Road handlebars on an MTB-on road use

JamesB
JamesB Posts: 1,184
edited September 2012 in MTB workshop & tech
What effect would fitting road bars on an MTB handling have? I`m finding flat / riser bars quite uncomfortable to use---no matter what grips , bar ends fitted, and getting wrist aches and pins and needles after an hour or so (riding MTB as a hybrid on road).

By contrast my flat top road bars are so much more comfortable , so considering fitting set to MTB with a much shorter stem (40 -50mm); will it make handling very twitchy? completely mess up handling?

thanks
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Comments

  • nicklouse
    nicklouse Posts: 50,673
    what bars are you thinking of?

    what are your gears? what brakes and gears are you thinking of using?
    "Do not follow where the path may lead, Go instead where there is no path, and Leave a Trail."
    Parktools :?:SheldonBrown
  • JamesB
    JamesB Posts: 1,184
    recognise rather expensive having to fit Shimano drop bar shifters and cable discs, but would sell on existing shifter etc (current setup XT rear mech / XTR shifters / Deore hydraulics / double Middleburn chainset 9 speed / SRAM 9 11-34 block)

    Q is more about effect on bike handling !
  • nicklouse
    nicklouse Posts: 50,673
    personally i would just fit a short stem to start with. as that will have the same basic effect. unless you go on the drops.

    what will it do. move your weight back and offer a more upright position.
    "Do not follow where the path may lead, Go instead where there is no path, and Leave a Trail."
    Parktools :?:SheldonBrown
  • wheezee
    wheezee Posts: 461
    A stem that fits the flat bar, won't fit the drop bars though, will it?
  • styxd
    styxd Posts: 3,234
    Have you tried adjusting your current setup?

    It might be worth rtrying some minor adjustments. Rotate your bars backwards slightly, rotate your brake levers further backwards, try moving all your controls and grips further inwards (towards the stem), thicker or thinner grips.
  • nicklouse
    nicklouse Posts: 50,673
    wheezee wrote:
    A stem that fits the flat bar, won't fit the drop bars though, will it?
    it can do exactly the same as if you fitted a road bar and stem.
    "Do not follow where the path may lead, Go instead where there is no path, and Leave a Trail."
    Parktools :?:SheldonBrown
  • wheezee
    wheezee Posts: 461
    Yes, I was thinking of trying to move to drops part by part, rather than experimenting with parts that may later become redundant.
  • nicklouse
    nicklouse Posts: 50,673
    wheezee wrote:
    Yes, I was thinking of trying to move to drops part by part, rather than experimenting with parts that may later become redundant.
    impossible nothing will work on the drops. the bars are not the same width.

    still like i said you can still put MTB bars in the "same" place as and road bar.
    "Do not follow where the path may lead, Go instead where there is no path, and Leave a Trail."
    Parktools :?:SheldonBrown
  • dhobiwallah
    dhobiwallah Posts: 272
    Never tried them myself but have you looked at ergo grips?
  • JamesB
    JamesB Posts: 1,184
    yes they are marginally better but still get discomfort after a bit :)
  • nicklouse
    nicklouse Posts: 50,673
    JamesB wrote:
    yes they are marginally better but still get discomfort after a bit :)
    What are you actually trying to do?
    Where do you want your hands in relation to where they are now?
    "Do not follow where the path may lead, Go instead where there is no path, and Leave a Trail."
    Parktools :?:SheldonBrown
  • JamesB
    JamesB Posts: 1,184
    I mostly ride a road bike but am setting up an MTB for winter road use---more robust , disc brakes etc. With road bike I ride a lot , and climb , with hands lying on top of the top of centre bar section--flat carbon bars, and also a lot on the tops of brake hoods. Due to a MTB accident a couple year ago :( when I damaged the ligaments in left wrist I now find riding on MTB bars causes more discomfort than on road bars.
    Whether with road or MTB bars it is also uncomfortable to grip around the bars in a straight wrist position, I therefore ride with my thumbs on top of the bars with hands flat. Hence thoughts about road bars on my MTB
  • nicklouse
    nicklouse Posts: 50,673
    so it is more of the grip size? or position?

    have you looked at On-Ones bars?

    the Mary, the Fleelel and the Mungo (road fit) or even the Bingo.

    just be aware, as i have already mentioned the clamping diameter for road and MTB is different. so going for road drops will mean a total change of kit.

    http://www.on-one.co.uk/c/q/bars_and_grips

    MTB clamp area is 22.2mm
    "Do not follow where the path may lead, Go instead where there is no path, and Leave a Trail."
    Parktools :?:SheldonBrown
  • YeehaaMcgee
    YeehaaMcgee Posts: 5,740
    JamesB wrote:
    With road bike I ride a lot , and climb , with hands lying on top of the top of centre bar section--flat carbon bars, and also a lot on the tops of brake hoods.
    I don't follow. You have flat carbon bars, but drop bar brake levers? And where in god's name are your hands "top of the top of the centre bar section" makes no sense.
    My photos
  • JamesB
    JamesB Posts: 1,184
    You have flat carbon bars, but drop bar brake levers

    flat top bars / aero / wing top etc ie road drop carbon bars with a flattened centre section for added comfort on a road bike
  • JamesB
    JamesB Posts: 1,184
    have you looked at On-Ones bars?

    looks an interesting set of bars; issue I think is having my wrists `squared off` on a MTB bar, so On One types with generous back sweep may help
  • YeehaaMcgee
    YeehaaMcgee Posts: 5,740
    JamesB wrote:
    You have flat carbon bars, but drop bar brake levers

    flat top bars / aero / wing top etc ie road drop carbon bars with a flattened centre section for added comfort on a road bike
    You've just confused me even more now.
    My photos
  • JamesB
    JamesB Posts: 1,184
    these : http://www.carboncycles.cc/?s=0&t=2&c=59&p=985&

    on a road bike; issue is flat MTB bars on my MTb aren`t comfortable,
    these http://www.carboncycles.cc/?s=0&t=2&c=59&p=985& on my road bike are, very :):)

    So Q was can these eg http://www.carboncycles.cc/?s=0&t=2&c=59&p=985& be fitted to an MTB
  • YeehaaMcgee
    YeehaaMcgee Posts: 5,740
    Right, so you have drop bars, and find them comfortable, however, you don;t actually use the drops. right. I think.
    Nick has pointed out that you can't just fit them to your MTB.
    How long have you been riding the MTB? You might just need time to acclimatise. My wrists ached for the first couple of weeks of riding a road bike, but it soon settled down.
    My photos
  • JamesB
    JamesB Posts: 1,184
    How long have you been riding the MTB?

    at least ten years. (and rode 1050 miles LEJOG on similar MTB setup as now)........BUT you may have hit nail on head there :) due to a regression / progression to extensive road riding MTB riding has taken a very small back seat now, and it is only because I`m looking at using my MTB as a robust winter bike that i`m getting to ride it more. So maybe practise will make for more comfort ?

    rarely use drops correct, except fast downhills for better brake control
  • YeehaaMcgee
    YeehaaMcgee Posts: 5,740
    It could be as simple as that, yes. In my case, I suspect the comfort on the road bike was caused because there's slightly different muscles being used to support yourself with different riding positions, and a lifetime of riding MTBs meant that I needed to build up a little endurance in those muscle groups.
    I'm not certain though, and that's just my own ponderings on the matter.
    My photos
  • BigStu2
    BigStu2 Posts: 794
    Instead of modifiying your mtb with road bars which, if your mtb frame fits perfectly with flat bars will be considerably longer with roadbars when your on the hoods, upwards of 10 to 12cm depending on the choice of bar and lever position, so if you've got the funds buy a cylocross bike, I'm wrapped in mine, amazing what you can do on one of them and how often your over-biked when out on simple gravel roads with an mtb.
    .........all
    ...at........work
    fun..................&
    ..no.............no
    .....is......play
  • Mendalot
    Mendalot Posts: 3
    Interesting thread this one! I have just joined the forum with the intention of asking a similar question! Before I go on, a little back ground .... started my cycling life in the mid 70's (yes yes ... old git now) Time trials, road races and my speciality, hill climbing .... Junior champion no less. moved on to mountain biking in the early 90's and have been riding off road ever since.
    I have tried every bar and bar end combination available (well almost) and have not yet felt as comfortable as you do when riding on the hoods of drop handle bars, so I know where the original poster is coming from.

    I am going to attempt to build a winter training bike, a hard tail cross between an MTB and a Cyclocross bike. Having been away from the bike workshop enviroment for a number of years now, I need to rely on the experience of you guys who are still in the thick of it, for some answers if poss, to save me buying stuff and it not fitting.

    1, Can I fit cyclocross canti brakes to the standard bosses on a 26" MTB frame and will they line up with the rims?

    2, What brake levers will fit drop bars and work with XTR gears and canti's on a MTB?

    Sorry if long winded :?

    Cheers ...... Paul.
  • nicklouse
    nicklouse Posts: 50,673
    1 unlikely as they are designed for bigger wheels. andyou dont say what size rims you might use.

    2 some and none.gears yes (and not ) brakes no. XTR cantis. god they will be old or do you mean V brakes?


    as you will now see you have to be specific.

    XTR has been around for many a year and not all interchangeable. ''front mechs are not interchangeable due to ring diameter. road cranks often catch mtb chain stays.

    TBH buy a cross bike.
    "Do not follow where the path may lead, Go instead where there is no path, and Leave a Trail."
    Parktools :?:SheldonBrown
  • YeehaaMcgee
    YeehaaMcgee Posts: 5,740
    Most peculiar, I find my hands are far more comfortable on mtb bars than on roadie hoods.
    Here's a thought though, do you not suspect that your hands are suffering more on the mtb because of the greater battering your hands take off road?
    My photos
  • bikaholic
    bikaholic Posts: 350
    Mendalot wrote:
    Interesting thread this one! I have just joined the forum with the intention of asking a similar question! Before I go on, a little back ground .... started my cycling life in the mid 70's (yes yes ... old git now) Time trials, road races and my speciality, hill climbing .... Junior champion no less. moved on to mountain biking in the early 90's and have been riding off road ever since.
    I have tried every bar and bar end combination available (well almost) and have not yet felt as comfortable as you do when riding on the hoods of drop handle bars, so I know where the original poster is coming from.

    I am going to attempt to build a winter training bike, a hard tail cross between an MTB and a Cyclocross bike. Having been away from the bike workshop enviroment for a number of years now, I need to rely on the experience of you guys who are still in the thick of it, for some answers if poss, to save me buying stuff and it not fitting.

    1, Can I fit cyclocross canti brakes to the standard bosses on a 26" MTB frame and will they line up with the rims?

    2, What brake levers will fit drop bars and work with XTR gears and canti's on a MTB?

    Sorry if long winded :?

    Cheers ...... Paul.


    Drop bars on a mountain bike is nothing new. BITD, Johnny Tomac was racing drop bars on his mountain bike. And, probably before that, some inquisitive or hard up soul may have already been riding one.

    Here is one I built some time ago:

    specialized_hr_cx_style_01.jpg
    specialized_hr_cx_style_02.jpg


    If I can find my old hard drives, I will post some full suspension John Whyte Marins and Specialized FSRs that I kitted out with drop bars.
  • YeehaaMcgee
    YeehaaMcgee Posts: 5,740
    You're probably best off suffering a little discomfort and having working brakes though, haha!
    My photos
  • bikaholic
    bikaholic Posts: 350
    YeehaaMcgee wrote:
    You're probably best off suffering a little discomfort and having working brakes though, haha!

    Build one and see.

    If you notice, the pads are standard mountain v-brake cartridge pads and have bite enough for trials style stopping.
  • YeehaaMcgee
    YeehaaMcgee Posts: 5,740
    Yeah, I remember cantis. I still have nightmares.
    If you can ride your trails with narrow drop bars, and cantis, then a mountain bike is not what you need.
    My photos
  • Mendalot
    Mendalot Posts: 3
    Ahhhhh, thats the idea :D What brake levers are those and can you get them for a tripple chain set?
    This bike is not to replace my trusty Whyte 46. The one Im building will be used for going to work and back during the winter, which is predominately road and hard pack and riding on hoods has always been more comfortable on the roads than flat bars, but if the fancy takes, I can zip off onto the trails for a little off road fun :wink:
    So perhaps we call them MCRB's mountaincrossroadie bikes !!! :P

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