem, powerful brakes and.... larger and riser bars. Between 1994, all my bikes who're do it all bikes have always been equipped with risers. For sure I'm living in mountains with a more all-mountain/DH use...
 
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