Why do pro's run their bars so low?

FanMan
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FanMan 2/15/2013 1:50pm
2/15/2013 1:50pm
Peter and Tony Wanket, CMC riders from the 70s.
smeg
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smeg 2/15/2013 3:52pm
2/15/2013 3:52pm
get a friend...... have them hold the bike upright.... get next to bike, get on floor, close your eyes. Do 10-20 push-ups... Keep eyes closed, sit on bike and with your hands starting at your sides reach up and forward towards bars without opening your eyes. Where your hands naturally reach is where to set bars. After finding that spot you can adjust the bars back and down but never go forward and up.............................. Your grips should never be above horizontal.

As far as pros..... lower = easier to weight front end in turns.
jhansen510
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jhansen510 2/15/2013 7:30pm
2/15/2013 7:30pm
smeg wrote:
get a friend...... have them hold the bike upright.... get next to bike, get on floor, close your eyes. Do 10-20 push-ups... Keep eyes closed, sit...
get a friend...... have them hold the bike upright.... get next to bike, get on floor, close your eyes. Do 10-20 push-ups... Keep eyes closed, sit on bike and with your hands starting at your sides reach up and forward towards bars without opening your eyes. Where your hands naturally reach is where to set bars. After finding that spot you can adjust the bars back and down but never go forward and up.............................. Your grips should never be above horizontal.

As far as pros..... lower = easier to weight front end in turns.
That's the dumbest shit I've ever heard. Sit on your bike where you would be seated when railing a corner. Put elbows up like when cornering. Close eyes and lower hands but keep elbows up. This is where bars should be.
NathanKershaw
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NathanKershaw 2/15/2013 7:42pm
2/15/2013 7:42pm
Corner speed. Plain and simple.

Roll your bars back or get lower ones, you'll corner quicker.

At 6' 2" that was always the balance for me.

Tall bars great on straights no cornering.

Low bars, 20 minutes, searing back pain and amazing corner speed.

Nowadays it's all about corner speed.

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zehn
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zehn 2/15/2013 8:19pm
2/15/2013 8:19pm Edited Date/Time 2/15/2013 8:20pm
It's for scrubbing. Low bars let you scrub harder, and also make you go faster through the air because of aerodynamics.
petie11o5
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petie11o5 2/15/2013 8:29pm
2/15/2013 8:29pm Edited Date/Time 2/18/2013 9:09am
NO LIE...

I'm 5'11" and I use to run my bars forward and higher (almost like a BMX bike, but not quite that bad) and wondered why I didn't have good feeling on my front end in turns. I ended up moving my bars back (not too far back but a decent amount) to the point where it was almost uncomfortable and I felt 100 times better on the bike in turns/corners.

I HIGHLY recommend to move your bars back at least ONCE and put in a few laps. I can almost guarantee that the front end will feel a little better for cornering especially if your bars were forward and high.
RCN4HIM
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RCN4HIM 2/15/2013 8:44pm
2/15/2013 8:44pm
That's it... My son and I will be tryin it now!
jhansen510
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jhansen510 2/15/2013 8:50pm
2/15/2013 8:50pm
NathanKershaw wrote:
Corner speed. Plain and simple. Roll your bars back or get lower ones, you'll corner quicker. At 6' 2" that was always the balance for me...
Corner speed. Plain and simple.

Roll your bars back or get lower ones, you'll corner quicker.

At 6' 2" that was always the balance for me.

Tall bars great on straights no cornering.

Low bars, 20 minutes, searing back pain and amazing corner speed.

Nowadays it's all about corner speed.
Being in better shape will allow you to run the attack position longer without the back pain...
CamP
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CamP 2/15/2013 8:55pm
2/15/2013 8:55pm
If you are tall and run low bars, you'll get arm pump more easily.
1
tomsti
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tomsti 2/15/2013 8:57pm
2/15/2013 8:57pm
How many degrees from neutral are we talking moving the bars back? Currently we run at the same angle as the forks. = neutral position.
jhansen510
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jhansen510 2/15/2013 9:15pm
2/15/2013 9:15pm
CamP wrote:
If you are tall and run low bars, you'll get arm pump more easily.
I totally disagree, but again it's all rider preference. How many bikes at the top level do you see with crazy tall, rolled fwd bars? Not many. Makes cornering to difficult!
Steven_Perry 2/15/2013 9:19pm
2/15/2013 9:19pm
I am not a pro so how do I know?
CamP
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CamP 2/15/2013 9:35pm
2/15/2013 9:35pm
CamP wrote:
If you are tall and run low bars, you'll get arm pump more easily.
jhansen510 wrote:
I totally disagree, but again it's all rider preference. How many bikes at the top level do you see with crazy tall, rolled fwd bars? Not...
I totally disagree, but again it's all rider preference. How many bikes at the top level do you see with crazy tall, rolled fwd bars? Not many. Makes cornering to difficult!
Don't listen to me. I'm clueless.
rmpilot
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rmpilot 2/15/2013 10:39pm
2/15/2013 10:39pm
rmpilot wrote:
this is just what would make sense to me, wouldnt low bars be better for a taller person with longer arms and higher for shorter arms?
mynewcr250 wrote:
not necessarily IMO because not all tall people have long arms. your height of course will never come from your arms, but rather your legs and...
not necessarily IMO because not all tall people have long arms. your height of course will never come from your arms, but rather your legs and torso. for some people such as myself, it causes one to have to hunch over even when trying to stay in the attack position.
very good point, it just goes to show there is no good answer for a lot of things
smeg
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smeg 2/16/2013 6:16am
2/16/2013 6:16am
smeg wrote:
get a friend...... have them hold the bike upright.... get next to bike, get on floor, close your eyes. Do 10-20 push-ups... Keep eyes closed, sit...
get a friend...... have them hold the bike upright.... get next to bike, get on floor, close your eyes. Do 10-20 push-ups... Keep eyes closed, sit on bike and with your hands starting at your sides reach up and forward towards bars without opening your eyes. Where your hands naturally reach is where to set bars. After finding that spot you can adjust the bars back and down but never go forward and up.............................. Your grips should never be above horizontal.

As far as pros..... lower = easier to weight front end in turns.
jhansen510 wrote:
That's the dumbest shit I've ever heard. Sit on your bike where you would be seated when railing a corner. Put elbows up like when cornering...
That's the dumbest shit I've ever heard. Sit on your bike where you would be seated when railing a corner. Put elbows up like when cornering. Close eyes and lower hands but keep elbows up. This is where bars should be.
Gary Bailey taught me that back in '82...... Think I will take his advice over yours. Been working pretty good for me over the last thirty years. When I see him again I will let him know he teaches "the dumbest shit" though.
jhansen510
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jhansen510 2/16/2013 11:01am
2/16/2013 11:01am
Garu Bailey also smacks kids with sticks in corners and is a cho mo so go ahead and take his advice. My bad Camp. Not trying to insult yo ur intelligence. Most of what you say I agree with. On this subject I beg to differ. I tried the RC hi per your advice in another thread. I couldnt ride with them as I felt the bars were way too tall n forward. Went to the 996 and absolutely love them. Like I mentioned it comes down to what works for tge individual!
smeg
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smeg 2/16/2013 12:23pm
2/16/2013 12:23pm
jhansen510 wrote:
Garu Bailey also smacks kids with sticks in corners and is a cho mo so go ahead and take his advice. My bad Camp. Not trying...
Garu Bailey also smacks kids with sticks in corners and is a cho mo so go ahead and take his advice. My bad Camp. Not trying to insult yo ur intelligence. Most of what you say I agree with. On this subject I beg to differ. I tried the RC hi per your advice in another thread. I couldnt ride with them as I felt the bars were way too tall n forward. Went to the 996 and absolutely love them. Like I mentioned it comes down to what works for tge individual!
I have no idea what you are talking about. I think you have me confused with someone else. I have never suggested using any certain bar to anyone in any thread.
jhansen510
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jhansen510 2/18/2013 7:14am
2/18/2013 7:14am
Was talking to camp. My bad Smeg. I referenced two different people in one post. I was under the impression Bailey was still preaching the attack position, which you cant really be in with the bars way forward!

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Maverick313 2/19/2013 1:12am
2/19/2013 1:12am
Does someone have a picture of low bars, pulled back? If I pull my bars back, the bar ends start pointing down. I've always ran YZ bend with the bar ends level. Here is a picture of my current setup.

jake_ktm100 2/19/2013 1:23am
2/19/2013 1:23am
CamP wrote:
If you are tall and run low bars, you'll get arm pump more easily.
im tall and run mine low and i dont find that i get arm pump . its all just preference i guess. i also found running my levers high stops arm pump. but i know alot of people struggle getting used to high levers.
Fearo
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Fearo 2/19/2013 5:23am
2/19/2013 5:23am Edited Date/Time 2/19/2013 5:27am
I'm 6'1 and run the RC High (922) bars. I used to have low bars. Didn't help with cornering AT ALL, I just felt like a gorilla humping a football. I do believe you can go too high though.

What I'm more interested in is this: Why do some pro's run bar risers with low bend bars? Look at this pic of K-Dub's bike.

CamP
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CamP 2/19/2013 7:59am
2/19/2013 7:59am
CamP wrote:
If you are tall and run low bars, you'll get arm pump more easily.
jake_ktm100 wrote:
im tall and run mine low and i dont find that i get arm pump . its all just preference i guess. i also found running...
im tall and run mine low and i dont find that i get arm pump . its all just preference i guess. i also found running my levers high stops arm pump. but i know alot of people struggle getting used to high levers.
Depends on what you consider tall. I'm almost 6'-6" and run 119mm tall RC Highs in standard height bar mounts. When I run 99mm tall 971's, which have the same sweep, I get more arm pump.
Frodad78
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Frodad78 2/19/2013 8:14am
2/19/2013 8:14am
CamP wrote:
If you are tall and run low bars, you'll get arm pump more easily.
jhansen510 wrote:
I totally disagree, but again it's all rider preference. How many bikes at the top level do you see with crazy tall, rolled fwd bars? Not...
I totally disagree, but again it's all rider preference. How many bikes at the top level do you see with crazy tall, rolled fwd bars? Not many. Makes cornering to difficult!
CamP wrote:
Don't listen to me. I'm clueless.
I rolled my bars back 2 ticks from center on the Renthal CRHI bend, def. felt more fluid in the corners. Any lower and my back would kill so I use the Hi bars to compensate, I like it, I like it alot.
CamP
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CamP 2/19/2013 8:26am
2/19/2013 8:26am
jhansen510 wrote:
I totally disagree, but again it's all rider preference. How many bikes at the top level do you see with crazy tall, rolled fwd bars? Not...
I totally disagree, but again it's all rider preference. How many bikes at the top level do you see with crazy tall, rolled fwd bars? Not many. Makes cornering to difficult!
CamP wrote:
Don't listen to me. I'm clueless.
Frodad78 wrote:
I rolled my bars back 2 ticks from center on the Renthal CRHI bend, def. felt more fluid in the corners. Any lower and my back...
I rolled my bars back 2 ticks from center on the Renthal CRHI bend, def. felt more fluid in the corners. Any lower and my back would kill so I use the Hi bars to compensate, I like it, I like it alot.
The Renthal CR HI isn't a tall bar. In fact, it's 4mm shorter than the stock CRF bars, and it has a lot more sweep. It's the last bar I would recommend for a 6'+ rider because short bars with a lot of sweep make the transition from sitting to standing more difficult.
Frodad78
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Frodad78 2/19/2013 8:36am
2/19/2013 8:36am
CamP wrote:
Don't listen to me. I'm clueless.
Frodad78 wrote:
I rolled my bars back 2 ticks from center on the Renthal CRHI bend, def. felt more fluid in the corners. Any lower and my back...
I rolled my bars back 2 ticks from center on the Renthal CRHI bend, def. felt more fluid in the corners. Any lower and my back would kill so I use the Hi bars to compensate, I like it, I like it alot.
CamP wrote:
The Renthal CR HI isn't a tall bar. In fact, it's 4mm shorter than the stock CRF bars, and it has a lot more sweep. It's...
The Renthal CR HI isn't a tall bar. In fact, it's 4mm shorter than the stock CRF bars, and it has a lot more sweep. It's the last bar I would recommend for a 6'+ rider because short bars with a lot of sweep make the transition from sitting to standing more difficult.
Thats interesting, I'm 5"10 and have always run higher bars. I loosened the bar mounts and the levers about 2 months ago, sat on the bike with my elbows up and moved the bars till everything felt comfortable. Granted my back is all jacked up anyways. I went with that setting, really lowered the levers and everything feels improved and comfortable which is what I was probably aiming for in the first place. I might just find a pair of cheapo low bars just to see how it feels.

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