I don't have personal experience with this but all the showers I can remember seeing with the handheld/slider combo had a stationary shower head as well.
Monica

My sister-in-law has the handheld on slidebar by itself, without a fixed showerhead. She says it works fine. I've seen it in other homes, too. So I think it's just a matter of preference.

I had done both fixed and handheld because I was kind of hoping to use both at the same time, but when they're both on, the water flow is a little wimpy. I think I've actually got adequate water pressure for both - it's those stupid flow restrictors...the flow starts off not-so-intense, and when you then share it between the two showerheads, there just isn't that much to go around.

I am using a hand shower on a bar as the main shower head. From what I understand, hand showers are better than they used to be. We are going with a Hansgrohe.

I have used hand showers on a bar as the only water source and I've been perfectly happy with them. We have used Grohe and Hansgrohe. I don't know what a fixed shower head would add.

They make much more awesome handhelds than they used to, in most configurations of head style.

Likely you can find an excellent handheld that can serve both functions if that is the configuration you like!

Or, you can have both in order to have 2 different styles of head (ie rain, massage).

I think Hansgrohe makes handhelds that will meet both needs, though.

Here is a link that might be useful: For instance... click this :-)

You can go either way and many do choose just to have the sliding hand shower. If you want both, as with anything, there is more expense involved as you may need an additional valve and/or a diverter. We opted to put both a fixed shower head as well as the handshower. The set up we went with (Moen) has the diverter which only allows one option to work at a time (like a tub & shower for example). You can buy separate valve assemblies & handles for each fixture so you can run both at the same time, but from what we were told, in addition to an additional valve most set ups require 3/4 inch pipes so they can handle enough water for both options to run simutaneously. This is what we learned would be necessary for our bathroom. You should consult a plumber to be sure about what exactly is needed for your specific set up.

Thanks so much everyone - the help is very appreciated! I think going with just the handshower would be so much easier - and it definitely looks like there are some great options out there that would work for that. Thanks so much for all the great tips!

we have a dornbracht hand held on a slide bar. it works great, has a nice full spray head. i don't see the need to put in the extra plumbing just to have a stationary showerhead.

We just installed a hand shower in our children's bath, and my DH and I have been using it while we have the shower in our bath tiled. We do not have a fixed shower head, and the shower, which is a large, round showerhead, has a very strong flow, and works great. I would not feel the need to install 2 showerheads.

We have a Hansgrohe Aktiva hand shower/slide bar. Had to take out the water restrictor because it causes the hose to burst apart from the (whatever the technical name is) round wall connector. We went through five hoses before giving up and popping the restrictor out. No problems since. I don't like doing this because:

1) we're serious about saving water in CA; our drought is on its third year and this is the fourth serious drought I've lived through since moving here. So it's EXTREMELY wasteful. We take short showers and are putting in a gray water system.

2) I frankly consider the Waterpik in the other bathroom to be a better showerhead, saves water without the overpressure problem, and costs 1/10th the price. Our last one was still going strong after 17 yrs when we left in our last apartment. It is, however, not as pretty as the Hansgrohe.

Thanks everyone. Katieb2007 - what brand of handshower did you get - you seem happy with it? The Grohe ones I've seen seem to be made of a plastic casing that I don't love... are the Hansgrohe ones the same? The water restrictor issue would be frustrating.. I am hoping to find one that is attractive, durable, and will hold up to quite a bit of use. Should be an interesting search!

My Hansgrohe is also plastic, but it isn't obvious when you look at it, and it doesn't bother me. Actually, the light weight is a little bit of an advantage if you drop it.

It's optional some people use just a slide bar shower and others use a shower head with it. Here's a good one.

Here is a link that might be useful: Chrome Slide Bar

Kerrygw, sorry I haven't responded sooner! Our slide bar is not one of the fancy brands--it is a Delta, but not from Home Depot or Menards. It was ordered from our plumber, and we are very happy with it.