Handle Bar Feedback... what are your thoughts
- Thread starter XP Summit
- Start date
I'm 6'6" and I need the extra height of the riser. I added a 4 " riser to my 13 Pro Seems I have to still slightly bend over while standing. I'm wondering if I more the pro taper bars forward a little if that will help. I have a long torso and long arms. 38" sleeve length. Plus I'm 65 and trying to riding like the younger people out there. I grew up riding sitting down or on rough trails with one knee on the seat.
6'4" here.
Couple things before i get to my set up. Pro riders Burandt (maybe 6 foot) Adams (well under 6 feet), rasmussen (well under 6 feet) have bar set ups for their respective height, arm length, etc. There is a reason they run shorter bars.
Riding shorter bars for alot of people results in hunched backs which can lead to various problems. Riding taller bars for alot of people can result in standing up too tall, elbows too high and can lead to various problems. Most of these the end result is fatigue, tired and worn out muscles that lead to mistakes and wrecked sleds. A lot of people have bars that are too wide for their shoulder width and the end result is fatigue, tired and worn out muscles that lead to mistakes and wrecked sleds.
To simply change bars because some pro says shorter gives you better leverage is pretty naive IMO. Shorter bars for people like me (taller), force me to hunch over and actually redistributes weight DOWNHILL to grab the bar. How is that helping me sidehill and get leverage? Too tall of bars and I have to extend too far into the hill to get the leverage i need to pull it over. How is that helping me sidehill and get leverage? Do you see what I am getting at?
There are so many options for bars, heights, and WIDTH (just as important) that you can easily customize the experience for you personally.
I ended up going to Dan Adams Fly bars, with a 2" riser (puts me about .75" above stock pro tapers). I also narrowed the bars about 1" from stock pro taper width. The end result for me was a comfortable fit that allowed good leverage while not having to reach down hill for bar, or being too far into the hill.
Couple things before i get to my set up. Pro riders Burandt (maybe 6 foot) Adams (well under 6 feet), rasmussen (well under 6 feet) have bar set ups for their respective height, arm length, etc. There is a reason they run shorter bars.
Riding shorter bars for alot of people results in hunched backs which can lead to various problems. Riding taller bars for alot of people can result in standing up too tall, elbows too high and can lead to various problems. Most of these the end result is fatigue, tired and worn out muscles that lead to mistakes and wrecked sleds. A lot of people have bars that are too wide for their shoulder width and the end result is fatigue, tired and worn out muscles that lead to mistakes and wrecked sleds.
To simply change bars because some pro says shorter gives you better leverage is pretty naive IMO. Shorter bars for people like me (taller), force me to hunch over and actually redistributes weight DOWNHILL to grab the bar. How is that helping me sidehill and get leverage? Too tall of bars and I have to extend too far into the hill to get the leverage i need to pull it over. How is that helping me sidehill and get leverage? Do you see what I am getting at?
There are so many options for bars, heights, and WIDTH (just as important) that you can easily customize the experience for you personally.
I ended up going to Dan Adams Fly bars, with a 2" riser (puts me about .75" above stock pro tapers). I also narrowed the bars about 1" from stock pro taper width. The end result for me was a comfortable fit that allowed good leverage while not having to reach down hill for bar, or being too far into the hill.
X
XP Summit
Well-known member
Since I have only ridden a Pro on a handful of occasions where is the general / or average foot location on the boards for the majority of riding? Are your feet up closer in wells, 8 inches back, 1 1/2 ft back, etc. For me it feels like, and this is just summer garage riding, about a ft back and the stock bars feel just right, but if my feet are up in the wells it wouldn't hurt being down an inch or two.
Great write up Phatty!
Great write up Phatty!
Oh how I miss the adjustable height handlebars on my M8. I wish there was more travel on the Rox adjustable riser, just 2 inches.
Rox 4-6 inch adjustable riser
Rox 4-6 inch adjustable riser
This... I am 6'5" and run stock pro tapers and half an old bar clamp under the stock one or about a 1" riser I guess you could say and love it. Tried a 2" and 3" riser, stock height and rode buddy's sled with burandt bars, s far I like the 1" riser best for me and how I ride. I also ride mx so too tal of a bar feels weird to me as I tend to ride with a similar posture as on an mx bike. Play with it, do not follow trends unless the trend is the what fits best for you trend.
S
sledneck_03
Well-known member
I am 6'1" and i ran a 6" on my standard iq rmk then put a 8" on and found i had wayyyy more leverage, Im going to try my 14 pro stock but guys i know even shorter than me run 2" risers. I have a 3" power madd in the garage i may chop saw to a 1" and 2" if the 3" is too tall and try it a couple different ways.
I dont find the 8" too tall, also found at weird angles going thru the trees if my sled was angled with the hill and i was on upper running board, with the 6 inch turned down hill, my weight would cause the sled to roll down hill and i had to stop and i would get stuck, with the 8 this never happened and could rotate the sled to carve and keep momentum. Never found a time the 8" was too high.
I dont find the 8" too tall, also found at weird angles going thru the trees if my sled was angled with the hill and i was on upper running board, with the 6 inch turned down hill, my weight would cause the sled to roll down hill and i had to stop and i would get stuck, with the 8 this never happened and could rotate the sled to carve and keep momentum. Never found a time the 8" was too high.
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Phatty....Well said... It is about how it fits YOU as a rider... not what someone else runs.
At 10" taller than me, my bars are about 5" shorter than yours...
A classic example of "Everybody is different"... Tall, Short... Short arms with long legs, Long arms with short legs, wide shoulders, narrow shoulders, etc etc...
Getting the handlebars dialed in for JUST you is like wearing a pair of shoes that fit... Makes everything better.
One of the best and most cost effective "mod" you can do to your sled that you will see real results from.
I think I remember the Polaris engineers telling us up at Daniels that the PRO was setup for a 6" tall rider.... I'm 6" under that, you're 4" over that... makes sense that the bars could use tailoring to fit.
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At 10" taller than me, my bars are about 5" shorter than yours...
A classic example of "Everybody is different"... Tall, Short... Short arms with long legs, Long arms with short legs, wide shoulders, narrow shoulders, etc etc...
Getting the handlebars dialed in for JUST you is like wearing a pair of shoes that fit... Makes everything better.
One of the best and most cost effective "mod" you can do to your sled that you will see real results from.
I think I remember the Polaris engineers telling us up at Daniels that the PRO was setup for a 6" tall rider.... I'm 6" under that, you're 4" over that... makes sense that the bars could use tailoring to fit.
.
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G
gman086
Well-known member
Certainly true about everyone's needs being different but I can say, without a question of a doubt, that shorter has been far better for controlling the sled while sidehilling technical terrain!!! I do think Polaris screwed up by going with Pro Taper bars instead of a riser block and stronger flat bars (they did that for weight savings) as the latter would allow easy height adjustment.
Polaris - if you're reading, PLEASE get rid of the lame Pro Tapers! Even if they are the right height for taller riders, the large amount of backsweep is NOT good for control in technical terrain!
Have FUN!
G MAN
PS - FWIW I use Fly Mini Bend bars cut down an inch each side with an Isovibe riser putting the total height at right where the RSI Burandt bars are - perfect height for my "average" Joe size of 5'9" but do wish they had less backsweep too. Burandt bars got that right at about 8 deg I believe. Ideally I'd like to find a short riser like the Fly's with 8 deg backsweep but haven't seen one yet.
Polaris - if you're reading, PLEASE get rid of the lame Pro Tapers! Even if they are the right height for taller riders, the large amount of backsweep is NOT good for control in technical terrain!
Have FUN!
G MAN
PS - FWIW I use Fly Mini Bend bars cut down an inch each side with an Isovibe riser putting the total height at right where the RSI Burandt bars are - perfect height for my "average" Joe size of 5'9" but do wish they had less backsweep too. Burandt bars got that right at about 8 deg I believe. Ideally I'd like to find a short riser like the Fly's with 8 deg backsweep but haven't seen one yet.
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