Flat bar riding position

[Cyclist33]

Hi All,

I've been exclusively riding a road bike for the last several years, and love the riding positions available with a set of drop bars (non ergo, straight ones in my case). I use the drops around 1/3 of the time for commuting (more for long rides), and tend to ride on the hoods the rest of the time.

Anyways, I'm now considering a hybrid for a new commuting bike (because my current road bike is a golden oldie with a 53/42 front crankset and 26t biggest back cog, and I'm... ahem... struggling a bit up the 9% average mile long hill on the way into work).

My question is, what riding positions are available with a flat bar hybrid?

I tried one out the other day in my LBS (a specialised sirrus - basically a flat bar road bike with a triple crankset), and it felt a bit like riding a boat - super wide bars and a super high stem. I was thinking about some combination of the following:

1) Get a bigger frame size than usual with a longer top bar to stretch out the riding position

2) Turn the stem upside down to lower the handle bars and get into a slightly more aggressive riding position

3) Put on some bar ends to stretch out the riding position... Since the flat bar is so long I'd be happier with these closer towards the middle of the bar (not as far as a tri bar, but somewhere in between) rather than out at the ends

4) these look somewhat dubious to me, but if anyone has had good experiences with them I'll give it a go:
http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/origin8-pro-pulsion-road-ends-drop-bar-bar-ends-black-prod18606/

Any thoughts?

1 - Surely the bigger frame would have an even longer head tube so you'd be even more boatlike? Conversely I tried a road bike that was a frame size too large (LBS bloke didn't know what he was doing recommending that) and it felt like "riding a boat" exactly how I described it. So no I wouldn't go with that.

2. Yep, done this plenty, this does give you a more racy position. Also a longer stem ("top bar" as you call it) in combination with flipping it. Also you can lower it's position on the steering column by putting the spacers above the stem instead of below it. Doing all this will lower the front end considerably, and is how I run my flat-bar hybrid, almost exactly except for...

3. I do exactly what you've described. Actually at the moment I have a ridiculous setup which is painful to ride which I'm going to change, but my "classic" setup on my hybrid is a flat bar, at the bottom of the steering column, stem flipped and bar-ends in-board of the handlebar grips.

4. Drop-bar bar-ends will make your bike look like a road bike with extremely wide handlebars. I think it would be quite uncomfortable riding in the drops with such a setup and wouldn't recommend it.

Stu

 

[Cyclist33]

http://www.cyclechat.net/attachments/p1030331-jpg.15083/

 

[Cyclist33]

PS - thank you, your thread has convinced me to return my hybrid to the setup I described, which is what I'm spending this evening embroiled in

 

[ChrisEyles]

Hi Stu,

Glad to hear my ideas weren't so far off the mark! I like the set-up in your pic - but I'm curious, what's the *ridiculous* set-up like?!

In the end I've been fortunate enough to be directed towards a touring bike in my budget range (pretty much exactly what I wanted, and I'm ridiculously pleased to find it so cheap), so won't have to customise a flat bar set-up after all... though the tinkering does sound like quite a lot of fun

 

[Cyclist33]

The "ridiculous" setup is gone and won't be rekindled any time soon! It was sooo painful on the hands and actually seemed to make me slower, whether that was an aerodynamics thing or a physiological, who knows. Awful!

 

[Cyclist33]

http://www.cyclechat.net/attachments/dsc04306-jpg.34449/

Utterly ridiculous

 

[ChrisEyles]

Haha, my hands hurt just looking at it!

 

[Cyclist33]

It was quite comfy holding the bars immediately either side of the central point, but was good for ******-all else!

 

[Cycleops]

14.5kg so not too shabby either

Still nearly 2k heavier than the Zelos, but does have a rack. Would be a more comfortable ride. You pays your money etc.

 

[mcshroom]

It is heavier than the Zelos, but it is also a full touring bike with much larger clearances and a more upright position. It's also chromo-steel which is a bit heavier, but IMHO a better ride for distance.

 

[Cycleops]

I think there are a few on here who have used them for commutes.

Post the question and i am sure you will get the fan club along.

To be fair any bike of that price is going to have pretty much the same components. Just give it a real good set up check over, grease, lube etc and all should be well.

I know a guy on a Halfords bike who has done some serious miles this year and only needed a chain.

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_888017_langId_-1_categoryId_165710

Lovely name "Zelos". I wonder if Halfords have ever been tempted to bring out a model for religious fanatics and call it the "Zealot". If they got fed up with cycling they could saw up the frame for pipe bombs. Just a thought.

 

[ChrisEyles]

The extra weight's got to be worth it for a steel frame!