Ba ba ba barbara.. bars

[pokey]

Bars have always been  a point of personification. yeah they do have to fit the riders height and riding style but then we have different bends heights and pull back. im short and yet i like wide and low so i can get some weight on the front and slide a bit. not that good for quick forest work though.  Some guys like high bars as they say it offers more control.

whats your choice in a bar? brand Bend height or is it a secret?

[skypig]

I find I'm pretty insensitive to bar choice.
Higher is generally better for standing up. I run risers on my modern (ish) KTM trail bike.

Lower and pulled back seemed to be gaining a little popularity for MX a few years ago. Claimed by some to be "better" for cornering. Thinking about it now, most of the modern fast guys seem to run pretty standard looking set ups. (Not the obviously pulled back position that I used to see.)

Width is usually a function of the riders shoulder width, and a desire to "fit" between the trees if trail/enduro is the use. Many people trim a little. I'd assume bars are made for the larger riders as it's difficult to make them 15mm wider, but easy to do the reverse.

I run the stock bars on my modern bikes, and whatever quality alloy bar was on the shop shelf on my vintage bike. (pro taper "Chad Reed" or "Jeremy McGrath" maybe...)

[Nathan S]

I'm not fussy about most things on a bike, but  I am fussy as hell about handlebars. So here's my rant:

The straighter the better, as far as I'm concerned. Too much sweep makes my shoulders feel cramped and awkward.
Too narrow does the same. Anything under 800mm is uncomfortable for me. 780 is virtually unrideable.

Not much of a fan of high bars, especially on MX bikes. Being reasonably tall, high bars stop me moving forward on the bike.
Lots of older bikes need higher bend bars - the Renthal 764 bend is the best I've found. The Pastrana bend is high, but has way too much sweep.

And beware rotating the bars forward to try to make more room - if the bar ends are noticeably pointing upward, then you'll ride like a goon. It's difficult on most older bikes, but moving the bar mounts forward is MUCH better.
I have wondered about making up some bars for old bikes that can be angled forward to give a more forward riding position, but leave the bar ends level with the ground.

Aluminium bars take the "sting" out of hard landings and can take the edge off vibration. Fatbars do both of those things even better, but I think they look crap on old bikes. Steel bars are the work of satan...

Renthal and ProTaper are the strongest in my experience.
Tomaselli and Tag are nearly as good.
Reikons are as soft as butter - not noticeably better than the cheap garbage bars.

[djr]

I lost some faith in Renthal Aluminium bars when I saw a pair break when the rider was just pushing his bike in the pits.
they had cracked right next to one of the crossbar clamps, he was pushing the bike and fell over in a heap with the bike,
 he was not amused but glad it didn't happen while racing.
I now use steel bars in the hope that they would bend rather than crack , which I had assumed would happen with a good quality pair of Aluminium bars

[tymes]

Steel bars are the work of satan...

and thats the end of that.

[Nathan S]

I lost some faith in Renthal Aluminium bars when I saw a pair break when the rider was just pushing his bike in the pits.
they had cracked right next to one of the crossbar clamps, he was pushing the bike and fell over in a heap with the bike,
 he was not amused but glad it didn't happen while racing.
I now use steel bars in the hope that they would bend rather than crack , which I had assumed would happen with a good quality pair of Aluminium bars

Interesting. Any idea how old they were?

Obviously it would have been a fatigue failure - any sign of the crack being old or new?

[tony27]

Sharp edges on the bar clamps were possibly the cause of the breakage, I always chamfer them for that reason
Both my CZ & YZ465 are running Renthal Jimmy Button bend bars

[djr]

I lost some faith in Renthal Aluminium bars when I saw a pair break when the rider was just pushing his bike in the pits.
they had cracked right next to one of the crossbar clamps, he was pushing the bike and fell over in a heap with the bike,
 he was not amused but glad it didn't happen while racing.
I now use steel bars in the hope that they would bend rather than crack , which I had assumed would happen with a good quality pair of Aluminium bars

Interesting. Any idea how old they were?

Obviously it would have been a fatigue failure - any sign of the crack being old or new?


apparently they were not that old {couple of years} as rider still had receipt and was looking at getting a refund or replacement.
crack looked new as far as could tell,
{no sharp edge on clamp}

[Mick D]

One of my fiends has a way different bars and bars control approach then what he calls my old school ways 
So when I saw this thread, I considered all the coments and decided to try these varied ideas on my urban pushy. I spend a lot of time on the pegs moving my body weight all over the joint. Up n down gutters, through tight places, etc.etc. I love it.
This is the forth set of bars. All radically different in bend, height, stem length(forward or rearward) up and down. I tried it. The riding differences are staggering. I am amazed at how it profoundly changes everything about handling. I am looking forwad to trying similar variations on a dirt bike soon.
Shit pics. But this where I ended up




Might look strange but works heaps good and loving it.

[80-85 husky]

I am real happy with my bars being just a tad back from parallel with the fork angle. im a sit down rider and the husky gives that in spades. unfortunately, its not ideal for standing up. its fab for railing around tight berms and single line track.
I remember when alooominum bars came out, there were strict instructions to chamfer the bar clamps to prevent fatigue breaks at the pinch point

[Mick D]

Yes I spend most time on the seat, but I am hoping a on the pegs approach may help me improve toward the other blokes.

Thats interesting about the chamferring. I will be taking that on board.

[pokey]

Im old and damaged , just like most of us here but i still love my bikes.
 As we get older we start to consider comfort and how long we are going to be riding for. This happened to me when I bought my latest roadie and it came with damn Clip ons. i hate clip ons with a passion. Im way too old to be a regional rossi and lying on the tank with your neck bent out of shape so you can look thru the corner isnt my idea of comfort, plus all my body weight on my damaged wrists and elbows said an hour was all i could stand.. So with getting older we get smarter and i sorted my bars out big time.
An adaptor plate for the top clamp. a set of pull back risers and a set of pivoting risers . lengthened cables and wiring and Voila. close to a grands worth with all the peripherals but it works well and clears the fairing and i can ride all day in comfort .

[Mick D]

"And I can ride it all day in comfort" thats it Pokey,  weell done.

[pokey]

Just came back from a 2700 k trip to Wisemans ferry and back Mick. only highway stuff was from armidale to uralla. all the rest was back roads with Tight twisting corners and shredding the chicken strips on the Angel Gt and i never got sore. thats a grand well spent.

[skypig]

My wrists are starting to hurt. I'd be interested in the "air suspended top triple clamp"
Nieken SFS (smooth feeling system)

But not even available for my 2008 YZF from what I can make out. (Maybe I need a newer bike!)