[PepperJester]

I need a lower bar, my high rise Gravity Carbon bar is just not going to cut it on my new bike.

Other then potentially looking a bit goofy is there any reason not to get a flat bar?

 

[norbar]

Because there is something like a too low bar height? It all depends with what fork you run it, ha on the bike may also have something to do with it. I feel great with my element technic flat bars (trully flat not just zero rise bars with upsweep that some companies call flat) but I still use a 07 888rc2x and it's a bit higher than a boxxer/fox. I think you should be fine as you as you run a dc fork as they are all pretty tall but if you run something shorter I wouldn't feel so comfy about it.

 

[al-irl]

by having a lower bar height it brings your weight forward over the front wheel which gives you much more grip from your front wheel.

 

[big-ted]

trully flat not just zero rise bars with upsweep that some companies call flat.

Wait. What?








You realise you can rotate the bar in the stem, right?

 

[spocomptonrider]

Wait. What?








You realise you can rotate the bar in the stem, right?

 

[Bicyclist]

Wait. What?








You realise you can rotate the bar in the stem, right?

Exactly. Flat bars should just list "sweep" since they can be rotated to have upsweep if desired.

 

[FullMonty]

Exactly. Flat bars should just list "sweep" since they can be rotated to have upsweep if desired.

no wai! you gots to have the logos in the right position.

 

[norbar]

Wait. What?








You realise you can rotate the bar in the stem, right?

Yes I do but then I don't get the marketed backsweep(I still like my 9deg back) and it's kinda silly to market something as a flatbar and then suggest it's not one really.

Exactly. Flat bars should just list "sweep" since they can be rotated to have upsweep if desired.

Don't most of them list upsweep and backsweep? It's kinda all that you need.

 

[illflip]

flatbar issue has been covered :http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=226141

i still believe "technically" its not flat if it has a sweep...but who cares. its still lower than a low-rise bar.

 

[Biffff]

Go low rise Ryan......half to 3/4 inch..........either way you'll notice a huge difference combined with the new stem. Too low and the bike might feel funny on the the steep east coast gnar.

 

[Sandwich]

Go low rise Ryan......half to 3/4 inch..........either way you'll notice a huge difference combined with the new stem. Too low and the bike might feel funny on the the steep east coast gnar.

nah...I went from a brooklyn with the tallest stack height ever to a sunday with low rise bars...it feels great, even when it's steep.

It's all about being comfortable, which, unfortunately, is kind of a trial and error process. I have low rise bars, like 20mm, and they feel great. I've heard that flat bars don't dampen vibration as well as rise bars, but that might be BS. It might even be advantageous to reduce flex with wicked long bars.

I say get low risers, and go flat if you feel uncomfortable.

 

[DirtyMike]

Gotta agre with Sandwich, lower to me feels even better on the steep. I went from 2.5 in rise, to a 1 in rise and dropped some spacers...the steeps actually feel better like this.

 

[monkeyfcuker]

I've been running uber wide flat bars for a year now and won't be going back, they didn't make me any faster but I do feel more comfortable on the bike and seem to crash less! I've always run my cockpit as low as on my Sunday tho, no spacers and top cap removed from headset.

Don't be fooled tho, a year on them flat bars still look ****!

 

[joelsman]

the taller you are the more you need some rise, shorter riders, better with flat, tall riders need a little rise. I switched from 1.5 to .5in and that made a big difference. I would not go lower personally.

 

[Biffff]

nah...I went from a brooklyn with the tallest stack height ever to a sunday with low rise bars...it feels great, even when it's steep.

It's all about being comfortable, which, unfortunately, is kind of a trial and error process. I have low rise bars, like 20mm, and they feel great. I've heard that flat bars don't dampen vibration as well as rise bars, but that might be BS. It might even be advantageous to reduce flex with wicked long bars.

I say get low risers, and go flat if you feel uncomfortable.

We are on the same page.....I say low rise too, because he is allready going from a stem with a fair amount of rise to one with none, and a bar with 1.5 inch rise to one with a half inch of rise. Going to a flat bar might be too much too soon.
I have experimented with several different bar heights, and found when I went too low it a little scary on the steeps.

 

[yetihenry]

Surely the argument of not being truly flat is null and void. A flat bar is 0mm rise, yes you can make it rise slightly, but you can also make a 19mm bar larger than 19mm, a 40mm bar larger than 40mm, changing bar specs dependant on rotation is nothing new.

 

[PepperJester]

ended up ordering a gravity 777. Should do the trick.

 

[Banshee Rider]

ended up ordering a gravity 777. Should do the trick.

It's been a while since I used a riser bar on my downhill bike, going on three years now. I can't even make a comparison anymore, and I think its unfair to unless the two bars were ridden back to back on the same bike. (due to other obvious variables that affect handling when "swapping bikes" with different bars) For what its worth, I find that the 777 has a very comfortable sweep, much better than the Chromag fubar I ran in years past. If you're going to give the flat bar a fair shot, then the 777 is a great place to start. Its just a bar afterall, and like tires, buy em and try em.

 

[djjohnr]

ended up ordering a gravity 777. Should do the trick.

You may find yourself needing to play with stem length. When you lower your stem 30mm by dropping spacers you move your bar/stem forward as well. When you go from hi-rise 30mm bars to 0mm bars you drop down vertically but nothing moves forward. At 30mm there's a significant delta between those two horizontal measurements, you may/may not need to change stems to accommodate.