29er, CX, Hybrid dispute.....

[wheres_my_beard]

The cx geometry will feel totally different, its not just about tyres and parts. I've found that riding on my hoods gives me huge amounts of control, leverage and stability on tricky rides. Flat bars aren't all that.

 

[MacB]

The cx geometry will feel totally different, its not just about tyres and parts. I've found that riding on my hoods gives me huge amounts of control, leverage and stability on tricky rides. Flat bars aren't all that.

Can do but it more depends on the actual setup and how well the bars are matched to the rider, especially positioning of controls.

For out of the saddle climbing there's nothing quite like being able to get your hands wel apart and, for me, even better if they can be sideways on. Hence a lot of people like bar ends or the increasing popularity of big sweep bars. This just can't be replicated on the tops of drop bars. Which is why the recommendations for setting up a bike with drops for offroad are quite different to on road. The essence of which is prioritising the drops as the main hand position generally resulting in the tops/hoods being too high or out of position for extended use.

 

[AndyFletch]

Many thanks, that's really interesting. Flat bars vs drop bars is my current major consideration as I have to do lots of tricky little bits both along the canal path and through the town centre. It's very interesting that you feel you have more control from the hoods than you'd get on a flat bar.

Been a while since I rode drops (probably close to 30 years) but in my head I thought flat bars would be better for these sections.