On a touring bike, an ape hanger handlebar usually comes with some compromises. (Just while we’re on the topic of setup, a one-piece top clamp should be used to tie the risers to one another and add strength.) If you have a paintshaker engine, you may notice buzzing mirrors and your hands may go numb, especially if you’ve selected really high bars. (I have used urethane with a high durometer on shorter combos, but I really feel safer using steel.) Those firm bushings do help lock the handlebars into place, but they also transmit a lot more vibration. This becomes extremely noticeable on a hand-shifted bike because the left hand is traveling very far to upshift and downshift. Because ape hangers allow a rider to exert far more force on the handlebars, it’s more or less mandatory to use a firmer riser bushing than factory rubber.
One potential downside is that the rider’s hands are suddenly moved far from the bike. On the positive side, ape hangers can often move mirrors upwards and outwards, to the point that they can become much more usable. Radically different monkey bars can have some unintended consequences. These 24-inch ape hangers definitely fall into the "pretty dang tall" category. Again, this potentially makes controlling the bike more difficult. Ultimately, the bike handles exactly the same as it did with different bars - but if the handlebars aren’t right for a rider-and-bike combination, the handling may feel awful. Some will mitigate this by flipping tall handlebars forward, but this has the unintended effect of moving the hands so that they’re far from the steering axis (the stem), so steering response can feel strange. If the hands become too close to the chest, it can be hard to control a bike. Thus, ape hangers move hands not just higher, but also closer. Remember that raising one’s arms moves them in an arc. The rider’s leverage on the bars is decreased with a very tall set of apes, but the difference is often regained through mechanical leverage gained from having a handlebar that is wider. The height of the bars plays into handling as well, but I think the issue is the position of the rider’s hands. Many ape hangers are pretty wide, which can add to a rider’s control.
I feel like I’m wearing this answer out, but it depends. All things being equal, taller riders (longer arms) usually want taller bars. Handlebars that place one’s hands appropriately on one bike may be a disastrous combo for a different bike and rider. So I think it helps to think about ape hangers in terms of hand height relative to another body part, not just in terms of the height of the handlebars themselves.
This differential is the reason you’ll often see fairly short, rational handlebars on motorcycles that are otherwise pretty wild. Photo by Peter Sterken.On the flip side, many choppers and customs are built on rigid chassis, which place the rider’s rear end a lot closer to the pavement - but the height of the front end doesn’t change, effectively “raising” the rider’s hands. A motorcycle with a sprung rear suspension generally seats the rider much higher, so relatively speaking, taller ape hangers are needed to get the same position.Īll-organic antiperspirant. The handlebar height I use to get my hands there could vary quite a bit, depending on the bike. Like our basketball fan, I like my hands to be a somewhere around the height of my shoulders for relaxed cruising. High bars can be comfortable - as long as your hands are in the right place. If your heart is working hard to pump blood uphill, coldness and numbness are a distinct possibility. I think most people would agree that ape hangers can get uncomfortable if your hands are way higher than your heart. Most people naturally “hang” their hands on the fence somewhere around shoulder height. I usually tell people to think about how they’d watch a basketball game taking place at an outdoor court that is surrounded by a chain-link fence. Similarly, not all apes have the same width or sweep, so something extreme-looking could actually be more comfortable than a handlebar that appears way more conventional.Īs this cute kid is demonstrating, having your hands elevated a little bit can be comfy. Twelve-inch apes are a lot less extreme than 20-inch apes, which is why you see shorter ape hangers "in the wild" way more often. Are they reeeeeally high? Like most things in life, moderation goes a long way. There are a few factors that matter here.
0 kommentar(er)
