# Tall Rider (6'4" + ) Bar / Stems ? Straight vs swept bars?



## somegeek (Jun 6, 2011)

I picked up a Specialized P.3 yesterday and I feel okay on it but seems like stretching out the cockpit a bit would feel better. I'm almost 6'6" so pondering replacing the 40mm stem with a 60mm stem. Also looking at bars with 2.5" to 3" of rise.

I noted the stock bars sweep back maybe 1" from the straight line? Are straight (no sweep) bars that much different from those with sweep? Seems that extra strech out in the bars would make me feel less like I'm on top/in front of the bars.

Thanks for any input/ suggestions.


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## *B* (Mar 17, 2007)

While riser bars are certainly cool looking and have a BMX feel, I would be careful getting too high of a rise with a strong back sweep. The more you keep you bar in line with your head angle, the more easier it will be to bunny hop and perform as intended. I have 3' bars with a back sweep on my STP and if mounted correctly, they feel like they'er on top of my legs. I'm 5'9 so if your 6'4.... I would def start with a BMX style stem, something beefy with some extra reach. As far as the bar, I would stay away from lots of back sweep, but I personally wouldn't run a strait bar on DJ bike. Unfortunately, it's all about personal preference on this one, but a good rule of thumb is to stay away from a bar that will distort your head angle too much. You don't want your bars to feel like they are reaching back to you so much that you don't feel like your shoulders are above your fork. Let us know what you get and how it works out.


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## cglasford (Sep 26, 2011)

these are the bars I would get... 80mm rise

RIVERA RIVERA

and they still rock a 31.8 clamp diameter.... I personally wouldn't go over 50mm with a stem on a DJ bike but do what make the bike feel best for you... it will start to change the handling

some other popular dj bars are

deity ::: Topsoil deity ::: Topsoil Handlebar - deity components

SPANK Bike's SPANK Bike's website/tools for superheroes

NS Bikes 2014 - Stay True! NS Bikes 2014 - Stay True!

the only bars with an 80mm rise that I know of with a 31.8 clamp diameter are those kores, other wise you have to go to a 25.4

I don't know about that personally i've seen those little bars break with the higher rises.... I personally like the higher rise but I know a lot of guys are going low rise or no rise these days....

As for avoiding the riser bar, you would need to make sure you have a huge stack hight for your height with a lot of spacers and your stem jacked up all the way. IMO taller bars make it easier to manual and do most things.... low rise bars or low rise front ends put you to far forward for DJ/park/street riding.. there is a reason BMX has gone to 8.5-11 inch bars now.... I would get at least a 50mm rise personally


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## somegeek (Jun 6, 2011)

*B* said:


> While riser bars are certainly cool looking and have a BMX feel, I would be careful getting too high of a rise with a strong back sweep. The more you keep you bar in line with your head angle, the more easier it will be to bunny hop and perform as intended. I have 3' bars with a back sweep on my STP and if mounted correctly, they feel like they'er on top of my legs. I'm 5'9 so if your 6'4.... I would def start with a BMX style stem, something beefy with some extra reach.


Currently have a stock 40mm stem in place. Some folks have recommended 60cm. Thoughts?



> As far as the bar, I would stay away from lots of back sweep, but I personally wouldn't run a strait bar on DJ bike. Unfortunately, it's all about personal preference on this one, but a good rule of thumb is to stay away from a bar that will distort your head angle too much. You don't want your bars to feel like they are reaching back to you so much that you don't feel like your shoulders are above your fork. Let us know what you get and how it works out.


What kind of line should I be looking at regarding my shoulder position and arm position relative to the fork? A parallel line?

Should I look to try a 60cm stem before swapping my stock bar for a 3" riser?

DJ is new territory for me so I appreciate the info. Not going after a look, just want to be comfortable when riding.  Thanks!


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## *B* (Mar 17, 2007)

I'm running a Thomson BMX 22.2, it's 50mm and I think that is ideal dj/park/street as well (60 and above would probably start to loose the intended geo of your bike and not work for the riding your looking to do). I'll also add, I like a 22.2 clamp area because I like cromo bars, for the flex. I ride a aluminum frame which is stiff and has no flex, so for me cromo bars make for a smoother ride and landing. The P3 comes in both "I believe" so find out what you've got. I would def change both stem and bar if you can, that way you can decide what all your specs will be and match them together.

As for the shoulder comment, I mean when your standing on your pedals you want to feel like your shoulders are on top of your bars going across the length of the bar. When your standing you don't want to feel like your shoulders are in front or behind the bar, that would make the front end less controllable, IMO but I think most will agree


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## cglasford (Sep 26, 2011)

Question B ... do you ride a full rigid? If not and you have suspension fork why do you need flex in your bars?


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## *B* (Mar 17, 2007)

Here are some pics of my set up for reference, 3' riser bar, 50mm stem, spacers to raise the stem... I wanted a smaller size frame to keep the BMX feel when I moved to 26 MTB. Adding a little room worked for me but I would watch the backsweep. You don't want to push your bars forward to feel comfortable at the expense of altering your head angle too much


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## cglasford (Sep 26, 2011)

I think get your bike and ride it... see what you think. That will give you a better feel for what you like and don't like about that set up.


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## *B* (Mar 17, 2007)

No I ride a front suspension / hard tail. It's what feels good to me, but I will tell you coming off a set of stairs to flat.. I want some flex. I generally keep my fork pretty stiff, I like it to take the edge off but not to absorb the landing. Even on dirtjumps I like the same set up, I'll dial my fork when riding but not much. Allot of people don't have that option while riding, lots of forks have minor adjustments that can be adjusted while off the bike and from my experience when you find the sweet spot on your fork.. most people don't mess with it


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## cglasford (Sep 26, 2011)

I'd agree. I run my fork as stiff as it goes and don't touch it for dirt park or street... your right it is all personal preference.... the thin bars just freak me out a bit... some of the most devastating crashes have come from broken bars....


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## *B* (Mar 17, 2007)

broken cromo?????


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## cglasford (Sep 26, 2011)

Well they were BMX handle bars, but I don't know what they were. They broke right at the bend after the grip when the kid landed to flat.
The MTB ones were NS, District bars I believe they wer these ones- (NS Bikes District Bars 2013 | Chain Reaction Cycles) 
and they broke at the bottom bend, I've actually seen 2 sets brake, both at Rays MTB park, I'm not sure what the send one was I believe they were NS as well. They guy pulled up into a manual on the pump track and just pulled half the bar off. 
I have how ever seen some bent bmx cromos for sure... bend between the grip and cross member....

I don't know.. fatter bar clamp and tapered bars just make feel more secure so that is what I run....


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## somegeek (Jun 6, 2011)

Gonna hit our local park later this week. Did ride a bit last night and my bike felt good as is. Guess I'll see how it feels at the park, if that extra reach or height would help. Such a different feel from my full suspension and road bike. Takes some getting used to to appreciate a DJ fit for riding dirt/street but damn it's fun. Feel like I can really throw this thing around with the hard tail vs my mushy full suspension... boing boing boing...


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## cglasford (Sep 26, 2011)

nice keep us posted! enjoy!


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## somegeek (Jun 6, 2011)

Got an evening in at our local indoor park and I'm okay with this setup for now it seems. The manager offered later on, to try fitting a 50mm stem to see how it feels which will be interesting. For now though it's good times!


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## cmc4130 (Jan 30, 2008)

It's pretty much all personal preference how you set up bars and stem (stem length, sweep, rise, etc.).

The tradition in BMX, at least is having a stem with 45mm to 55mm reach, with most being 50mm. Most people then tilt their bars in a straight line with the fork or slightly more forward than that. The old school way was 90 degrees, i.e. perpendicular to the ground, (sometimes even slightly more than 90.... bars tilted forward used to be called "Chicago bars") and this style actually seems to be coming back again.

BMX bars typically have some backsweep and sometimes upsweep as well. BMX'ers can get pretty picky about sweep, so if you scroll through like Handlebars | Empire BMX, a lot of them look the same, but there are actually small differences.

In the BMX world, bars with zero sweep are typically only used in flatland (where the rider wants the grip to feel the same with bars forwards or backawards).

I agree that having a long stem can distort the feel of a bike, but on the other hand, I have ridden a 70mm reach Race Face DH stem on a couple of bikes and it has been fine. Maybe not great for 360s, tailwhips etc., but for regular (mostly straight line jumping) and general riding, it worked (especially when the stem is raised up and the bars are tilted back, which kind of brings the grips back closer to a normal position). So, I'm not recommending 70mm, but if you have a frame that feels short, or you just want extra knee room, it's doable. I may try a 60-63mm myself.

55mm reach stem, 4" bmx bars on the Mob. (I agree it's taller than usual, but I still like it). 


















Transition Double with a 70mm Race Face stem (with angled-up rise):

















If you're going to run 22.2 chromoly bars, you could run a BMX stem that has some rise, like the Sunday Freeze stem, or the Fit Hi Top stem.









The Profile Mark Mulville stem comes in 63mm and has a little bit of rise (although not as much rise as others). Profile Racing E-Store


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