What is the purpose?


What is the purpose of putting risers on a reversible stem? Why not just flip the stem and use flat bars? Also is there any real reason why some people chop their bars so small as to barely fit their hands? I am just curious, it seems to be the hype with the fixie crowd...

-Ali

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Permalink Reply by yellow jello on April 1, 2009 at 4:20am
i think bike snob nyc has addressed this before.

imho, while having narrow bars for some might be practical (like bike messengers apparently), but for most, i think its just aesthetics.

kinda like casual weekend riders riding fancy aerodynamically designed carbon road bikes even tho there is no real advantage for their type of riding.

nothing wrong with just wanting to be cool tho. i put effort into making sure my shirt and pants match everyday. some mornings when i'd gotten enough sleep i even make sure my socks match.
Permalink Reply by vxla on April 1, 2009 at 7:28am
It also comes down to "where do I keep my hands?" If you keep your hands mostly on the flats of drop bars, and want a weight savings, chop the rest off. I have drops because I like the aesthetic factor; I think I've actually been in my drops on my tarck bike 10-20 times in high wind.
Permalink Reply by Ali on April 1, 2009 at 7:33am
Weight savings? Are you planning on climbing the Alps on your fixie anytime soon?

-Ali

vxla said:
It also comes down to "where do I keep my hands?" If you keep your hands mostly on the flats of drop bars, and want a weight savings, chop the rest off. I have drops because I like the aesthetic factor; I think I've actually been in my drops on my tarck bike 10-20 times in high wind.
Permalink Reply by Kyle on April 1, 2009 at 8:24am
Saying that the narrower bars is for maneuvering in traffic is stupid. It's cause it looks cool. I have ridden with chopped bars, and ridden with 44cm drops, and I am able move between cars, at very high speeds, with equal efficiency. The increase in control for adequate sized bars compensates for their disadvantageous width. But really, whats the big deal in saying that it just looks cool? People do stuff all the time thats functionally stupid cause it looks cool. I don't really care what kind of bars you have, but when people starting making things up about being able to maneuver better with a lesser turning radius, it seems kinda goofy. just say it looks dope and nod your head and say you don't care when people rip on you.
Permalink Reply by millenial removing Bernie tattoo on April 1, 2009 at 8:43am
Every time I've squeezed btw between vehicles and made contact, the bodypart that made contact was my shoulder. Which narrow bars will do fuck-all for.

Anywho, the fixster fad has maybe a year of life left in it, tops, so don't worry to much about it.
Permalink Reply by millenial removing Bernie tattoo on April 1, 2009 at 8:49am
vxla said:
It also comes down to "where do I keep my hands?" If you keep your hands mostly on the flats of drop bars, and want a weight savings, chop the rest off.

That makes so much more sense than just raising your bars.
Permalink Reply by GabeW (not the other Gabe) on April 1, 2009 at 9:05am
I think that it's both style and function (for narrow squeezes). Even though your shoulders are wider than the bars, you have a sense (one of the 5 or 6 we come with) of where they are in space. Without looking you could tell if that object next to you was going to clip your shoulder. You don't necessarily have that sense with the piece of metal you're holding. You can't feel it's extremities, and is therefore easier to accidental hook around a car mirror or whatever.

I tried it, but I like my full drop bars with gutted brake hoods on my fixed. I didn't have a problem with handling - a lot of that comes from the hips anyway, I just like options for hand positions.
Permalink Reply by vxla on April 1, 2009 at 10:01am
envane x said:
That makes so much more sense than just raising your bars.
Try reading the whole thread.
Permalink Reply by Vondo on April 1, 2009 at 12:49pm
That post is pure gold! I had a guy talk to me about weight savings on a bike I was looking at. I said "I'm 25 lbs. overweight brotha, what's shelling out an extra $300 to save a pound of weight on a frame going to do for me?" I could stop drinking Pepsi and achieve the same result for free. Weight savings is a non-issue for most riders, I'd say.

Ali said:
Weight savings? Are you planning on climbing the Alps on your fixie anytime soon?

-Ali

vxla said:
It also comes down to "where do I keep my hands?" If you keep your hands mostly on the flats of drop bars, and want a weight savings, chop the rest off. I have drops because I like the aesthetic factor; I think I've actually been in my drops on my tarck bike 10-20 times in high wind.
Permalink Reply by vxla on April 1, 2009 at 7:55pm
Yeah, weight savings. I'm at about 17.25 pounds right now and if I were to chop my steel bars, I'd drop about a half of a pound. If you're lugging a bike up with a bag on your back, it makes the difference.

Just because you don't care about it doesn't mean others don't have a legitimate concern. In regards to the Alps, I've got 44 stairs....but I still keep the entire bar :-)
Permalink Reply by David Travis on April 2, 2009 at 2:03am
Those of us who ride in winter's snow need leverage, believe me. You need it for cyclocross as well.

vxla said:
Ali said:
Do you really think that is a valid excuse?

-Ali
It started with messengers who actually have reason to fit between tight places. Getting a drop caught on a car mirror is no fun. With hand-width bars, you basically can get through any space as wide as your shoulders. For someone who makes a living delivering packages, getting through every hole in traffic does matter.

I didn't realize people needed great leverage to turn their bikes. Personally, I just shift my weight and turn.
Permalink Reply by Lee Diamond on April 2, 2009 at 3:02am
If you have never checked out Jason Ward's bike blog, bike curious, it is awesome. He is a good friend of mine and he builds some nice bikes, writes very well, and we like to argue with eachother about fixed gears....(I ride one....he thinks it is crazy!).

Having said that, one area of agreement we have is the stupidity of these stupid little bars. I don't think they look cool. They look foolish and too often are accompanied by no clips/straps, no brakes, no helmet, etc. Here is a nice post from bike curious about the fixie debate, but in particular, looking at these silly chopped bars.

http://bikecurious.blogspot.com/2008/07/to-fix-or-not-to-fix-and-th...

I am actually happy to see some folks that use them just fess up and say they are for looks, not function. That is the truth. They were developed not for NYC messengers trying to fit inbetween traffic, but for track sprinting in what is known as the "Egg" position. World record track sprinters like Graeme Obree use the narrow bars to force themself into extremely aerodynamic positions. Such as this:


Does that look COOL to you? Or comfortable? This makes sense if you need the power that these contorted positions demand, but think about the idea behind it....

1 - sprinters don't have to manuever. The old saying is turn left, go fast, therefore leverage and turning are not an issue.
2 - sprinters are going over 50 mph (!!!) in these record attempts, BUT comfort and control are the last things on their mind....the leverage of their legs and the aerodynamic tuck are what's driving the use of these bars.
3 - more recent world record attemtps are moving away from egg and extreme tuck positions in favor of
higher, wider bars that allow sprinters to fill their lungs more. Even the flying scottsman's later attempts were with wider bullhorns and aero bars.


Anyway, I have to laugh whenever I see these silly bars, just as i do with painted-on tight jeans, huge thrift-store sunglasses, and just about every other fashion trend there is.

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