Changing from Drop bars to Straight bars

[Cycleguy]

I have a Cannondale T-2000 and plan on changing to straight handlebars for my Touring.. I seldom use the Drops and find it more comfortable viewing my surroundings.. Anyone agree ??

[ptaylor]

I would hate to see you do that Guy.

Drop bars give so many more hand positions, which I think is important when you spend a lot of hours in the saddle. And of course you can cheat a headwind when needed.

I agree that an upright riding position is nice for touring. Let me suggest that, rather than getting a flat bar, you get a longer handlebar stem, resulting in a more upright position.

Paul

[staehpj1]

Not me.  I think that drop bars are MUCH more comfortable and make sense even if you don't use the drops.  Also I find the Ultegra brifters that I believe are original on the T2000 to be a great setup that won't work with straight bars.

That said, do what you find comfortable.  You can probably sell the Ultegra brifters pretty easily for enough to buy a straight bar and your choice of brake levers and shifters.

No way in heck would I myself go to a straight bar on a touring bike though.

[whittierider]

Just about the only time I use the drops is for maximum control in fast, curvy descents in canyons with strong crosswind gusts.  Still, I would still advise against going to straight bars, for the reasons given above-- mainly the drop bars' many different hand positions available to avoid fatigue from a single position.  But, everyone is different.  I won't do a long ride anymore without my aerobars, which, although they put me in a lower position, are a great relief to my hands, wrists, and elbows, and, to a lesser degree, even my rear and back and shoulders.  Sometimes when I climb, I kind of crouch and put my hands on the aerobars' pads which are a little behind the main handlebar.

For a 7th-grade science project several years ago, our younger son chose to experiment with different positions on the bike for aerodynamics.  We did a lot of coasting runs on a windless day down a constant grade of about 3%, using different positions.  We'd get our speed up to 20mph by a certain point near the top,  then just coast for the length of the descent, and record the terminal speed.  There was almost no difference between drops and hoods, but sitting up tall reduced our speed a few mph, and getting down low and narrow added a few mph.

This message was edited by whittierider on 12-14-07 @ 11:42 AM

[bogiesan]

 I say, take all the pressure off your hands and arms, have a big comfy
seat, and ride heads-up all the time-- get a recumbent.

My personal prejudice, of course, not everyone can ride a recumbent on
tour and enjoy it.

david boise ID

go, ristretto, FCP/AE
"Read the manual."

[jimbeard]

 I don't use my drops a lot but for descending and headwinds they are IMO worth keeping.

Jim

[driftlessregion]

As always the Sheldon Brown website has good info (by Tom Deakins) on this (and any other bicycle topic):
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/deakins/handlebars.html.
Photos of several types of bars and their efficacy for touring.

[ptaylor]

If you can't get Driftless' link to work, try this one. http://www.sheldonbrown.com/deakins/handlebars.html

Driftless had an extra dot at the end.

Paul

[driftlessregion]

Thanks. Boy these things are picky. I was just trying to put a period at the end of the sentence!

[Cycleguy]

Thanks to all who replied to my Topic.. Lots to think about and I did review Sheldon Browns Information.. Still think I might experiment and try straight bars but would add Bar ends and an areo Bar thus giving me more options for comfort.. Have any of you tryed an areo bar on your touring bike ??  

[DaveB]

Another vote for don't do it.  Straight bars have one hand position and poor aerodynamics.  Drop bars, even if you don't use the drops, have at least three places for your hands.

Straight bars with bar ends do have one more hand position but at the cost of greater weight and remoteness from both brake levers and shifters.

[roadrunner]

I've found the treking bar on the Novara Safari I bought a few years ago ideal for touring.  The shifters are located similarly to a flat bar, but the shape of the bar give many hand positions, providing body positions from upright to essentially aero.  (The bar has a much different shape from the one in the Shelden Brown article.)  I installed a stem riser to get to bar high enough to fit my "druthers."

[razor]

 I have to say that I changed out my handle bars and love it, after years of drop bars I'm glad I did; I put on mountain bike bars that kind of circle around in a loop . It gives me about 5 different positions . I was just experimenting with them at first and reused the road brake/shifter levers temporarily . Not only did they work to my surprise , but I found I really liked them . The only problem is I found some bike mechanics tell me they won't stop the bike .The fact that they will stop it with loaded panniers in Appalachian mountains on 14 percent grades doesn't change their preconceived ideas . I guess changing anything on bikes must give them fits , I wonder how they deal with all the innovation in gear and equipment over the last 30 years ? It is a very long list .

Razor

[RussellSeaton]

"reused the road brake/shifter levers temporarily . Not only did they work to my surprise , but I found I really liked them . The only problem is I found some bike mechanics tell me they won't stop the bike .The fact that they will stop it with loaded panniers in Appalachian mountains on 14 percent grades doesn't change their preconceived ideas."

Assuming you are using STI levers with V brakes on your touring bike and not using any of those adapter things to change the amount of cable pull.  STI levers and V brakes are somewhat incompatible because V brakes need lots of cable pulled to move them against the rim.  While STI levers do not pull enough cable.  So an STI lever will bottom out against the handlebar and the brake pads will not be forced into the rim hard enough to get full stopping power.  You have a drag brake basically.  Fine for stop signs you see 100 yards ahead.  Not fine when a car pulls out in front of you and you have a few feet and a second to get stopped.

[whittierider]

Assuming you are using STI levers with V brakes on your touring bike and not using any of those adapter things to change the amount of cable pull.  STI levers and V brakes are somewhat incompatible because V brakes need lots of cable pulled to move them against the rim.  While STI levers do not pull enough cable.  So an STI lever will bottom out against the handlebar and the brake pads will not be forced into the rim hard enough to get full stopping power.  You have a drag brake basically.  Fine for stop signs you see 100 yards ahead.  Not fine when a car pulls out in front of you and you have a few feet and a second to get stopped.

The exception is mini-V's, which don't need as much cable travel as standard V's.  Our road tandem has inexpensive Tektro mini-V's and STI levers, and the braking is outstanding, with no cable-travel adapters.  I was very surprised to find out on a steep, curvy mountain descent when we were hurrying because we were running out of daylight, that with a single finger on the brake lever, I can lock up even the front wheel on dry pavement, something you can only get away with on a tandem since that won't flip it like it would a single bike.