Which handlebar bend, and why?

[Roostafish]

I'm a little late, but I ordered at "freestyle" bend bar after riding a bike with Charmichael high bends this weekend. They're really tall, and have more sweep than the stock KTM bar, but less than the old standard CR-High. So why the question? More thoughts on how much sweep than anything, because some like their bars tall, some like them low. I am a stand up rider. It'll be interesting to see what others think.

[Stu2]

I like the Magura ktm bar on my yamaha cause its straighter than the stock Pro tapers, I feel the pro tapers cramp me up a bit on the bike(I am 6"2') with thier sweep

Oh and they are much Stronger !!!!

[lumpy790]

CR Low - lowest rise and least swept back.

[mirandy]

I am a stand up rider also and use sunline av1 ktm sx bend with tusk bar risers.Bar clamp in the forward position feels awkward when sitting but perfect when standing.

[desertrideryz]

https://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=561331 How to section

[CamP]

I'm 6'-6" and the RC High is the best bar on the market for someone my size. The 119mm rise and 54mm sweep is just right.

[Lankyrider]

After a lot of testing i chose Evo Pro Taper Windham mid bend. It's the one that suits me best. As a tall rider i also tried Renthal RC high but it seemed too tall for me although i'm 6.5.

[RebelRider724]

i like the twinwalls because they were high. but i have fat bars on now which are low

[mxnut23]

I am not real picky but I prefer to have the sweep pretty straight. The RC bend is pretty straight, it helps me keep my ead and weight over the front.

[chasemotox63]

I pick stock, because its cheapest! ?

Unless they bend, then I just replace them with some decent Renthals.

[SF701]

I use Pro Taper Factory Suzuki bend. 92mm height/47mm sweep. I think a straighter bar (Less sweep) works best when you hold your elbows up in the correct ridding position.

[Roostafish]

It's very interesting to see the different preferences. I think I like a reasonable straight bar, as tall as possible to keep me from bending all the way over at the waist. I want a little bit of sweep to take pressure off of the ulna. I don't know why, but the super straight bar bugs my hands, so some sweep helps. I also ride MTB's and they're into really straight bars too. When I ride my road going bicycle I find it restful to ride on the hoods with my wrists perpendicular to the straight section of the bar. You'd have no control on a dirt bike like that, but it seems to be easier on my wrists on a long bicycle ride. Of course, that's on the road and there's no obstacles to worry about.

[guycomer]

I've tried a bunch of different makes/bends and by far the best (for me) has been the ProTaper Henry/Reed.. This is the 4th different bar I've tried on this bike and it's what I ran on my previous bike as well- something about it works for me.

I'm 6'1", ride a mix of desert and trail, and stand a LOT.

[CamP]

After a lot of testing i chose Evo Pro Taper Windham mid bend. It's the one that suits me best. As a tall rider i also tried Renthal RC high but it seemed too tall for me although i'm 6.5.

Do you trail ride and sit down a lot? The Windham bend is a pretty low bar for you and on an mx track you would be fighting that low bar when attacking mx obstacles like whoops and sharp jump faces.

I'm ride/race mx and don't do any trail/offroad stuff. The taller bar, like the RC High, allows me to attack the track much harder than when I'm bent over with a short bar. You have much more leverage to move the bike around when you aren't all scrunched up in a ball.

[guycomer]

In looking at some of the specs it was interesting to find that the height of the ProTaper Windham bend is higher than the Renthal Windham bend (99 vs. 92mm), not a huge difference but definitely noticeable. (just thought it might be worth mentioning).. also, other things come into play as well, such as different mounts, etc. I guess we could assume that if nothing was mentioned that it's all stock, but I'm running a Scotts damper with a submount (adds 1" rise), and I'm sure that contributed to the high feeling I got with the ProTaper Windhams.

[CamP]

In looking at some of the specs it was interesting to find that the height of the ProTaper Windham bend is higher than the Renthal Windham bend (99 vs. 92mm), not a huge difference but definitely noticeable. (just thought it might be worth mentioning).. also, other things come into play as well, such as different mounts, etc. I guess we could assume that if nothing was mentioned that it's all stock, but I'm running a Scotts damper with a submount (adds 1" rise), and I'm sure that contributed to the high feeling I got with the ProTaper Windhams.

The Renthal Windham 7/8 bars have the same bend as all the Pro Taper Windhams with a 99mm rise and 54mm sweep. The regular Renthal RC and all the Renthal 971 bars also share the 99mm rise and 54mm. The 971 is the OEM bar on all CRF 250's and 450's and they brand it as a RC or Windham for marketing purposes. Only the Renthal Fat Bar and Twinwall Windham bars have the shorter 92mm rise with a 56mm sweep.

A submount damper raises the bars 25.4mm so you definitely need to take that into consideration when choosing a bar.