I swapped the stem and handlebars on my Cannondale F3000 to bring the cockpit closer and raise my hand position. The new bars have a 90mm rise, and honestly, the comfort improvement is massive. It fixed all the upper body issues I was having almost immediately.
The problem is that I’m now second guessing the look. Functionally, it feels way better, but visually I’m worried the bars make the bike look a little goofy or overly upright.
Curious what people think!
by johnthephotog
27 Comments
High rise bars look way cooler than a riser stem or lots of spacers imo
This is xbiking, we’re all dorky.
That being said, do you like it? If you like it, ride the piss out of it. I think it looks like it absolutely rips.
Both
However this is r/xbiking where we endorse being a lottle dorky
Comfort is king! I actually much prefer the risers, kinda gives a more casual vibe, which I dig on 26ers. If it was a 700c wheel I think I’d dig the no-rise bar more.
Functionality trumps all else.
Rise and sweep all day everyday for me.
>the comfort improvement is massive. It fixed all the upper body issues I was having almost immediately… Functionally, it feels way better, but visually I’m worried the bars make the bike look a little goofy or overly upright.
Do you own a bike to *ride* or to *look cool on*?
To be blunt, it sounds like a very silly thing to worry about.
I have VO Klunkers with 75mm rise slammed with 50mm of spacers above the stem. Dont make no sense but it’s cool as hell. 😉
the riser bars look good, but the short stem look is tough to pull off on old MTBs imo, if it feels good it feels good
Answer unfortunately: both are correct.
It’s funny how my GT build started all pretty and serious and has deteriorated (or elevated) to a new plane of existence as my comfort commuter.
Comfort is 👑
https://preview.redd.it/94thkgrbnv5h1.jpeg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ae36847b731ecc8487278aa9eaace0b25314d6df
For me – perfection
The risers are dorky but certainly functional and better than a positive rise stem of the same height.
I prefer something more BMX style, like surly sunrise, vo klunkers or generic pitbike bars etc that give you that rise while staying a bit less style challenged.
Cool af
These Cannondale fork look dorky anyway so you might aswell embrace it and be confortable.
Dorky and comfortable!
It looks super cool with the high rise!
Yes, i love the rise bars. gives off ‘cool-dad’ vibes.
I think it looks better with the riser bars.
I think they look good. You could look for a Club Roost cross bar to dial up the BMX look
I think the narrowness of the bars is the main contributor of the dork factor, what are those, like 600mm wide?
But yeah, comfort is paramount, and wider bars are tougher to get through the front door 🙂
My wife’s Rockhopper, for casual riding on the MUP.
https://preview.redd.it/42p0m5wf0w5h1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d770c9a1286afd56378394215f1c1737760d26e2
It’s a bit more leisurely looking, but as long as your seat isn’t lower than your bars you’re good.
very rare non blown headshok sighting
https://preview.redd.it/f0mfclrwdw5h1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0ea963cfea9e58ca987309b09b7eae0d0a56e650
There’s no such think as mistakes, only comfortable experiments.
As many other have said, it’s both. The bike looked stunning, and now looks… well, like everything else on r/xbiking. But on the other hand it’s completely understandable, I run old school long 0° stems and flat bars and it looks great, but it absolutely kills my back and I’m only 21, can’t imagine how bad it is for everyone else.
Used to use 180mm like a chopper just fine, ditched it for bullhorn cause I upgraded my leg. 90mm should look like a stock part