any one ride a flatbar road bike

Why limit your hand positions? If you like to be more upright just ride on the flats. Then you have the hoods and the drops to move to for variety.

I recently rented a hybrid on a vacation where I did a lot of cycling (great trails), because there were no road bikes available to rent. I ended up with my elbows on the bar/grips on smooth straight-aways as it just felt so much more comfortable to switch positions. Also felt much more aero... each time I went from sitting up to leaning forward I would drop ~2 gears and go quite a bit faster w/the same pedalling effort. To me -- reaffirmation that the aerodynamics & varied positions of drop handlebars make a world of difference!

I agree with the previous two posters; drop bars are the way to go. When I started commuting on my road bike, I stayed on the flats almost all the time -- it seemed more comfortable than drops and I thought it was really the best position for me. I always thought that drops made my neck sore.

After commuting regularly now and putting in my time training, my neck is never sore (muscle development or desensitization?) and I would never consider going to flat bars. The varied positions are a comfort issue; the aerodynamic benefits of drops are real and very noticeable; and the extra attention drops teach you to pay to your posture on the bike (IE, you pay more attention to how your body feels when you're in an otherwise unfamiliar pose) puts you in better touch with your ride and improves your handling and and power transfer over time.

Go with the drops. You'll be happy that you did (after you get used to them a bit).

Flat bars will slow you down, although you will gain speed just because you're on a lighter bike and have thinner wheels. Unless you have a back problem, you should have no problem with getting used to the drop bars.

My self and several others, over 50s, find the flat bar road bikes ideal. Brute speed is not that important, however bikes with the 1 tooth jump in the rear cassette and 25mm tyres have a big advantage over MTB based hybrids.

Look at Felt SR71/81/91, Giant CRX 1/2/3 and Avanti Blade Comp/Pro as good examples.

As for varied hand position, bar ends or aero bars are viable add on options.

gclark8 said:

My self and several others, over 50s, find the flat bar road bikes ideal. Brute speed is not that important, however bikes with the 1 tooth jump in the rear cassette and 25mm tyres have a big advantage over MTB based hybrids.

Look at Felt SR71/81/91, Giant CRX 1/2/3 and Avanti Blade Comp/Pro as good examples.

As for varied hand position, bar ends or aero bars are viable add on options.

I am anxiously awaiting the delivery of my Giant Cypress SL hybrid😄 It fills the bill for the immediate need - distance, comfort, some speed. My first century 😎 . Oh yeah...I'm 47.

Some of these posts about flat-bars are just silly...ie. "they will slow you down".

OK- admit to your self that you are not out riding because you are convinced you will kick Armstrongs ass in the Tour, and there we go.
"neck pain"- well, the bike was set up wrong, and conceivably, you could encounter the same problem on drops.
"I rented a hybrid"... well, a flat bar road bike is NOT a hybrid- it is a whole different machine entirely-especially since most hybrids are "comfort bikes"- fat seats, cushy post, raised bars and 32c at least tires...all that spell "uncomfort bike" to me
"Why limit your hand positions- just ride on the hoods" well, if your going to do that- why not go flat?

Here it comes from the newly appointed president of the Flat-Bar Road Bike Advocacy group
I ride a flatty for the following reasons:
1.Better stability- for me, because anything over about 35mph (which I can crank on the bike) is INSANE, I ride a flatbar. The wheelbase is slightly longer then that of a traditional road bike and it is less "twitchy". The handlebar width and position of the brakes is also better for "baleout" situations encountered in traffic, and the position, when fitted properly, leaves the topline of my back where it would be if I was riding the hoods of a road bike.
2. V-brakes- these allow for a little bit wider tire if you want (28c cushions the bumps), or a skinny one for less resistance (23c)- however, most of us will never notice the difference
3.Better fit- fact is, I fit better into a non-traditional geometry. The top tube of my bike is slanted and allows me to ride a bigger frame then traditional road bikes do, to composate for a freakishly long torso and freakishly short inseam
4.Shifters- if the shifters were still on the downtube, I would still ride drops-I hate those damn break shifter combo's (STI's) and I don't care who knows it!
Problems- hand position, which I corrected by adding bar ends- aero bars also fit flatty's very nicely.
Anyway- buy what you know you will ride.I think if you research this, you will find that drop guys are convinced that that has to be the most comfortable position to ride in...it was a long time ago, but with aheads that has gone by the wayside and forced all of us, regardless of our size and ...uh...girth...into a position that is best suited for racers. In the old days with adjustable quills (which are still available from fine manufacturers like Rivendell) yes, drops were very comfortable, but I beg to differ with those who say they are so on aheads. If you aren't going to be racing and just want to ride for fun, get what is comfortable- I rode drops for years and fell to my knees and thanked god when the flatbar came into my life
For me, that was a Giant Cypress SL- Full Ultegra (now), Carbon fork and seatpost, 23c Armadillos- flat bar and thumb shifted
Fact is, I was at the VineMan Triathalon and happy to see several Flatty's out there, going just as fast and just as far...

Note, the sexy Giant Cypress flat bar bikes are now know in Australia as Giant CRX 1/2/3 formerly giant perigee.

Yes, I agree with all the coments made by T-Sam. 🙂

In fact, I am now converting the MTB to a flat bar config, rigid CrMo forks, alloy flat bars, 8 speed 11-30, see how it goes next week...

I converted my Cannondale R900 to a flat bar ...... and I love it! Could never get comfy on drop bars like on my Mtn. bike.

It's your bike ... do what feels right and ride!

Tim

Compact geometry (sloped top tube) is becoming increasingly common on road bikes.

It seems that people choose the flat-bar road bike because of neck pain from riding the drops.

I personally don't like downtube/friction shifters.

Then again, go with what you like, not with what traditionalists think.

I ride with flatbars and keep up fine with my group. If you are in a serious race then perhaps the drop bars will help you out but how often are you racing? My bike is a Felt SR-91, mostly stock though I plan on upgrading both derailleurs to Ultegra soon. I love the flatbars and would recommend that instead of taking anyones opinion as fact you go out and try one. If you go with Giant I would recommend the Cypress SX over the above mentioned SL, but over the Giant I would recommend the Felt line of flatbars (SL91-71) as they have a more true road geometry where the only real difference is in fact the handle bars.

see notice the difference between the Felt and the Giant. I tried both and much preferred the Felt.

larue said:

If you go with Giant I would recommend the Cypress SX over the above mentioned SL.

Why the SX over SL? SL has Ultegra, carbon fork, and clipless pedals- SX is 105 with cage pedals and alloy components (they are both in my garage- sl for me, sx for wifey)...Couldn't help but notice you are considering turning your sr91 into an SR71- that might be fine for you, but I sure wouldn't reccomend it to others, spend the money once I say

oppps. that was a typo I didn't catch.

as far as upgrading goes, not it's definitely not the best way to go, but at the time I did not have the extra money (talking cash here, would never use credit to buy a bike) to spend on the bike but now I do so I can upgrade to the bike I really want. though I'm holding off for now to check out the campy chorus fb line before I make a decision.

If I was considering a converions of a drop to flat, I'd give a Moustache Bar serious consideration. The down side of course is you'd more or less wind up having to ditch your existing shifter/brake levers and go with barcons. Having now experienced barcons, I'm definetly a convert though, having the ability to slap up or down a couple gears in one shot is quite nice. And trimming out the drive train can't be beat.

i appreciate everyones participation in this thread, i see the beenifit to drop bars for pure performance, however i like the setup of flat bars and bar ends to provide differnt hand positions..

the felt sr71 looks to be quite an impressive bike (impress price tag for a second bike), im not to fond of giant products. does anyone have experiance with the specialized or fuji entries in this catagorie of bikes?

What about this...?