Just wondering after plenty of fiddling with my bars & stem, what height difference do people have between their bars and seat. I know its different for all as we are all different shapes & sizes, but I was wondering if most have their seats higher that their bars, the same hight or have higher bars on bikes used for general riding (not XC arse up in the air race machines). I have had the bars a little lower in the past, but now they are at equal height to the seat.
Do people find there any great advantages\disadvantages to having the bar higher\lower than the seat?

I have them level on all my bikes.
I feel like I’m going to endo if the bars are lower.
From peoples pics I see on the internet I’m under the impression that most people have their seats 1 to 2 inches higher.

Strange question as it depends on so many variables, mainly your height, frame size, geometry etc etc! Lower front generally good for more weight on front though 🙂

I’m tall…

20-point-something-lb of fast fun by James Dymond, on Flickr

Lower front generally good for more weight on front though

Agree that there is many variables.
Weight on the front is good for high speed cornering however long periods of weight through your hands leads to all kinds of problems.
Personally I find that if my bars are lower I start to get numbness etc after a while.

bars a bit above seat – good for the bad back

equal height suits me

Seat a good couple of inches higher than the bars, but I’m 6’2″

level for generally cross countryness. but change to about and inch or 2 below if the descents warrant it.

Seat an inch or two above bars as I’m 6 1 – should have dropped seat today, didn’t and went over bars and ended up stuck in a tree. Have tried seat lower for general riding but find it really inefficient.

Completely dependent on the geometry of the frame, the size and proportions of the rider, the type of riding the bikes designed for, etc. etc.

Go for what you find comfortable, and gives you the best handling. Play around.

I’m pleased to see this question as it was something I have been wondering about. Currently my low rise bars have about 3 inches of spacers underneath. I have a dropper post and when set at max height for the uphill and level and smoothe sections the saddles higher (and more so if I drop the Talas forks to the lower setting for uphill) but when the seat is dropped I’m sat lower. My bike’s a tallboy so can be a racy XC bike but I tend to ride it with forks at 120 travel, wide bars and a bit shorter stem.

I have my saddle about 3 inches above my bars, a bit more than in this pic because i now have a lower stem and bars.