Handlebars above or below saddle hight

[Domestique]

Just a quick question.
For the first time in a long time I am now riding a bike with the handlebars higher than the saddle.
So a quick poll.
Handlebars above the saddle
Handlebars bellow the saddle

[Kim]

Really needs an "About the same height" option (and possibly a "Where we're going we don't need saddles!" option  ).  Last time I looked, the bars on my most-used-bike-with-a-saddle gave hand positions marginally above and marginally below the saddle height.

[PaulF]

That means you're getting old

No option for the same height?

[Domestique]

Yea, I am old n slow now 

[rogerzilla]

I like them very low and fairly close, but that is apparently Wrong.  Mind you, Hewitt specified my tourer and that is a neck killer for anything over 20 miles.  I must get an 8cm stem for it.

[bobb]

Below. It looks cooler.

[Polar Bear]

Below.  Mlle PB has them slightly higher.

[DrMekon]

Bakfiets and BMX, handlebars above. Fixie and audax bike are below.

[Ashaman42]

I'm not even sure what's the case on my bike. Think both saddle and bars need adjusting at any rate.

[Feline]

Definitely below, even on the tandem.

[Crumbling Nick]

I don't have much option on my bikes. The stems are now extended to maximum height and taller quill stems are no longer readily available.

I'm slightly puzzled by the question. My height is average at 1.75m. My frames are quite big - 57 & 60 cm - but normal stems are still lower than the saddle. These are both traditional touring frames. How do you raise dropped bars above the saddle?

I should add that a decade ago I was happy with the stems as low as possible, and have since replaced both with shorter reach versions. That's an age-related disease. 

[plum]

One of each at the minute. [Slightly] Higher on the commuter bike, which has always felt comfortable enough and works well in traffic.  [Slightly] lower on the [new] weekend bike which is just for country lanes so traffic not an issue. Waiting to get some miles in and see how different the latter feels.

[clarion]

Below. It looks cooler.

+1

Closest I come to cool

[Biggsy]

I have my bars only a tad lower than the saddle - near enough to count as "about the same".  I've always been aware they're higher than proper roadies have them.  I like short stems and short-reach bars as well, to make the tops and hoods more comfy, at the expense of having to sit off the back of the saddle to use the drops properly.  Suits me, as I like to cruise along gently* for most of the while, with only the odd short burst of high speed.

* Compared to all you lot, that is.  I'm flying compared to the average person on a bike. 

[Feanor]

Mine started off as 'about the same', but I've been upping my seat height to find the right saddle - BB spacing, which I'm now happy with.   It does leave me in a rather more agressive arse-up head-down position than I'd like, and since the steerer is factory-cut on this bike, I'd need a new fork to up the stack height.   So I just live with it, and sit up from time to time to stretch.

When I get around to n+1, I'll change all that.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Below. It looks cooler.

Teh Bobb knowze cool.

For me, saddles go up and bars come down - like stalagmites and stalactites.

[Reg.T]

since the steerer is factory-cut on this bike, I'd need a new fork to up the stack height.

Most stems are angled, so you may be able to just flip the stem over to raise the bars. Or get a new stem with a different reach/angle.

[Feanor]

since the steerer is factory-cut on this bike, I'd need a new fork to up the stack height.

Most stems are angled, so you may be able to just flip the stem over to raise the bars. Or get a new stem with a different reach/angle.

Yes, this is actively under consideration.

[Ray 6701]

Below.

[drossall]

At least slightly below, or perhaps level. Far below is aggressive, of course, and not appropriate to all bikes and riders.

Relative height of saddle and bars affects weight distribution, and therefore handling. It determines the extent to which your arms act as suspension, or shocks go straight up your spine. It affects the weight on your saddle, and therefore comfort. For none of these is too upright a position good news.

[Domestique]

I have to say, moving the bars above he saddle for the first time, well since I used to ride a Chopper  , is the most comfortable I have felt on a bike for a long time.
I can add that this is a touring bike with butterfly bars. I couldn't imagine drop handlebars higher than the saddle, so both my bikes with drop bars will stay as.
Maybe we need a poll for what type of handlebars you use on your bike.

[GrahamG]

My wife has bars about 40mm above saddle height on road bike whilst I have them 40-50mm lower - our posture is pretty much the same though!

[gene hunt]

Both mine are slightly below, have had them lower in the past but it gets uncomfortable on longer rides.

[Gaston Lagaffe]

All below

[Biggsy]

I find the high bars and bolt upright position on a Ken Bike (London Hire Cycle) wonderfully comfortable and relaxing ...for a short while.  It's not purely for the aerodynamics that I like bars lower than that for a longer ride, with straight bars on MTBs as well as drops on "racers".  I'm not sure exactly why.  It's not just about my bum.

Funnily enough, the tops of the bars feel painfully hard when I have them higher than usual.  This is the complete opposite of what cyclists usually say.  (And I do have padded mitts and slightly padded/soft bar tape/grips)

The S-Type bars on my Brompton are a little toow low, though, for back and shoulder comfort for my 6' 2" body, and can't be raised.  I'll be getting riser bars when I'm too old to tolerate the S-Type position.  I think an M-Type would be too high, as well as heavier.