Does it make sense if...

[marihino]

decathlon is in most countries in Europe, and I'm pretty much they deliver to where they're not. If that fails, look into other brands; it isn't exactly an unpopular kind of bike.

 

[sidevalve]

If you like tinkering I'm not sure what the problem is. Buy second hand steel [531 tubing] fit a flat bar if you wish and there you go. A 531 steel frame will be well under 12kg and such bikes are easily available for £50 -£150. Check E Bay for some MTB shifters and cables [remember you've got £150 to spend] and you're well in budget.

 

[RichardB]

Flat bar shifters & brakes use different cabling to drop bars, hence you'd need new

Not only that, but the different types of brake have different geometry and mechanical advantage, so the lever matches the geometry of the caliper. Even if you got the cables right, the brake would be less effective (too weak or not enough lever movement). You can only really consider a brake as a system, from lever to friction material. Change one thing, change the lot (unless you really know what you are doing).

 

[mjr]

I'm not happy with holding the flat part of the bar, away from the brake levers. And (don't laugh) the joystick-like things where you hold the bar with your hands in a vertical position, they put too much stress between my forefinger and thumb. I test-ride couple of drop bar bikes, different price ranges, but the handles were practically the same in all of them. And I didn't feel I was holding it securely, with almost no guard to prevent slippage in case I bumped into somehing. Please note that I'm not trying to make a case against drop bars. This is simply my personal preference.

I'm not going to argue against preference (I ride with porteur bars!) but I think that feeling of the hoods being impaled on the joint of the thumb often signifies that the saddle is too far forwards or the bar is rotated too far top-back. Tell the shop staff and ask if they can adjust saddle or bars to stop it.

Other than that, other posters are being far too black and white about things (for example, you can get flat bar caliper brake levers, as they're really common on vintage bikes) but I agree with the general idea that it's easier to buy a flat bar road bike than convert one.