straight handle bars

pat25c

is it ever ok to put straight handle bars on a road bike , i recently upgraded my road bike & when i was ordering it i told my bike shop that i wanted straight bars on it , it made a face like i just shot his mother & told me i was crazy ,that it would ruin the bike , but i just find drop bars so uncomfortable , so much so that i dont cycle as much anymore , will it like he said ruin the geometry of the bike , i dont do club rides just a few sportives a year.

Beasty

Effectively it becomes a hybrid. Before changing anything though - do you ride on the drops or do you hold the tops of the bars (around the top of the brakes/shifters)?

Most riders only go onto the drops when they are putting an effort in. Indeed even when racing most riders will hold the tops rather than the drops for most of the race. Straight handlebars offer you additional width, but you are pretty much stuck with a single position. With normal road bike bars you can more your hands into a variety of positions very easily

Wishbone Ash

pat25c wrote: »

... i told my bike shop that i wanted straight bars on it , it made a face....

Now that's a bike shop with a difference! :cool:

pat25c

Beasty wrote: »

Effectively it becomes a hybrid. Before changing anything though - do you ride on the drops or do you hold the tops of the bars (around the top of the brakes/shifters)?

Most riders only go onto the drops when they are putting an effort in. Indeed even when racing most riders will hold the tops rather than the drops for most of the race. Straight handlebars offer you additional width, but you are pretty much stuck with a single position. With normal road bike bars you can more your hands into a variety of positions very easily

I always use the tops of the bars , going to the drops isn't something I do because I'm not looking for the best time or sprint finnishes

Lumen

If the bike is sized right and set up properly you should be most comfortable in the drops.

So you're trying to fix a bike that isn't right for you. It might work, but it's not really "OK". It's like getting your girlfriend to bleach her hair because you really wanted a blonde.

rtmie

Having started out with a flat bar and gone the other way (and as anyone who saw me cycle would attest, not a racer / sprinter) here would be my tuppence:
Flat bar gives you pretty much one position only - drops give you 3, tops, hoods and drops. Even if you don't use the drops, it is still good on a long spin to move grip between hoods and tops. I found that on the flat bar my hands would get achy after an hour, and I couldn't get on with the stubby bar end thingys.
Also while I am trying to get in the habit of riding in drops especially into the wind I find that even on tops/hoods I am less wind resistant than on flat bar, because typical flat bar is quite wide.
Lastly when descending I do use drops, and feel much more stable for it.

Brian?

pat25c wrote: »

I always use the tops of the bars , going to the drops isn't something I do because I'm not looking for the best time or sprint finnishes

Sounds like you need a bike fit. If you're no comfortable on the tops you probably need a shorter stem to bring the reach into you.

Get someone to take a picture of you on the bike and stick it up.

smacl

Coming from flat bars, I hated drops until I took the time to get used to all the positions and moving around them easily. Where I'd miss the drop position most now is descending, though I use them on the flat as well. On a long cycle, I find front shifting also gets tiring on the thumb after a couple of hours. If you do go for flat bars, make sure to get bar ends, as you at least have some movement, although I'd strongly recommend taking the time to get used to drops even if they do seem a bit awkward starting out.

not yet

I spend less then 20% in the drops. You have 2 or 3 different positions on a road bike that you will not have on flats bars...

JBokeh

Flat bars with a road bike geo will still put a lot of weight on your hands, If you're dead set on flat bars you'd be better with a hybrid rather than a converted road bike.

It could be that your old bike wasn't the right size for you, or the fit wasn't right. Getting a bike with a more relaxed geometry will be more comfortable, and if you're between sizes it may be worth going to the bigger size to get less of a drop between the saddle and the bars

I'm not great with attachments, so I hope this works, But to get flat bars to work on a road bike you end up needing to extend the head tube quite a bit to get a more relaxed position

(This picture will upset a few people :pac: )

Brian?

JBokeh wrote: »

Flat bars with a road bike geo will still put a lot of weight on your hands, If you're dead set on flat bars you'd be better with a hybrid rather than a converted road bike.

It could be that your old bike wasn't the right size for you, or the fit wasn't right. Getting a bike with a more relaxed geometry will be more comfortable, and if you're between sizes it may be worth going to the bigger size to get less of a drop between the saddle and the bars

I'm not great with attachments, so I hope this works, But to get flat bars to work on a road bike you end up needing to extend the head tube quite a bit to get a more relaxed position

(This picture will upset a few people :pac: )

Whoever mangles those Cervelos should be shot.

pat25c

The main reason I want to change up is my back isn't great & moving from tops to hoods is not giving me the relief, I'm thinking a flat bar would give me a more upright position, I'm not concerned about speed or times, I know the more upright position will leave me more vulnerable to wind , but I'm 6'5 & fairly broad so wind is always going to be an issue for me

2 Wheels Good

pat25c wrote: »

The main reason I want to change up is my back isn't great & moving from tops to hoods is not giving me the relief, I'm thinking a flat bar would give me a more upright position, I'm not concerned about speed or times, I know the more upright position will leave me more vulnerable to wind , but I'm 6'5 & fairly broad so wind is always going to be an issue for me

Maybe try a riser stem, it might lift you enough to make the ride more comfortable. It should be possible to get one for less than €30 so worth a go before spending money on changing handlebars or the bike.

rollingscone

pat25c wrote: »

The main reason I want to change up is my back isn't great & moving from tops to hoods is not giving me the relief, I'm thinking a flat bar would give me a more upright position, I'm not concerned about speed or times, I know the more upright position will leave me more vulnerable to wind , but I'm 6'5 & fairly broad so wind is always going to be an issue for me

Have you tried having the bars up higher? And are you sure your current set are wide enough for you?

Drop bars aren't about super high performance they're about as others have already said here comfort and control more than anything else.

Your discomfort may be more about reach than the shape of your bars.

Potential solutions could be a complete bike fit or putting more spacers under bars (assuming you have some steerer I.e. The bit on top of the forks left) or as a temporary/experimental option cant the bars back a bit.


Something as simple as a shorter stem might solve your reach issues.

My brother in law is the same height and build as you and the shop he bought from gave him a rudimentary fit and sent him on his way like a cramped spider. I admired his tenacity suffering through 50km last year while the bike returned a fraction of his effort input... I think his frame is so different that the rider geometry from more typical frame sizes doesn't translate directly.

As a general rule you should comfortably make a triangle in the drops, obviously this will be a factor of how flexible you are and your proportion of limbs to torso.


Best of luck OP.

aFlabbyPanda

Sticking a flat bar on a bike with road/race geometry isn't going to ease the back pain unless you adjust the fit/reach/height too.

If you want a flat bar road bike there are plenty of options, scott and cannondale do flat bar versions off the top of my head but others make 'hybrids' which are closer to flat bar road bikes that tradition commuter bikes.

But either way I hate this kind of snobbery, if you want a road bike with touring bars because it fits your needs then go for it. Get whatever setup allows you to use the bike the most.

manwithaplan

Whatever about the aesthetics or other considerations, it's not a trivial thing to change bars. At a minimum, you've got to buy new bars and new compatible shifters and brake levers. While you might recover a fair bit of this cost by flogging your existing bars and integrated shifters, it's a lot of hassle. If you're set on flat bars, I'd be voting for a reasonably light hybrid.

smacl

pat25c wrote: »

The main reason I want to change up is my back isn't great & moving from tops to hoods is not giving me the relief, I'm thinking a flat bar would give me a more upright position, I'm not concerned about speed or times, I know the more upright position will leave me more vulnerable to wind , but I'm 6'5 & fairly broad so wind is always going to be an issue for me

Another option which would give you a more upright position and a good range of hand positions would be butterfly bars. A touring bike like the Dawes Karaum could be a decent option here. I'm possibly in an audience of one here, but personally I think they look quite snazzy,