Handlebar height?

[nzspokes]

Is there a rule as to what height your bars should be? Or a starting point? My bike came with risers and converters to 31.8 bars. So the bars do seem high. Im in the process of a fork swap so would be a good time to correct this.

[Crisis management]

It's really simple:
(all measurements in cm)

Your height x 3.456 plus:
Your inner leg length divided by 1.89 less:
Your arm length x 4.35 plus:
Your seat height at static sag divided by your seat height at race sag multiplied by
the seat to bar centreline height (at triple clamp) x 9.81.
Result is X

Dependant upon your flexibility, skinny bastards 0.156, fat bastards 1.97 (extrapolate between for your own body type)
multiply this factor by your weight in kgs
Result is Y.

Add X and Y together and that's your bar rise in mm.

Glad to be of assistance.

[FJRider]

Is there a rule as to what height your bars should be? Or a starting point? My bike came with risers and converters to 31.8 bars. So the bars do seem high. Im in the process of a fork swap so would be a good time to correct this.

There is NO set legal height above the ground ... or ... above the steering head. But they must be in reach of the rider ... :innocent

You are the one riding it .... and the bar height can make a great difference in rider comfort. The predominance of your type of riding could dictate which bar height would be best suited for YOU.

Upright riding positions (with wide bars) are good for low speed around town riding ... but low narrow bars which give a rider the leaning forward positioning which is good/better for higher open road riding ...

[nzspokes]

There is NO set legal height above the ground ... or ... above the steering head. But they must be in reach of the rider ... :innocent

You are the one riding it .... and the bar height can make a great difference in rider comfort. The predominance of your type of riding could dictate which bar height would be best suited for YOU.

Upright riding positions (with wide bars) are good for low speed around town riding ... but low narrow bars which give a rider the leaning forward positioning which is good/better for higher open road riding ...

I dont tend to ride my trail bike round town.

[bogan]

There a guidelines to figure out what is best for you, but no rules about it. Even the bend of the bars depends on you, not some rule of what works best for everyone.

It's really simple:
(all measurements in cm)

Your height x 3.456 plus:
Your inner leg length divided by 1.89 less:
Your arm length x 4.35 plus:
Your seat height at static sag divided by your seat height at race sag multiplied by
the seat to bar centreline height (at triple clamp) x 9.81.
Result is X

Dependant upon your flexibility, skinny bastards 0.156, fat bastards 1.97 (extrapolate between for your own body type)
multiply this factor by your weight in kgs
Result is Y.

Add X and Y together and that's your bar rise in mm.

Glad to be of assistance.

Awesome, though I do need to remake my risers now, and I will have to take the work truck down to Ulrich to get enough ali for that given rise.

[FJRider]

Off road bikes usually have wide and high bars ... if off road (low speeds) is where most of your riding is done. Better for steering leverage on the bars (read better control of the bike in the rough stuff) and rider comfort ...

A simple guide for bar height/position ... Sit on the bike ... close your eyes ... then reach for where you think the bars should be ... and then make it happen ..

This works on ALL types of motorcycles ... It's YOUR bike ... put them where it's BEST for you ..

[bogan]

A simple guide for bar height/position ... Sit on the bike ... close your eyes ... then reach for where you think the bars should be ... and then make it happen ..

This works on ALL types of motorcycles ... It's YOUR bike ... put them where it's BEST for you ..

Not if the bike is a proper off roader, their seats are for cornering, unless you are fat or a nana, or both.

[noobi]

How tall are you, nzspokes?

[nzspokes]

How tall are you, nzspokes?

172cm tall

So short.

[scott411]

bar position is a personal thing, i prefer to have them almost upright and I tend to run a taller bar bend, I am 178cm,

my old man is my height and runs his bars back further, the new style some kids are running is right back, (incl the guy leading the MX2 class at the NZ CHamps)

I always like to set my bars in a standing position, try a few different positions, and see what you like,

[noobi]

172cm tall

So short.

Risers probably aren't necessary at your height. Not many serious riders run risers, tall bars maybe, but not risers.
I'm similar height and run my bars at just back of in line with the forks, stock bend.

Also, fat bars are generally stronger and less bendy than standard diameter bars. So perhaps keeping the fat bars is a good idea, I'm not familiar with the mounting on the KDX triples, so not sure whether you could replace the mounts or whether adapters are needed.

... I am 178cm, ...

Really?

[scott411]

Risers probably aren't necessary at your height. Not many serious riders run risers, tall bars maybe, but not risers.
I'm similar height and run my bars at just back of in line with the forks, stock bend.

Also, fat bars are generally stronger and less bendy than standard diameter bars. So perhaps keeping the fat bars is a good idea, I'm not familiar with the mounting on the KDX triples, so not sure whether you could replace the mounts or whether adapters are needed.



Really?

yes, stand on a chair one day, you will figure out what it looks like up here

also, KDX have quite a low mounting handlebar compared to MX bikes, or even the later Euro enduros, i don't think the riser will raise it up too high,

[Jay GTI]

yes, stand on a chair one day, you will figure out what it looks like up here

also, KDX have quite a low mounting handlebar compared to MX bikes, or even the later Euro enduros, i don't think the riser will raise it up too high,

Erm I think the "really" was in question of your typed height, rather than actual height. Aren't you a tall bastard? I'm 178cm (5ft10 in old money) and I'm not tall. Most tall people need a chair to climb down to my height...

[scott411]

Erm I think the "really" was in question of your typed height, rather than actual height. Aren't you a tall bastard? I'm 178cm (5ft10 in old money) and I'm not tall. Most tall people need a chair to climb down to my height...

im a smidgeon under 6 foot, which i thought was 180cm?

edit,. well accroding to google 6 foot is 183cm,

[Crisis management]

Most of you lot are taller than me then, no wonder I keep falling off.
I run stock KTM bars as I prefer to keep my weight low, when you're working the bike on single track it's all about leverage and changing direction so my advice is set them as low as you can.

In reality, it's not about what works for others, it depends where you are at in your riding career (skills learning), most of us start off with higher bars and migrate to whatever suits your riding type & style best. Spend some money on risers and try them out, adjust the bars backwards & forwards and find what works for you now. You may find this changes in time but experiment now and see what influence height and forward / back settings make for you.
Use the sunday Mr Motorcycles ride to try stuff out, there's a 5km loop that would be perfect for this sort of experimentation.