Everyone’s getting high these days! I like to think our B Practice co-host, Stack Attack Dak, has played a part in the popularity of riser bars in recent years. PNW is the latest brand to join the movement, adding a 75mm rise alloy bar to its Range lineup. It maintains the same 10° backsweep and 5° upsweep as their other bars, which I believe makes it the tallest rise bar with the most backsweep.
Highlights
- 75mm rise
- 2014 alloy
- 800mm width
- 10° backsweep // 5° upsweep
- 35mm clamp
- MSRP (USD): $69
PNW’s reasoning for raising the bar:
1. Steep Terrain Control
If the trail tips toward the oh s*** type of grade, a higher rise can keep your weight back where it belongs, giving you a bit more front-wheel bite, more confidence, and more "I meant to do that" moments on the techy bits.
2. Wrist & Back Savers
Along with our tried and true Range Handlebar sweep numbers, this high rise version provides even more ergo benefits by easing the load on wrists, elbows, and shoulders.
3. Dial It In
If you've been stacking spacers to sit up taller, there's a cleaner way. A high rise bar lifts you upright and leaves the frame's intended reach right where the designer of the bike intend.
Q. Will higher rise bars pair well with modern MTB geos?
As reach numbers have gotten longer and head angles slacker on modern enduro/trail bikes, riders often find their front end feeling low and stretched out. A higher rise bar compensates by raising the grips back up, restoring a more balanced cockpit without changing the frame's reach/stack numbers.
Q. I hate arm pump, will these help?
Higher rise bars change the angle of your forearms relative to the grips, which for many riders reduces strain on long descents and can delay arm pump.
Q. We are seeing a lot of high rise bars on DH bikes...
For steep DH riding, longer-travel forks sit lower in their travel under braking and through chunky terrain; a higher rise bar helps maintain a consistent, controlled position as the front end dynamically changes height throughout a run. This makes for a more controlled, faster and ultimately safer body position.
Q. And we're seeing a lot of high rise bars on e-bikes...
For e-bikes, in addition to the reasons why DH riders are running higher rise bars, a lot of riders are also wanting a more comfy position in the saddle which can relieve lower back discomfort. The added weight of an e-bike also changes how the bike handles at speed, and many riders find a slightly more upright position gives better leverage for muscling the heavier bike through tight terrain or around corners, not just comfort, but control.
More information can be found at pnwcomponents.com
What are the negatives to going to a higher rise bar? What will you give up when you go to a more stood up position?
I think they look goofy and would rather split the rise between steerer tube spacers and bar height but that's just me.
@Jason_Schroeder any intel on the max clamping width? These look to have a wide one and hence could be the only option compatible with super wide stems like the Chromag BZA and the Title DM1 (85mm).
@marsch the Range High Rise Handlebar has a 70mm stem clamp width.
I think it's very rider specific, but I started to notice a loss of traction on steep descents and in flat corners. I'm sure there are other ways to compensate for that through bike setup, but I ended up going back to a more conventional setup. (50mm riser with 10mm spacers) That said, I'm riding an S3 Stumpjumper 15. If I were on an S5, I might have a different opinion.
Whatever get you to your RAD
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I'd like to see even higher bars available. I'm currently running 90mm but just bought some 120mm to test.
These are the best "budget" rise bars on the market imo. I started with the 38mm rise and just went to the 50mm -- loving the 50, though I did settle on a slightly different roll vs. the 38.
The 10 degree backsweep works wonderfully for me, the only negative is that the graphics are absurdly cheap. No amount of care will prevent them from scratching badly just from tightening clamps. It's a shame because they look really clean new, but by the time they're on your bike they're scratched.
As a fellow high bar user, could you share the brands your running? I’m on Deity 80mm but haven’t found higher ones that can handle DH.
Not too concerned about the appearance.
IIRC Dak has said something about it being harder to get weight on the front end in corners
Ergotec now do a 100mm which I've ordered
https://www.ergotec.de/en/products/lenker/sub/mountain-bike-lenker/prod…
Thanks! All roads lead to a new, narrower stem it seems.
Love to see it. High rise is the way. Need more options. Curious to try these because of the back sweep but don’t want to lose 5mm compared to my deity 80mm risers as I already wish I could go higher. I think 100 would be the ticket for me.
Ergotec risers go to 100mm but are only 780mm wide
Raising your bars can make your front tire feel less grippy and more vague, but it can also the opposite effect and make your front tire feel more grippy and less vague. We had an example of that opposite and unexpected results in one of the Vital forum threads last week. The effect is always going to depend on the rider, trails, and their current handlebar height.
But yes, when people experiment with bar height and they eventually discover their own personal "too high" height, the feedback I've observed pretty consistently and experienced myself is that the front tire feels less grippy and more vague. Having your bars too high will also tend to make climbing slower and more difficult, for a variety of reasons.
In contrast, having bars "too low" will tend to create pain in the arms, shoulders, back, and neck, along with being terrifying on descents, feeling like you're going to go over the bars, feeling disconnected from the back tire, fork feeling rough, hands hurting, and many other symptoms. In some cases, having your bars too low can make your front tire feel less grippy and more vague because your body will either overcompensate by leaning back a lot, which unweights the front tire, or if you don't overcompensate and your front tire is too weighted, your front tire will be more likely to bounce and deflect on bumps instead of smoothly tracking the ground.
Regarding the poll, I'm on a 35 mm rise bar but with a headset extender because I don't have a 55 or even a 75 mm bar (and my fork is not cut yet as well...).
High cockpit for life!
I'm currently running this one:
https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B0DPFXGYFS?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1
It's pretty thick and heavy so I'm not worried it'll snap. Been using it for over a month both trail riding and at the bikepark.
90mm rise 9x5º
Tomorrow I'll receive this one:
https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B0FR14VWPH?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1
120mm rise 10x5º
I've got 474mm chainstays so my 90mm riser doesn't feel too high. Maybe 120mm will be too much...
Curious to hear your experience on the sky high bars!
55s on both hardtails, 60 on the Ripmo (XM size), 75 on the dj running a lone 5mm spacer under each stem. Unsure I'd want to go higher than what's already on the trail bikes, but I definitely am not going to run anything less than 50mm. Plusses: anytime you want the front up, it's a way easy weight shift. Bunnyhops got higher and easier, similar to riding a 20", popping into direction switches are a breeze. Steeps and especially chundery ones are way easier to manage at a clip. Better field of view. Better mechanical advantage on tech climbs. Minuses: Weighting the front is different. Not crazy, but noticeable. Really comes to play on spots that have steep straight line climbs. Cornering requires more body English to get the front wheel to commit, a heavier lean over the front and a more refined weighting on the bars.
A lot of clamor for higher stack on frames seems to miss a key point on the geometry, that doing so means pushing the front axle even further forward of the meeting point between stack and reach, which will exacerbate wheel flop on slack bikes. Increasing the stack by bar height doesn't affect that value in a meaningful way.
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