Do I need riser bars?

[JP-NZ]

How do you decide if its worthwhile? Currently 5'10 on a Med Rail 9.8XT with 452mm reach. Standard Bontrager bars are 27.5mm rise cut to 770mm width. Have 30mm spacers under the stem, stem is 35mm.

I have discomfort in my hands on longer rides (2 hours plus) and gets especially bad on downhill runs. I changed grips to Ergon GA3 (Large) these helped a lot with wrist pain but the hand issue remains. Back, arms, legs and all other areas are fine.

Will riser bars (thinking Renthal 40mm rise) decrease the pressure on my palms or should I be looking elsewhere? I am tempted to play around with bar roll a bit on the Bontrager bars..

 

[DNE87]

A 452mm reach at 5'10 seems very short.

 

[JP-NZ]

A 452mm reach at 5'10 seems very short.

Short for modern standards yes but longer reach only puts more weight on the hands.

I'd love to be around 465mm, may get a works components Reach adjust down the line. Interested in Bars first

 

[DNE87]

Sorry but that isn't the case

Short for modern standards yes but longer reach only puts more weight on the hands.

I'd love to be around 465mm, may get a works components Reach adjust down the line. Interested in Bars first

Sorry but that isn't correct at all, having a bike that fits correctly will give you a balanced position on the bike with equal weight front to rear, shorter bike will actually leave you with more weight on the hands just as a one that is too long would. Research bike fits, you can find all you need to know.

Longer stem, my guess at 5'10 is you'd want around a 470+ reach.

 

[JP-NZ]

Sorry but that isn't correct at all, having a bike that fits correctly will give you a balanced position on the bike with equal weight front to rear, shorter bike will actually leave you with more weight on the hands just as a one that is too long would. Research bike fits, you can find all you need to know.

Longer stem, my guess at 5'10 is you'd want around a 470+ reach.

Yes well Trek in their wisdom made the jump from Med to Large from 452/456 to 487/491.

 

[Sander23]

Those ergon ga3 are very good. But the thing is that you have to position them very well.
I had also issues with my handpain , even after getting the ergons. Played around with them and they are awesome now. Am completely hand pain free

 

[Jurassic]

Just a note of caution JP-NZ, I had a similar idea to you about using a higher rise bar to take weight off my hands and swapped the OEM 20mm bar for a cheap Nukeproof 38mm bar to try. My plan was to try it and if I liked it buy the 40mm rise Renthals that you mention. I found that although it did take weight off my hands, it also messed up the handling of my bike as well. Modern slack geometry bikes rely on you weighting the front end to prevent understeer and I found that my front wheel was constantly washing out on techy trails after swapping the bars. I've gone back to the 20mm rise OEM bars and the issue has resolved itself. I'm not saying don't try higher rise bars but maybe consider trying a cheap pair first before shelling out big bucks on the Renthals just in case you have the same problem I did. I'd send you my Nukeproof bars to try if you weren't so far away! Hope this helps.

 

[Jurassic]

PS, I've also swapped back from DMR Deathgrips to Ergon GE 1s (I've used them previously on other bikes and loved them) and gradually rolled my handlebars forwards and this has relieved most of the hand discomfort so I think you're on the right track with the GA 3s.

 

[Paulquattro]

Sorry but that isn't the case


Sorry but that isn't correct at all, having a bike that fits correctly will give you a balanced position on the bike with equal weight front to rear, shorter bike will actually leave you with more weight on the hands just as a one that is too long would. Research bike fits, you can find all you need to know.

Longer stem, my guess at 5'10 is you'd want around a 470+ reach.

Not looking for a battle here but a shorter reach sits you more upright taking weight off your hands everything else being equal,
Longer reach lays you forward in your torso weighting your hands its simple physics.

 

[Jurassic]

I think sometimes it can depend on the angle that your wrists are at. So a short reach with a relatively high saddle puts an acute bend on your wrists which leads to wrist and hand discomfort whereas a longer reach can allow your wrists to be straighter leading to less discomfort.

 

[Rick66]

I had the same problems, and a high rise bar gives a lot of possibilities to try out different positions.
I have a 50mm rise bar now and had a 20mm from beginning with 20mm spacers under.
So now i can run no spacers and 30 mm rise and a bit longer reach up to 50mm rise compare to standard or use what ever spacer and change of rise and reach.
Also small adjustment of rolling bar forward and after can go long way for hand pain.

 

[Chris ledger]

Have u tried moving the saddle forwards or back to try different positions

 

[Ou812]

I’d play around with bar roll before buying new bars. If the pressure is on the outside of your hands then roll the bars back, if it’s in the inside of your hand then roll the bars forward. There’s a fine line that’s a PITA to find sometimes.

I was having tons of pain in my wrists after long rides too, mine was a combo of bar roll, non-forgiving bars and the fork set-up being too stiff. I ended up buying the One-Up e-bike specific bars and I’m good to go now.

 

[Ou812]

View attachment 101122
Longer stem would help your weight distribution. Obviously beast carbon one might be out of your price range but longer stem would add weight to the front again.

Jesus! I thought Enve stems were expensive

 

[irie]

I have arthritic (osteo) hands which with 'too much' constant weight on them really hurt. So I have:

- longer stem.

- narrower bars (750cm).

- bars with more sweep (12 degrees (SQlab)).

- taken time to get the saddle sweet spot and rake.

It's a tricky balance between front end grip and comfort.

Edit: 5'10"/178cm, 80kg/176lb, '22 Alloy Trek Rail Large.

 

[Rubinstein]

HI, Im 5"11 on a size large Giant Trance.
I had issues with numbness in the hands on longer rides which took me a long time and a bit of tinkering to sort out. The result was a combination of going from Ali to carbon bars with a 10mm higher rise over stock. Bars cut to 750 and rolled back, seat moved forward to just over centre and 30mm of spacers under the stem, sorted. If I take out just 20mm in spacers from under the stem the numbness comes back, but the bike handles better, so I only do this if im doing bike parky stuff, which isn't often tbh, but just shows you how much difference small changes can affect you ride. I pays to fiddle about with your kit until its right for you, don't just settle for the "that'll do" approach, there's no reason to be uncomfortable

 

[thebarber]

Try nukeproof horizon bars
9deg back sweep without losing reach.

Nukeproof Horizon V2 Alloy Riser Bar (31.8mm) | Chain Reaction

Nukeproof Horizon V2 Alloy Riser Bar (31.8mm) - Lowest Prices and FREE shipping available from The World's largest online bike store - Chain Reaction Cycles

www.chainreactioncycles.com

 

[Jurassic]

View attachment 101122
Longer stem would help your weight distribution. Obviously beast carbon one might be out of your price range but longer stem would add weight to the front again.

Yeah, that was going to be the next thing that I tried but I've found that rolling the bars forward and swapping back to Ergon grips has helped with hand pain and as I mentioned refitting my standard bars has restored front end grip and stopped the understeer from happening.
I'm 182 cm tall and went for a size large Giant Reign (which is correct for me according to the size charts) but if I was buying again I'd go XL and fit a shorter stem. The bike feels way shorter than my 2020 Orbea Rallon (XL, 485mm reach but with a 32mm stem instead of standard 40mm, so 478 ish) despite the Giant being rated as 480mm reach.

 

[irie]

Longer stem would help your weight distribution. Obviously beast carbon one might be out of your price range but longer stem would add weight to the front again.

This ^^^

 

[Mikerb]

Getting a good cockpit fit is in my view very important in order to avoid discomfort but also enable better control of the bike. I know reach is often quoted but is not a very useful measurement in isolation. The distance between the top of the seat post and the centre of the stem is more useful.....and keep in mind that distance will change (in terms of saddle position) depending on whether the dropper is extended or slammed.
If you are standing on the pedals (which you should be on anything fast, techy or downhill) you can move your hips back or forward and lean your torso forwards and that translates into more or less pressure on the front or back wheel. Having permanent higher pressure on the bars is not ideal since unweighting the front wheel is needed on some sections of trail whilst extra pressure on the front wheel for others..like berms. Higher rise bars in that case merely allow you to weight the front wheel with less forward torso lean and have no impact on your a bility to move your weight distribution around as required.

The situation is very different if seated. I determine my cockpit fit for seated riding with the dropper about one third slammed because the only time I have the dropper fully extended is on road sections.........and I rarely ride any tarmac. With the seat fully extended I am happy to accept that it throws weight onto my hands given how little I ride like that.

So seat one third slammed, I am looking to have my weight balance about 75% on my ass and 25% on my hands....and only leaning forward slightly. I ride a Large and am 6ft tall but with long legs and a comparatively short torso, so I invariably end up with higher rise bars to achieve that. If seated and I meet any sort of trail feature that needs better weight distribution I immediately stand on the pedals.

So I would recommend you try your bike fit with the saddle at whaever height you use the most for seated riding and test just how much of your weight is being supported by your hands and how far forward your torso is leaning. If there is more than about 25% of you weight on the bars, then yes go for a higher rise bar. In my opinion the bar should be rotated with the highest point of rise perpendicular with the ground. If having gone to say 40mm rise you find it slightly to high you could remove a stem spacer and then roll the bars towards you a little.

I know every person and every bike is different but I have found that (for me) higher rise bars puts me in a far better head up position on steep descents and also helps avoiding front wheel loop out on steep climbs. A lot of pro downhillers adopt a very prone stance over the bars........well thats OK for a 3 minute drop but my rides are typically over 2 hours....so thats not for me!!

 

[Mikerb]

............one tuning aspect I forgot to include a bove ( but was suggested by a couple of folk earlier in the thread) is saddle position. I was amazed how much difference both saddle position on its rails and saddle angle can make. It is probably also influenced by the shape of the saddle and I use the EMTB specific Ergon saddle which has a raised back section.
Moving the saddle forward not only reduces reach to the bars a little but also impacts on both weight distribution and pedalling ( obviously when seated). A more forward saddle position puts the rider weight slightly more forward on the bike which may be a good or bad thing depending on the existing position of the overall bike+rider mass of your bike. Moving it back does the reverse of course. Moving the saddle forward may also bring your hips more over the BB and that affects crank rotation by your legs.
I think all of that is fairly obvious but I was more surprised by the impact of saddle angle. If you raise the front of the saddle you tend to sit further back, if you lower the nose you sit slightly further forward. Where I found this has the most impact is climbing. One of my bikes requires me to weight the front wheel to a void loop outs but then it was difficult to maintain rear wheel grip. Because of that I tended always to climb with the saddle slammed and adopting a crouched position not sat on the saddle. I found just by titling the saddle nose up a little I could climb a lot of ascents seated with the dropper about one third slammed. On your bike it may e the opposite but certaintly worth playing with the angle especially since it can be done when out on a ride with a multitool.

 

[Jim n AZ]

I've fractured my back a few times and my right thumb twice from bike crashes (among other bones). The last time I fractured my back (2 years ago) I wasn't able to ride. I put on both a riser stem and handlebar and went on a 10 mile ride with no pain in either... Here's what I bought:

• Corki Cycles Topo Mid Rise Mountain Bike Riser Handlebar 31.8mm Diameter 50mm Rise 720mm Width (Aluminum Alloy, Black) - Amazon $25.95
• Ergon – GP1 Ergonomic Lock-on Bicycle Handlebar Grips – large - Amazon $36.68
• Alomejor 31.8mm Bike Stem Alunimium Alloy - Amazon $16.74

The only issue I'm having is getting the grips at just the right angle.

 

[Jeffsy29]

Someone mentioned saddle rake, and I’ve found nose-up really helps keep weight off my bars. Flat seems like I’m sliding off the nose for whatever reason and I’m pushing back in the bars just to stay on saddle. Nose up a bit seems to take that pressure off the bars just enough

 

[MountainBoy]

View attachment 101122
Longer stem would help your weight distribution. Obviously beast carbon one might be out of your price range but longer stem would add weight to the front again.

That's not out of my price range but it is out of my sensibility range. I can afford $300 bottles of wine too. But I try to keep it under $50.

 

[bazxa]

I now ride with a 40 mm raised bars due to back injury. It has changed the ride characteristics causing the front to be more skittish and pop on steep climbs, however it's better to manage that than not ride. Can't afford any more injuries the last one stopped riding for 3 months and the previous almost 5 years. Hope it goes well.

 

[dobbyhasfriends]

A 452mm reach at 5'10 seems very short.

im 6'1 and have a large levo with 455..
its too long sitting down and too short standing up.
I think its unwise to generalise

 

[.zig]

How do you decide if its worthwhile? Currently 5'10 on a Med Rail 9.8XT with 452mm reach. Standard Bontrager bars are 27.5mm rise cut to 770mm width. Have 30mm spacers under the stem, stem is 35mm.

I have discomfort in my hands on longer rides (2 hours plus) and gets especially bad on downhill runs. I changed grips to Ergon GA3 (Large) these helped a lot with wrist pain but the hand issue remains. Back, arms, legs and all other areas are fine.

Will riser bars (thinking Renthal 40mm rise) decrease the pressure on my palms or should I be looking elsewhere? I am tempted to play around with bar roll a bit on the Bontrager bars..

I’m 510, and running 477 mill reach On the Turbo Levo S4 carbon Seems right for me, and I switched over to a one up carbon bar. Quite a bit more vertical compliance than the alloy bar I was running before. I also run SQ Lab 702 Comfort grips. Let them chuckle if they will. They don’t take any control away and they are super comfortable. (35 mil rise -770 mm neutral roll position)

 

[Mikerb]

Do whatever is required to get a good cockpit fit is the mantra!

However a persons height is not necessarilly a decent guide since body shapes differ. The proportion of that height that is a bove and below the hips can vary quite a bit and arm length and shoulder width also affect how far distant the bars feel from a seated position or standing; bar height, bar width, stem length, stem spacers and seat tube angle/saddle rail position can also all vary. Lots of variables to play with though to get an optimum fit.

 

[Chairman]

I went with 40 rise and loving it. You do need to push a bit harder into flat turns to get the bite but so much more control in the steeps. Comfort factor has improved also

 

[Downhillr]

How do you decide if its worthwhile? Currently 5'10 on a Med Rail 9.8XT with 452mm reach. Standard Bontrager bars are 27.5mm rise cut to 770mm width. Have 30mm spacers under the stem, stem is 35mm.

I have discomfort in my hands on longer rides (2 hours plus) and gets especially bad on downhill runs. I changed grips to Ergon GA3 (Large) these helped a lot with wrist pain but the hand issue remains. Back, arms, legs and all other areas are fine.

Will riser bars (thinking Renthal 40mm rise) decrease the pressure on my palms or should I be looking elsewhere? I am tempted to play around with bar roll a bit on the Bontrager bars..

Many riders are pleased with these bars: Carbon E-Bar
I find they help with hand/wrist ache, absorbing trail chatter vs previous carbon bars (Renthal, Easton, stock Santa Cruz) I’ve ridden.