Fixie Riser Bars – Getting a Handle on your Fixie
Originally, all bicycles were “fixies”. All children’s beginners-bikes are still fixies—clearly there is no need to add any more difficulty to the task of learning to ride a bicycle. But what is a fixie?
On the left is the traditional Penny-Farthing bicycle with a very large front wheel. The crank assembly is connected directly to the hub of the wheel so it was called a direct drive. The second bicycle from the left is a more traditional English racing bicycle and, if you look at the crank and at the hub of the rear wheel, power is merely offset with a chain, with no possibility of changing gears. The two early-model recumbent bikes are the same. There is no way to alter the gear-ratio, so these are all single-speed, or “fixie” bicycles.
The types of handlebars provided on your bicycle may not be suitable for the type of cycling you want to engage in. No matter the type of bike you ride – road, mountain, hybrid, commuter, BMX, fixie – for the most part, handlebars are interchangeable. It’s all a matter of preference.
So yes, you can use riser bars on your fixie bike. Your only limitations may be the width of the neck, but there are several adapters available on the market.
Drop Bars are among the most popular for bikes purchased for significant speed.
Moustache Bars of many designs are similar to drop 
bars that have been squashed a lot flatter. Sometimes they can be quite broad, as on your typical beach cruiser rental bike.
There are a number of Straight Bars (as in the two recumbent bikes above) which allow you to press or pull very hard (based on the design of the bike) to deliver more torque to the pedals. They’re certainly not much to look at, but they can be very effective in certain situations such as hill climbing.
More comfortable perhaps are Riser Bars which elevate the handle height, allowing you to ride in a more upright position.
If you’re interested in going faster the Bull Bar might prove to be more useful with handles facing straight forward with a slight upward angle to allow you to put more pressure on the pedals.
As a complement or alternative to the bull bar, you might consider the Pursuit Bar, which provides a more forward position, decreasing your air resistance and allowing for more speed.
Of course on any bicycle you can mount the clip-on style of Aerobars, which fit on just about any handlebar style. They create a very aerodynamic riding position to cut wind resistance and maximize speed. But they do not lend themselves to rapid steering changes, or emergency braking since they provide limited torque to the wheel, and move your hands away from the brake levers on your regular handlebars.
For all-around best non-racing choice, just about nothing can beat the Butterfly Bars for versatility. Not only do they provide a variety of hand grip positions so that you don’t develop tendonitis, but by changing positions from well-forward to the outer edges to well-back, you’re also changing the position of your back which helps to keep you from cramping up.
Its other big bonus is that you can attach all sorts of equipment to them because you have so much space. Headlights, your cell phone or separate GPS, a simple paper map holder, speedometer, bell, carrier basket, and your rearview mirrors. Wherever your imagination takes you, it’s easier with butterfly bars!
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