9 Best Cycling Handlebars | 31.8mm Bars That Sit You Upright

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Steel risers that swallow rough pavement and sit you up like a city bike should.

Steel bends where aluminium rings. That distinction is why riders restoring older frames keep coming back to this bar. The 27.5″ width and 5-inch rise add real height at the front, which several owners describe as the difference between leaning on their wrists and actually sitting on the bike. It is not a lifestyle bar — it is the practical answer for commuters who want to arrive without a crick in the back.

The standout here is value, and it is the most-discussed quality by a wide margin. Owners running vintage Stumpjumpers and 1980s Trek builds talk about the period-correct look — no crossbar, painted finish, distinct rise — and the way steel simply eats the chatter that aluminium transmits straight to your palms. It fits a 25.4mm clamp, so check that against your stem before ordering. One 1987 Trek Elance owner swapped their drops for these purely to sit upright and called the result awesome.

The honest trade-off is weight and flex. At 1.3 pounds you are carrying more metal than an aluminium equivalent, and some riders found the ride a touch springy under hard input. A smaller group found them softer than they expected, while the bulk of riders call them sturdy. If you race or sprint hard, aluminium is the better bet. If you cruise and commute, this is the smoother ride.

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One bar, six rise heights, and a 780mm platform you can trim to taste.

Choosing a handlebar is usually a one-shot decision — get the rise wrong and you are ordering again. PLATT sidesteps that entirely by offering the bar in rise heights of 35mm, 50mm, 70mm, 90mm, 120mm, and 160mm, all at a 31.8mm clamp with a 780mm length. That range covers nearly every riding posture you could want, whether you are lifting a commuter into a relaxed stance or keeping a downhill rig low.

The 6061 aluminium alloy build comes back to a 22.2mm bar-end diameter, so your existing grips and levers transfer straight over. Adjustment is the spec buyers care about most on this bar, and it shows. A nine-degree backsweep puts your shoulder blades in a more neutral position and eases the wrist fatigue that builds on long trail days. Cut-down markings are on both ends, so you can trim to a width that matches your shoulders rather than living with whatever arrived in the box.

Here is the caveat that keeps this honest: cut it once and you own that decision. Trimming the ends also cuts through the sweep, so riders who want a little more upsweep angle at the grips should confirm that against a mock-up before they saw anything off. Buyers report the satin micro-pebbled finish looks high-end for the money, and the back-friendly rise landed exactly as advertised for one rider who raised the front end to ease a sore back.

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A light, budget-friendly 25.4mm riser for folding bikes and older stems.

If your stem takes a 25.4mm clamp and you just want to stop leaning, this is the economical answer. The 6061 aluminium alloy body is hard-anodized (a coating that hardens the surface against scratches and wear) and CNC precision-bent, so it holds up to the knocks of daily riding. At 0.32kg it is a genuinely light way to raise your front end, and the cut-down markings on both sides let you trim width without guesswork.

Weight is the headline here, followed closely by fit. Riders describe it as lighter than their stock bars and taller with more sweep, which together produce that upright stance a lot of casual riders are chasing. One owner fit it to a Trek Singletrack 930 and reported the ride becoming noticeably more enjoyable than the original flat bar. There is also a note that the pair worked perfectly with a Weerock neck (the stem) — evidence the 25.4mm standard matched as promised.

Now the honest bit, and it matters because it is the most-discussed gripe: at 580mm this is a genuinely compact bar. Several riders call it perfect for a straightforward bike, but one returned it after discovering it felt too small once e-bike accessories were mounted — the grips and levers ended up looking crowded. If you ride an e-bike with lots of bolt-ons, measure carefully and consider a wider option. It also needed three different Allen wrench sizes during install, so have your toolbox out.

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The butterfly bar that gives a long-distance rider five places to put their hands.

Some riders do not want two hand positions — they want five. That is the entire point of the butterfly (or trekking) shape, and it comes with a set of sponge grips already in the box. The 25.4mm option in this range pairs with the classic clamp standard, and the 22.2mm bar-end diameter means standard levers and shifters bolt on without adapters. For mountain, road, or hybrid frames, it turns one grip zone into a small map of options.

Owners mention these bars hold up over months of real riding, and one owner describes sliding the foam grips on with dish soap and then wrapping cork tape over the top for a custom grip. The multi-position layout earns strong mentions too, and it is easy to see why: on a long day you shift your hands around like you would in a car seat, and every shift takes pressure off the spot that had gone numb.

The complication is installation, and it is worth naming honestly. Fitting this bar to a typical mountain or hybrid bike is moderately involved because the gear and brake lever fasteners have to be pried apart to fit over the butterfly’s curves. Riders also flag that the included foam grips are the weak link, with one describing them as awful and preferring their own wrap. And there is a gentle flex on bumps that some riders like and others do not.

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A chrome riser from an American maker that adds real height without much fuss.

Wald has been making bike components in the United States for a long time, and the 803 bar shows why the name carries weight. Chrome-plated alloy steel, a 5.25-inch rise on a 27.1″ width, and a 1.4-pound weight — the numbers point to a solid, upright, classic-looking bar that fits a mountain bike frame with the standard 25.4mm clamp. The chrome finish is the kind that draws a compliment from passing riders.

The 5.25-inch rise is the crux of the whole product. Owners upgrading from low OEM bars describe how much of their weight ends up positioned further back and up, which takes pressure off the wrists and lower back. Riders in Florida who cycle year-round mention swapping straight bars for this riser so one rider did not have to lean so far forward on long outings. Install is quick — one rider clocked a 15-minute job on a typical bike.

Two things to know before ordering. First, if the original bike had short brake and shifter cables, you will likely be replacing them to reach the higher position — that is a cable-length reality, not a defect. Second, the 27.1″ width is broad for urban commuting, and one rider who wanted a narrower bar found only about 2 inches can be trimmed from each end before the brake perches hit the curved section. It is a genuine limit on adjustment.

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A mid-rise trail bar tuned to fit any ride from cross-country to dirt jumping.

The Corki SMPL earns its spot with a 720mm length, a 31.8mm clamp, and a 50mm rise — the balance for trail riding, because that lift keeps your shoulders open while your weight still sits over the front for control. The three-degree backsweep keeps the grip angle mild, so your wrists stay in a natural line on long descents. Aluminium 6061 with a polished anodized finish gives it a quality look that matches the price. If you want one bar that handles everything, this is the one to start with.

Fit earns the most praise here, and the 720mm platform delivers on it. At 393g the bar stays light enough to be a legitimate upgrade over stock steel, without the twitchy feel some ultralight bars develop. Pre-marked sections every half-inch at the ends mean you can trim the width down to your preference with a hacksaw and a steady hand — everything from 720mm down to whatever suits your shoulder span. Riders running long-travel hardtails mention clearing technical rock gardens and even surviving the odd crash with the bar intact.

The most honest gripe: this bar’s material is thick enough that standard bar-end plugs may not fit the bore without trimming them first. That is a small inconvenience rather than a deal-breaker, and one 6’4″, 250-pound rider specifically said it handled drops and jumps without complaint. Rubber grips and bar-end plugs are not included, so budget for those separately.

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Retro chrome hi-rise bars that make a cruiser sit upright like it should.

For a cruiser or a 1970s rebuild, saddle position and bar height do most of the comfort work. This Sunlite hi-rise bar delivers both: 25″ of width, chrome-plated alloy steel, and enough rise to pull your torso into that relaxed, low-effort posture cruisers are built for. The 25.4mm clamp means it fits the standard neck on most cruiser frames, and the chrome finish on a steel bike is the pairing most riders want.

The thing people love about this bar, and it leads the way in feedback by a clear margin, is the build quality. Customers running builds that span decades, including a 1979 Stingray tribute, call it well-made and comfortable with no flex under load. Installation is straightforward — the mounting procedure is simple enough that riders do it in minutes with one Allen key. The visual upgrade is real, too, and several riders mention it transforms a bike’s personality for very little outlay.

Plan around one thing: this bar is not a precision fit on every frame. It uses the standard 25.4mm clamp, which matches most cruisers, but a few riders found it sat a touch loose in their neck hub because of uniform wall thickness — a simple spacer or a custom shim fixes it. Check your stem’s actual bore size before ordering to avoid the surprise. Everything else — the chrome, the rise, the easy install — lines up with expectations.

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A wide, light 780mm bar built for riders who steer with their shoulders.

Step up to the FIFTY-FIFTY and the first thing you notice is the 780mm width. That is a lot of bar, and it is the whole point — on rough ground a wide bar gives you leverage that a narrow one cannot, which is why all-mountain and enduro riders gravitate toward this measurement. The 35mm rise keeps you stacked reasonably upright without floating you off the front, and the 31.8mm clamp slots into the standard trail stem. At 340g, weight stays genuinely light for the platform.

The bar is made from high-grade 6061 aluminium alloy, double-butted (thicker at the clamped ends and thinner in the middle, which trims weight while keeping strength where it matters). Hard anodizing and numerical-controlled precision bending give it the sharp finish and smooth curve buyers notice. What wins riders over is the stiffness — the wide platform has almost no twist under hard inputs, which translates into steering that feels locked in. A 6’1″, 230-pound rider noted zero flex on a Commencal Meta HT, with the rise eliminating lower-back fatigue on climbs.

Two honest notes. The 780mm width is the maximum here, so threading tight trees or squeezing through urban gaps will feel different from a narrower bar — trim to taste using the cut-down marks, which are marked in steps down to 680mm. And unlike the Corki above, this bar’s geometry is deliberately aggressive: it suits riders who want a wide, planted stance rather than a compact urban feel. Extra-rise versions exist elsewhere in the range if you want more upright.