Did you change from Hybrid to Drop Bar Bike
- Thread starter doyler78
- Start date
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That's me done Buddy, I won't be buying another. One for Summer and 1 for Winter is all I need. Anyway you can't really do cyclocross on a Hybrid flat bar 🤔Ahh, the old n+1 solution to bike ownership
Enjoy!
Chief Broom
Veteran
Having a bad back i have no option but flat bars and an upright position 
but given my laid back riding style [hello birds, hello trees 
] thats what i would go for anyway.
**as kids a lot of us had drop bar bikes but always had hands on the top except once in a blue moon descending a hill
but given my laid back riding style [hello birds, hello trees ] thats what i would go for anyway.**as kids a lot of us had drop bar bikes but always had hands on the top except once in a blue moon descending a hill
FrothNinja
Veteran
First bike I rode had ape hangers and a nut cracker stick shift
DCBassman
Guru
- Location
- The lumpy far South West
Nope. Neither is inherently superior, unless racing.
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Handlebars are one of those many 'what floats your boat' things. Depending on your cycling styles, habits and regular distance ridden, drops, straights ( or straightish - !
), butterfly, apehanger, one will suit certain folk more than others. After may years of using different handlebar types, I'm settled on drops for any distance beyond a few miles and am quite happy with the 'M' bars on my 'round the city' Brommy. 
kingrollo
Guru
Actual racing ? - or just wanting to go a bit faster ?
DCBassman
Guru
- Location
- The lumpy far South West
One of the biggest downsides, in my experience, is the crappy performance of drop-bar brifters compared to RapidFire/EZ Fire thumb shifters. There's literally no comparison. I personally do not find the so-called multiplicity of hand positions at all beneficial. For , almost certainly, 99% of cyclists, you ain't going faster no matter what you're holding on to. So yes, unless you're competing, it's purely preference. All the rest is marginal gains which most cannot even aspire to, let alone actually achieve. But of course, each to their own. You like what you like, and in the end, that's all that matters.
kingrollo
Guru
What you don't think you get a performance boost going downhill on the drops ? As well as a lower centre of gravity, ergo more control ?
DCBassman
Guru
- Location
- The lumpy far South West
I never pedal dowhill, but yes, there is plainly some gain in the more aerodynamic position. But for me, that's an irrelevance compared to the ease of use the flat bars give. Even then, I don't go fast enough to notice any difference in control. I'll converge on one point, though: I do not use wide MTB bars. Mine are little wider than drops.
Also, my main bike, flat bars or no, is a full-bore road bike, not a hybrid. 25mm max tyres etc, just no drops.
I'm a step behind on the journey. I've been riding a Cannondale Trail mtb for a few months, purely on the road, and now I'm deciding whether to slowly transition ie to hybrid, or to go the whole hog and buy a drop bar cycle. The hybrid seems and easier transition, and probably more comfortable, and I may never go to road bikes. Or I might find hybrid an unnecessary interim step. Any advice would be welcome. Btw I'm 61 yo.
DCBassman
Guru
- Location
- The lumpy far South West
I went from MTB to drops to flat bar, but did so by converting the drop-bar bike to flat bars. This doesn't always work, due to sizing issues, but my Scot AFD Expert served me well until a month ago, when the frame split. It had had a long and fairly tough life before I had it, so fair enough. Just need to find a similar frame again!
HLaB
Marie Attoinette Fan
I think you need to try a drop bar and see if the geometry fits you and what you are flexible to. I love the advantages of drop bars but if you aren't comfortable there's no advantage and perhaps a disadvantage, depending how uncomfortable. Even then though the geometry of drop bar bikes vary massively, some are very relaxed (a tall head tube is one sign) and others are extremely aggressive.
