Flatbar roadbike

baz2963

Hi,

Im looking at spening £800 on a bike (you may have seen my other thread), initially I was after a road bike, but looking at the Sirrus pro and Trek FX 7.6, which look nice, got me thinking.

Apart from the numerous hand positions that you can do on a road bike is there any other major points on the road v flat bar road argument, are they much slower ? etc...

Ta

paulorg

You tend to be more upright on a flat bar which I suppose is better for your back but it certainly does slow you down a lot. I wish when I had a similar choice that I'd gone for a drop, you just feel less self-conscious than on a flat bar IMO. That said I've broken 40mph more than once on my FB and cruise at comfortably over 20mph on a flat road so maybe its not so bad. Go for a drop anyway

meanwhile

baz2963 wrote:

Hi,

Im looking at spening £800 on a bike (you may have seen my other thread), initially I was after a road bike, but looking at the Sirrus pro and Trek FX 7.6, which look nice, got me thinking.

Apart from the numerous hand positions that you can do on a road bike is there any other major points on the road v flat bar road argument, are they much slower ? etc...

Ta

Assuming if you your flat bar at the same height as you would the hoods on your drops, then "cruising speed" will be the same. Drops give more hand positions and a great low position in the drops for cycling into the wind. Flats give better "look around" and a stronger hand position for braking. Drops tend to be harder to fit to riders. If you buy flats, do what most people don't bother to and cut them down to shoulder length using a hacksaw or £5 pipe cutter; you'll be faster, more comfortable, and have better control.

If I was spending £800 on a hybrid, I'd want disk brakes for all weather braking and reduced rim wear. Look at some boutique makers bikes like the Cotic Roadrat (flats or drops) and the Charge Mixer (flats - and a cool Alfine gear hub). Oh, and a Planet X Uncle John could be made up flat or dropped, with v's or discs. As a bonus you'll also get fewer manufacturers own brand parts - these can be a pain to replace.

judokev

Hi there baz2963,

If you have a quick through you will find my thread about flat bar road bike, I am not spending quite as much you but been getting some good info off guys with flat bar bikes about what they ride, think and different makes check it out it may help.

judokev

Dirty Gertie

Hi baz 2963

I run a flat bar Sirrus Elite as my commuting bike (14 miles a day) and also use it for weekend runs of bettween 35 and 65 miles. For commuting to work through (sometimes) heavy traffic, I find it's flat bar riding position, with fingertips on the brakes hard to beat.

On longer runs with less enforced stopping and starting, it's still a great bike with arguably greater control than drop bars, but any headwinds are more noticable too, and the combination of hills and headwinds has me yearning for drop bars.