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Is there any benifit to having a higher rise in the bars and removing spacers?
I'm in the market for new bars and I've a couple of spacers under the stem. I could remove the spacers and get a higher rise bar and achieve the same hand position but is there any pros/cons to doing this?
I think the argument for riser bars is they're supposed to be stiffer as it's the same bar length as a flat bar but without the extra steerer. It also looks better.
Cool:
Not cool:
Haha..good visual comparison.
I already use 20mm rise bars with a couple of spacers under the stem and am happy with my riding position. I see a lot of riders using higher rise bars with the stem slammed. Other than looking sweet as **** is there any other benifit?
You might get a slightly different hand position depending on the sweep and how you roll the bars? I doubt there's any benefit beyond whatever you find most comfortable.
Spacers give you some scope to adjust the height... cheaper than changing bars. But I'd you know what height you want, then Id prefer the rise to be on the bars for aesthetic reasone
If you have a lot of rise, rolling the bar a small angle gives more forward/backward adjustment of your hands. Without stuffing up your wrist angle completely you can fine tune reach.
Corollary: If you choose a bar shape that requires a lot of roll to suit your wrists the bar roll will force a shortening or extension of reach that may not be what you want.
You can get your body lower when necessary because with riser bars, there's no long steerer sticking up (assuming it has been cut so your hands on the riser bar are at the same height as previously).
Spacers are much cheaper to mess around with....
For me,a combination of both is best most of the time.
This may not matter but if you ever the sell the forks separately a longer steerer may make them more saleable
So, if you’re getting geeky, using spacers under the stem will bring the bars back towards the saddle horizontally (ie shortening the horizontal distance from the saddle to the bars) as you rise the bars. Using higher rise bars, with a slammed stem, will raise the bar height but not affect the horizontal distance from the bars to the saddle (assuming that the bars are not rotated forward or backwards). This effect is more pronounced the slacker the head angle (although even then you’re unlikely to notice out on the trail).
As others have said in practice it’s cheaper, and faster, to use spacers assuming you have a long enough steerer.
If you're only talking 20mm or so I'd say it doesn't really matter, any more and it's going to start being significant in the aesthetics of the bike. I wouldn't go bonkers slamming the stem and cutting the steerer short, you might be dead happy with the setup now, but things change, frames break, you might hurt your back and need more comfort. No need to do yourself out of options unnecessarily!
On my little 26in SS, I need 3 or 4", and I've got it with a combination of some spacers, a gopping high-rise stem and bar with a little bit of rise. I'd love to ditch the gopping stem.
I'm looking or something 720ish wide, 20-25 degrees of backsweep, 3.5-4" of rise.
That doesn't cost $395 + import taxes
