Currently got some EA70 monkeylite mid rise bars but tempted to change them for something wider. If I go low rise (sunline most probably) will it make my bike feel less confident downhill?

I ride a Meta 5.5.

a lot of the dhers are riding flats now, so that'd suggest no

no

if you change nothing else then your weight will be further forward (slightly) so it will affect how the bike feels to a certain extent.

you could always 'flip' the risers (turn them into lowers?) to get an idea how it'll feel 😉

Edit, or just flip your stem – seriously.

The trend for low rise/flat bars is because on long travel rigs the length of the forks would otherwise make the bars too high.

This is obviously more of a problem on a bike with a 200mm travel fork than one with a 100mm, or even 150mm, travel fork. I would think that on a Meta 5.5 it would be a matter of taste/personal preference?

I'd do what wwaswas suggests, i.e. flip the stems to see what difference it makes.

i've got flat bars on my Dh bike.

dare i suggest that there may be an 'optimum' height for handlebars? – years ago when we all rode rigid or very short forks, we needed riser bars to get up to the optimum height.

now we all have longer forks, we're moving back to low-rise bars to get down to the optimum height.

s'just a suggestion…

A good point, well made!