Drop Handlebar Or Flat?

[AyJay]

I have a Boardman road bike with drop bars. I have recently acquired a flat bar road bike and have been trying it out. Having ridden mountain bikes for many years going back to flat bars is very enjoyable.

https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/new-mini-project.212703/#post-4643384

I am now wondering if I should covert my Boardman to flat bars. I am looking for a few opinions regarding this move. I realize that bars, brake levers and gear changers have to be changed.

I could go down the route of buying a purpose built model but I am very happy with my bike apart from the bars. I wonder if the frame angles are different between a "flat" road bike and a "drop" road bike?

Your help and advise will be appreciated.

 

[dim]

depends how far you ride, and if you ride through congested traffic

if you are doing short trips (commuting to work), on busy roads through the city, flat bars are ok

but go on 50 mile fast rides, and drop bars are better

I'm comfortable on drop bars and prefer them (even when I ride through the city), but it took a while before I was not nervous

 

[AyJay]

I just ride for pleasure these days with a normal distance of about 20 - 30 miles. We don't get too much traffic on the Suffolk coast. and I stay off the main roads.

 

[vickster]

Converting a drop bar bike to flats doesn't work in my experience. I did it, ended up costing a reasonable amount and the bike never fitted. Too small even with an extra 3 cm of stem. If you want flats, buy a flat bar road bike. They sizing and geometry arent the same as you say

 

[chr15b]

I recently purchased a Flat Bar Road Bike (Boardman) and have been enjoying it over the drops I was using on my Planet X RT-58. I too read up on the conversion and decided not to proceed.

 

[AyJay]

. They sizing and geometry arent the same as you say

That's really what I was thinking but was not sure. Cheers.

 

[vickster]

I recently purchased a Flat Bar Road Bike (Boardman) and have been enjoying it over the drops I was using on my Planet X RT-58. I too read up on the conversion and decided not to proceed.

It was an rt58 I converted. A friend 4 inches shorter than me now has it

 

[12boy]

You might consider moustache bars which are pretty flat but give a variety of hand positions. Otherwise a flat bar conversion will require a much longer stem, dropping the bars or using barends, or perhaps all three.

 

[Brandane]

That's really what I was thinking but was not sure. Cheers.

It depends on the bike. I converted a Specialized Secteur from drop bars to flats, and it was fine. In effect, it is now a Specialized Sirrus. According to the geometry diagrams on the Specialized website, the frames for those two bikes are identical.

 

[steveindenmark]

We cannot tell you. Only you can decide.

 

[Pale Rider]

Put the drop bar bike next to the flat bar bike and visualise the change.

 

[AyJay]

We cannot tell you. Only you can decide.

I understand that but it's also good to hear from others who may have had the same situation.

 

[chr15b]

It was an rt58 I converted. A friend 4 inches shorter than me now has it

It was your reply on my thread that made me decide not to convert.

 

[clockworksimon]

I have set up my old steel frame road bike in both guises over the years. The bike can be set up just fine with flats even though it is a traditional 1980's race bike frame. I always use bar ends with flats with the position on the bar ends being the same as riding on the hoods. I almost never ride on the lower part of dropped bars due to bad back. In some situations such as riding in town and going down steep lanes I think the flat bar position may actually be better for control.

I have lots of spare components from years of fettling so I can switch the setups including stems at no cost. If you are prepared to experiment with different stems and use bar ends you should be able to get a good setup.

 

[runner]

I much prefer the geometry of road bike handle bars. I ride roads a lot and never have a problem and always enjoy the ability to move from drops to hoods