Easy upgrade or new bike?

[WJC1981]

Hi everyone,

Not sure if this is the right place to post this.

I have a Giant Rapid 0 hybrid bike and I love it, the problem is Im starting to cycle a bit of distance now, say 30-40 miles and was wondering if I could get a different handle bar to make it more road bike.

The handlebars I have seen wpuld mean a new brake system as well so the brakes are on the part of the bar that goes down.

Does this sound trouble than its worth or can you suggest something else?

 

[vickster]

Do you have a picture of the handlebar? Do you mean drops?

Converting a flatbar bike to a roadbike is unlikely to be inexpensive, you might find getting a Giant Defy second hand works out cheaper, and then you have two bikes

That said 30-40 miles on flat bars is more than doable, bar ends can help provide different hand positions and personally, ergo grips make a massive difference to comfort for me

 

[MichaelW2]

Bar-ends give you an alt hand position but they are not very aerodynamic. Clip on aerobars are more efficient, you don't need to use them low and long, like a racer. Some flatbar tourists use them closer and higher to get an aerodynamic cruising position. Trekking/butterfly bars are another option which will retain your controls.

 

[mjr]

And the option is North Road bars which can be mounted flipped for a lower position and offer a choice of hand positions. Also take flat bar levers. Worth a go for £10-20 IMO

 

[Ajax Bay]

Assuming that you mean drop handlebars with STIs (combined brakes/gear levers) as the alternative, as @vickster 's double negative has implied: it'd be unreasonably expensive.

Converting a flatbar bike to a roadbike is unlikely to be inexpensive

Since you are doing 30-40 mile rides regularly, you would really appreciate the (beneficial) difference of a 'road only' bike. May I suggest you have a test ride on one, either a friend's or from a local bike shop, to see what it's like.

was wondering if I could get a different handle bar to make it more road bike.

I don't think bar ends (the cow horn type ones) or butterfly bars that @MichaelW2 offers as options would make riding 30+ miles much easier or more enjoyable and would not make your hybrid "make it more road bike" and while his observation on clip-ons is valid, I think the implied suggestion of clip-on tribars for the OP is 'barking'.
My view: more trouble than it's worth. Buy new (to you) bike as a replacement or as an 'N + 1'.

 

[mjr]

I don't think bar ends (the cow horn type ones) or butterfly bars that @MichaelW2 offers as options would make riding 30+ miles much easier or more enjoyable and ...

Have you used them on such a bike for such rides? I found ski-grip bar-ends worthwhile on a hybrid - until I broke the bars in a crash and then replaced them with porteur bars (flipped).

 

[Ajax Bay]

Have you used them on such a bike for such rides? I found ski-grip bar-ends worthwhile on a hybrid - until I broke the bars in a crash and then replaced them with porteur bars (flipped).

Yes, I have used bar end equipped hybrids for a few rides of that length (with bits of the route with which my road bike tyres would not have been happy) and have tried butterflies, which I think would be good on a long tour but are not really '30-40 mile ride on the road, no load' bars.
Perhaps I should have made my opinion explicitly comparative: for simple (ie not touring) road rides of 30-40 miles, compared to a change to drop handlebars, I don't think adding bar ends or fitting butterfly bars are a good option.
My primary advice is: try to try out the options before making any change.

 

[MichaelW2]

I don't think bar ends (the cow horn type ones) or butterfly bars that @MichaelW2 offers as options would make riding 30+ miles much easier or more enjoyable and would not make your hybrid "make it more road bike" and while his observation on clip-ons is valid, I think the implied suggestion of clip-on tribars for the OP is 'barking'.

I have seen roadified MTBs and hybrid touring bikes setup with tribars. You can see a youtube example of clip-on bars in action. The main application is a long haul into a headwind and the main advantage is to reduce the width of the frontal profile and reduce the parachute effect of riding with hands splayed apart on bar ends. there is a safety concern with any sticky-outy bar in a crash and you would have to consider secondary brake levers. It is no more barking mad than using tribars on a roadbike. Some steering geometries work better than others with the position.
Butterfly bars offer a selection of alt handholds and are a standard feature of Euro-style touring bikes.

 

[Ajax Bay]

All true. Maybe off the mark for the OP, in the context described (wants 'more of a road bike'), but certainly addresses the "can you suggest something else?" request.

 

[Vapin' Joe]

New bike of course.

The answer to everything is a new bike. You know it makes sense.

 

[mjr]

Perhaps I should have made my opinion explicitly comparative: for simple (ie not touring) road rides of 30-40 miles, compared to a change to drop handlebars, I don't think adding bar ends or fitting butterfly bars are a good option.

No, I think you communicated that. It would be more useful if you explained why you felt what it was about changing to drop handlebars that is worth the relatively larger cost of doing so.

My primary advice is: try to try out the options before making any change.

How exactly do you, say, try out new bars before changing the bars? That seems like advice only leading to a test ride of new bikes.

 

[Ajax Bay]

OP has a hybrid bike with a flat bar but has changed type of cycling over the months, extending ride to 30-40 miles. Wants 'more of a road bike'. A drop handlebarred bike would be 'more of a road bike', would allow a better aerodynamic position (for the longer rides), allows more body and hand positions (so more comfortable than flat bars). Other options fail to meet one or more of these criteria.
(As I said upthread) I do not think it's worth changing a flat bar bike to drop handlebars.
I'm not suggesting trying particular 'new bars': I'm suggesting the OP tries out a bike with drop handlebars (say) or, indeed, a bike with the other options. Upthread you'll see (as well as the LBS test ride option) I suggest that a friend's bike could be borrowed for this, so not necessarily a new 'N+1' route.

 

[mjr]

Wants 'more of a road bike'. A drop handlebarred bike would be 'more of a road bike', would allow a better aerodynamic position (for the longer rides), allows more body and hand positions (so more comfortable than flat bars). Other options fail to meet one or more of these criteria..

Pretty much any of the suggested options except bullhorn bar ends would be "more of a road bike", allow better aerodynamic position and allow more body and hand positions and the above still only asserts that they fail without explaining why!

Anyway, your primary advice is N+1 with +1 being a road bike. No need to dis other options.

 

[shouldbeinbed]

If you do go down the conversion to drop bar route you may well need to factor in new derailleur mechanisms as the cable run and pull per shift can be different.

Its do'able as either flat to drop & vice verca but maybe consider a cheap 2nd hand road bike from ebay or Gumtree to see if you do feel the benefit and comfortable on it and keep the hybrid as is in the short term. Then if you do like road biking you have 2 bikes to contribute to the better bike fund and if you don't, you still have your trusty hybrid to climb back onto and a road bike you will get near as dammit your money back on.