There is never a bad time to reference Afroman. You can read all about him, but suffice it to say the guy now is the most modern example of an American hero we have following his recent court exoneration in a defamation suit brought by Ohio cops. It’s difficult not to giggle listening to the title song or watching its equally hilarious video whether you’re a grasser or not. We all need a good chuckle and now more than ever.
In the way back even before “Because I Got High” dropped, my spirits (and my body position … duh, but we’ll get into it) became elevated upon putting riser bars on my bike and dog knows I’ve gotten plenty of chuckles aboard my bikes since that time. That transition is actually clunkier than some of places I like to ride. I should probably quit while I’m ahead before everything I write becomes a longform dad joke.
Rolling on, we are going to discuss riser bars and high riser bars in particular. I will provide some history, my history and how getting high(er) is pretty kewl. However in keeping with my rap-based preface, let’s take a trip back to one of the more unique rap albums of all time that sounds fresh as a daisy cutter even today.
Music Selection: MC 900 ft. Jesus: Welcome To My Dream I am no rap maven by any stretch of the imagination, but I’ve always found things I like in the genre for decades. Going all the way back to hearing Grandmaster Flash to Public Enemy, through Das Racist and Tyler the Creator, I have been drawn to artists that go to different places and have an impact. Maybe that impact is to make you think or make you laugh or in the case of MC 900 ft. Jesus it’s both. There were other acts mining jazz backdrops and non-sequitur lyrical styles in the early 1990s, but Welcome To My Dream combined cynical hilarity, thought provocation and deft musicianship to an unheard-of level. Imminently quotable lyrics and booty-shaking grooves, this album was omnipresent at friends’ apartments when it came out. Turn it up the next time you get out on the road, laugh and look around.
Thirty-five millimeters high and rising. Perhaps I’m a hater (H8tr in the modern parlance), but a divorce I was glad to see was that of mountain and road bikes. It took nearly several long decades, but today there is almost no confusing a mountain bike with a road bike. Despite my joy at the destruction of this relationship everyone from marketing gurus, race organizers, influencers and too many others to list hath wrought Gravel Biking. It’s a little mountain biking and a little road mixed together with either side of the scale weighted by which terrain said gravel bike is more attuned to. I am not much of a fan, finding that splitting difference shaves off the extreme ends (road/speed; mountain/technical) of either pursuit, which, for me, are the most entertaining parts. People have forever attempted to shoehorn road bits onto mountain bikes, and I have gone down this road/trail/gravel whatever as well. Despite how cool you might think that overused picture of John Tomac with drop bars on his mountain bike might be, you aren’t Johnny T and curly bars for technical riding suck. I’ve taken gravel and cyclocross bikes down gnarly single track and no thankuvermuch. Years ago, before anyone began calling it gravel riding or racing, I participated in a 75 mile “gravel” race. I was still deep in my CX fanaticism daze and naively thought said race would be fun. About the only thing in common with a cross race at this event were the svelte curly bar bikes and too many dudes wearing ill-fitting spandex. At the end it was telling that all three podium places were occupied by riders on 29er mountain bikes with flat or riser bars and front suspension. Thank you for indulging my old-man-yelling-at-cloud moment, but let’s move on.
I first came across riser bars on mountain bikes in the late 90s, but at the time narrow flat bars often adorned with bar ends were at their apex of popularity. The concept of having multiple hand positions was left over from road bikes. This may have made sense on drawn out ascents or traverses that were not technical, but like their curly bar brethren were a handful (pun-intended) when things got spicy. Wider and more upright bars open your chest for easier breathing and provide more leverage and stability. Performance benefits aside, they just looked cool af, too, harkening back to the motorcycle handlebars we’d scrounge for our beach cruisers in the way back. As with other things I got into early on, these became the standard.
My first mountain bike riser bar came from Club Roost. The moto vibe was baked right in the name with these and I never looked back. I dabbled over the years with a few different companies’ bars, but Raceface became my mainstay. I eventually settled on 800mm-width bars with between 20mm and 35mm of rise. I am well aware of the zillion and one recommendations on what size bar I should be riding, but the above was the right bowl of porridge for me. This has remained my go-to size for more than a dozen years and likely still would be, but I became high-rise curious.
I first came across bars exceeding the more common 35mm height probably seeing blurbs about Josh Bryceland or more recently Dakotah Norton. Upon bringing up my thoughts of moving to a higher rise bar, my tallest riding pal gave me a “hell yeah!” My other pal, who is almost my height, razzed me, saying, “that’s some old man shiz!”. Whatev’s bruh, Dako is at once younger, faster, and rides even taller bars than I was considering. I guess he’ll become an old man at some point, but I at least have him beat there.
Perhaps part of the reason I became higher rise curious was a recent snowboarding ding whereupon I banged up my ribs. This was naturally my last run of a great season, but it came with me not wanting to place any undo strain on my mid-flank. Outside of this temporarily* inconveniencing injury I have none of the common issues of mountain biking, so I was not seeking relief for hand, arm, or any other soreness. I had a credit with PNW and opted for a 50mm rise, alloy Range bar. Please don’t view this as any sort of long-term review as I only have a half dozen rides with them. However, I was floored with the profound differences the new higher bars provided. I was instantly more comfortable sitting more upright and found my breathing less tense. However, what really impressed me was how much easier it was to lift the front end of the bike, be it doing a wheelie, manual, or loading into a jump or drop. Night and day difference. Not only that, but now I could get up and over obstacles on sketchy climbs that usually stopped me. The higher bars unlocked a whole new level of fun. As mentioned, I acquired mine from a store credit, but even at an MSRP of $69 the value-to-ability ratio gives anyone an opportunity to get an immediately noticeable difference in their bike handling. Aim high!
*I am doing much better thanks to Advil Dual Action and a Theragun.