Have been running fairly wide low rise bars on my bike for a while now.

What diffs would I get by switching them to a pair of flat xcstyle bars? More stretched out? Twitchier steering?

Any thoughts?

probably both mate, although some wierdo’s like flat bars….

Depends on the bars… They tend to run narrower as well, though I think Salsa do a nice wide flat. Do you find the front end of the bike too tall?

no, not too tall at all. it’s great as is, really. just tinkering really, got some flat bars that are unused, to see if there are any benefits. have moved somewhere a lot hillier, and now do lots of climbing every ride.

will they help while climbing?

Oh my god, was just thinking the same thing and did a search which came up with this thread! Weird or what!

What frame forks are you thinking of going flat with?

I quite like bar ends and saw this photo of them and flat bars on the same frame as mine:

and I wouldn’t dream of putting bar ends on my risers, obviously 😉

frame is 4in travel flux. forks are talas 04 rlc, 85-115.

flats on a full sus – is that a no-no?

IMHO as long as the width/sweep are the same flat bars will simply lower the ride height at the front in the same way that swapping spacers from below the stem to above the stem would do. More weight at the front may help on climbing as it will stop the front end from lifting.

More stretched out?
Marginally as technically the handlebar is slightly further away from saddle as you lower the front

Twitchier steering?
Not in my experience from swapping from RaceFace AM low rise to a Salsa pro-moto bar

Salsa flat bars = babe magnet – fact!

Are Salsa flat bars allowed with barends?

Its not about performance its about looks apparantly.

Which catagory do you fit in?

1. I want my bike to perform well, and i need lower body position
2. Im such a tart, I ignore performance and ergonamics and demand risers because anything else is ghey!

2 for me definately, ergonamics all the way!

Just checked out the sweep on the pro moto and can’t see bar ends looking tidy on them.

What difference will it make ? :

YOU WILL LOOK LIKE A MASSIVE GHEYLORD

That is all.

😆

They might help you climb, but they won’t help you go down the other side.