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Another enduro vlog from http://www.crosstrainingenduro.com Are bar risers or high bend bars on a dirt bike evil? Some tall riders say it's the only way they can fit on enduro bikes that are designed for midgets, while others say bar risers will ruin your bike's handling, give you cancer and shrink your genitals. And of course high bend bars tend to fall into this category too. Playlist for our enduro vlogs: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlur54ugvzNJlUO0y6D10jVOGMLI4Raci Cross Training Enduro Skills Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cross.training.enduro.skills/ Cross Training Enduro Skills Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJAvmhgP0h1AEKY8vTEJPJg This bar riser topic has long interested me, as I'm six foot four or 194cm. For years I was a lazy enduro rider and mainly sat on the bike, but the past two years I've been standing most of the time. I used to get a back ache so fitted bar risers to all my dirt bikes, but when we did our coaching with Chris Birch last year, he recommended we take the bar risers off. I said surely tall freaks of nature like me still need bar risers or high bend bars? But Chris Birch said top riders like David Knight never use them. In fact when Birchy met him, the first thing David said was 'Get those fucking bar risers off your bike mate'. Why? Birchy said bar risers are a common mistake by inexperienced riders because they aren't standing on the bike properly. You should be in this position because it lowers your centre of gravity, lets your legs absorb bumps, and your arms are also bent to absorb impacts and control the bike better. Birchy also said it's important to keep your legs bent and body weight low for wheelies as well... and that was his constant theme. Stay in that crouched position, keep your centre of gravity low at all times. Birchy also said low bars also help to keep your weight low and to the rear of the bike for more advanced techniques, especially when getting over obstacles. Bar risers or high bend bars can also work against you in hill climbs where you need to keep your body weight low, and go forward for the steepest parts of a climb. After a bit of googling around, I found comments from other riders too who said that as you raise the bars, the handling of your bike does change for the worse, saying the steering usually becomes twitchy, you are less able to get your body weight over the front of the bike for tight corners, and raising the bars usually pushes them closer to you which isn't good for taller riders. So what was my experience? Birchy suggested I not use bar risers or high bend bars for a while and see what effect it had. At first this was very uncomfortable... as mentioned I'm very tall so I was using the Rox pivoting two inch risers. But within a few rides I had adapted and did notice the bike was a bit less twitchy at speed. I couldn't notice any other immediate effects, but knowing how important a low centre of gravity is I am sure there were benefits from being lower on the bike. The problem? My quad muscles were working a lot harder to maintain that lower body positioning. I started some jogging which helped to some extent, but eventually figured that the two days of creaky arthritic knees and sore muscles wasn't worth it. If I was in my forties or younger I would definitely avoid the bar risers or high bend bars, but I figure there is nothing wrong with letting comfort become a bigger issue in your mid fifties. So I've slapped the Rox pivoting bar risers back on and the legs feel much better during and after the rides. Yes the steering has become a bit twitchy at speed, but I don't ride fast usually so that's a relatively minor issue. If you are a tall rider, I suggest work on your body positioning first. If your quad muscles ache, then just exercise more. Remember too, you can Fastway footpegs to drop your pegs down and to the rear which helps give you more room on the bike. If you still don't feel comfortable, then get some bar risers or high bend bars and experiment with them. I have immense respect for all those top riders, but remember they are also exceptionally fit, and need every benefit to maximise their technique. Then there are us gumbies who still like a bit of comfort and aren't out to win any championships. Anyone got further comments? I'll add them in here. MUSIC CREDITS Title: Soulero - Native iTunes Download Link: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/album/native-single/id700468572 Listen on Spotify: http://open.spotify.com/track/3LqgKh25lCutIxWVbkihCc Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDKFx6N5npk