Did you change from Hybrid to Drop Bar Bike

[Twilkes]

One thing I've noticed since getting up to speed on a road bike is that I feel like a right plum on my hybrid wearing leggings and a skinny-fit top - like turning up to your graduation in a wetsuit.

 

[Grant Fondo]

Drops are way way more comfortable if you are doing any distance, flats for poottling and off road only imo

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

Drops are way way more comfortable if you are doing any distance, flats for poottling and off road only imo

There's flat bars and there's flat bars, different widths, different amounts of angle set into them, different amounts of rise. This can make a huge difference in comfort. I have several flat bar machines, so it enables me to compare them for comfort. One MTB I acquired, the bars were literally straight and flat, although fairly narrow. I found these bars very uncomfortable, even on short rides. At the other end of the spectrum, I have a set of 3-speed roadster bars swapped on to one of my hybrids, which I could ride all day because the angle they were set to places no strain on my joints.
Drops are more versatile, but don't dismiss good, well shaped, flat bars. Also, on a MTB, bar ends add an extra option, good for cruising on long straight roads where visibility is good and you don't need your hand at the ready on the brakes.

 

[stoatsngroats]

I had both when I voted some years ago, but have returned to drop bars, because I feel they they are more comfortable. It was the primary choice when choosing my latest C2W last September.
I do still retain flat bars on my Brompton, but that has particular uses, whereas my go to bike is the Genesis.
On my 29er mtb, I had to have bar ends, as I did on the tandem some years back to support a change in grip.
But now, and forever, I will have drops in preference.

 

[jimmy_the_hill]

I have just converted from a Ghost Square Cross 2.8 (flat bar hybrid) that I have ridden for the last 10 months to a Boardman SLR 8.9 Carbon Disc...
Very alien riding positioning, experiencing discomfort I've not had in the previous 10months, but at the same time, loving riding it

 

[GeekDadZoid]

I ride both, they both have benefits and downsides.

If I'm heading to for a ride in jeans and a coat I would not try and get on my road bike with drops, but if I am heading out for a hour+ of pure calorie burning then I know which bike I am taking.

 

[Maccajock]

I got the bug again last year and scoured the second hand market and ended up with a mint boardman hybrid pro which I've fettled to suit me...its a cracking bike.... Just landed another 2nd hand boardman which is the drop bar adv 8.8..hybrid for poodles out with my lass and the adv for longer rides where I can hopefully get to a century by the end of summer

 

[Lovacott]

I got the bug again last year and scoured the second hand market and ended up with a mint boardman hybrid pro which I've fettled to suit me...its a cracking bike.... Just landed another 2nd hand boardman which is the drop bar adv 8.8..hybrid for poodles out with my lass and the adv for longer rides where I can hopefully get to a century by the end of summer

I've been on hard tail MTB's since the mid 1990's when my drop bar Racer got trashed in an accident. Dependable, shock proof, heavy, hard work.

Just bought a Boardman road bike. Easy peasy, lightning fast, avoid any cracks in the road or else.

Chalk and cheese to ride but both come out level on merit points depending on where I am riding.

Horses for courses as the old saying goes.

It's a compelling case for owning a stable of bikes rather than just the one.

Wish me luck as I ask the missus for yet another £500.

 

[mikeIow]

Drops are way way more comfortable if you are doing any distance, flats for poottling and off road only imo

Lawks, don't tell me that: I'm hoping these bad boys will get me through LEJoG in 2 months

Plenty of "relaxing" positions, had a few cm's taken off the width.....
Gotta remember I'm no Bradley Wiggins

 

[Grant Fondo]

Lawks, don't tell me that: I'm hoping these bad boys will get me through LEJoG in 2 months
View attachment 577829
Plenty of "relaxing" positions, had a few cm's taken off the width.....
Gotta remember I'm no Bradley Wiggins

Those bar ends will defo help!

 

[Mardlinboy]

So often we see people who come on the forums here who are complete beginners, at least during adulthood, who are looking for a new bike. Often they feel intimidated by drop bars thinking that they aren't good enough for one or just think they look strange. They then set their mind on a hybrid or flat bar road bike.

Just wondering about those people that first bought a hybrid/flat bar road bike and how many of them have since converted to a drop bar version (for the purposes of the poll anything which isn't a drop bar counts as a hybrid ie slicked up moutain bikes, etc which are used primarily on road or towpaths - no mountain biking country included as that takes a much more specialised bike)

I started by getting a Voodoo Marasa.. Really love it but just fancied an adventure bike set up and something with a lot less gears to faff around with... I was going to go for the Voodoo Limba.. But got enticed into a Planet X London Road... I was going to sell the Marasa but now think I may keep it as well for the heavier tails etc.. Love the London Road, it is a very different riding style though.. So light.. May put wider tyres on to give it a bit more gravel capability...

 

[my_key]

last year was the first time I got a drop bar bike, and since then, i never took my old MTB out of the garage

 

[DCBassman]

Drops are way way more comfortable if you are doing any distance, flats for poottling and off road only imo

But I would say just the opposite. Not to mention that drop bar brifters are very poor in operation, in my experience, compared to Shimano EZ-Fire shifters. Flats, no contest, and I've tried quite hard to like drops.

 

[Justified_Sinner]

I rode a drop-bar road bike from about age 12 - 17 then stopped riding for ages. When I went back to it at age 24 or so, it was time for the rise of the mountain bike and I was besotted: I bought a cheap (not even £100 in 1988) mountain bike and rode it until it fell apart; then an aluminium Univega 802 (which I still ride off-road) and a Univega hybrid for commuting. I stuck to the hybrid for commuting and it wasn't until late 2018 that I decided that I wanted to go back to drop bars on a road bike. I'm still not quite sure why I wanted to do this but it was definitely something to do with not using most of the 24 gears on my Giant hybrid and developed the idea that I'd like to go back to a 3- or 5-speed road bike.
On the advice of a friend, I started looking at gravel bikes, a development which had really passed me by and I bought the drop-handlebar version of the 11-speed Ribble CGR-AL, which got me back in love with the sheer pleasure of riding a bike on the road and has led me to finding a 1968 Carlton Corsa 5-speed to renovate!

I still ride flats off-road but for the road, commuting and the like, it will be drops from now on.

 

[matticus]

Lawks, don't tell me that: I'm hoping these bad boys will get me through LEJoG in 2 months

You'll probably be totally fine. It's very likely that drops would be a little better, but it's no deal-breaker. Have fun!