What handlebars??

[Haagston103]

Hello all!

I've got a specialised Sirrus sport road bike , and have recently done the 77 Cambridge to Norwich cycle ride, one thing I noticed is the majority of bikes had drop bars and not the straight sort that I have, would there be any benefit other than aerodynamics in changing mine to drop bars? I'm not unhappy about mine at all though I do feel I could get more out of the bike if I could lean forward just that little bit more!

So question is; is there any point in changing the bars to drop bars from straight ones??

Thanks
David

 

[Elswick Cotterpin]

It's a can of worms to be honest. Drop bars you'd be more aerodynamic, as you said, more possible hand positions too, but only if you get on with them. You may find you don't like them, not everyone gets on well with them. Plus, I imagine you'd have to buy new brake levers/shifters/brifters whatever they call them these days.. then, are your current brakes/gears going to be compatible with the new levers/shifters/brifters... It goes on.

You could try bar-ends, if you don't have them, more hand positions, get you leaning forward a bit more...?

 

[User32269]

As above ^^^ I have old m-trax as knockabout bike. Prefer drop bars but the expense of changing levers etc. isn't justified, plus may not be comfortable positioning options.
I fitted small bar end grips on and this gives more options for changing position. Regularly rode 60miles + with no discomfort.

 

[Haagston103]

Thanks guys all valid points! I already have bar ends on them which do afford me a certain amount of variation in positioning, I guess I don't really do all that much speed cycling, I'm not exactly doing the tour of Britain and sitting on the back wheel of the bike in front of me! Perhaps it's an if it's not broke don't fix it scenario!

 

[vickster]

Drop the bars down the headtube by taking a spacer or two out of you can? Get a more aggressive position

 

[MichaelW2]

Drop bars offer a variety of hand positions so you can delay fatigue.
You can position the bars how you like, upright or low down, near or far. If the rider position is the same, it makes no difference what shape of bar they are holding.
Bar profiles vary. Some have deep drops, others have shallow ones.

Converting from flat to drop is not trivial, you need new controls and the extra 4" of reach may affect handling.

As an alternative, consider clip-on aerobars. Some are used for aerodynamics, others are used for comfort.

 

[Sbudge]

There are other options too of course...you can also use a set of bull-horn bars with TT shifters. Gives me a range of positions that were a little more progressive than just bar-ends but not full drops. Of course all the concerns about other expenses remain.

 

[mjr]

Converting from flat to drop is not trivial, you need new controls and the extra 4" of reach may affect handling.

You don't necessarily need new controls, but choice of bars will be restricted and it may end up looking a bit Frankenbike.

If you want to try a more aerodynamic position on flat bars, put your hands near the stem, bend the elbows and lean forwards Remember that you need to move your hands back out to use the brakes or gears, so be cautious!

Flat and drop bars are both poor substitutes. North roads and porters are the best. (runs away...)

 

[Southside Mike]

I use a Sirrus for regular commuting on city streets and think it's an excellent design. However I also have a Triban 500 and when you compare the two bikes the frame of the Sirrus is very different to the road bike - I know Specialized call it a "flat bar road bike" but IMO it is very much a hybrid design and I'm not at all sure that putting drop handlebars on it will turn it into anything like a road bike. It would also be pretty expensive and I don't think justified for that bike.

Why not do what I did and buy a relatively inexpensive road bike and see whether you like riding on drops. I've certainly found that for open road riding I do prefer the body position you get with drops, although I must admit I spend most of the time on the hoods, so I'm not sure the "different hand position" thing is really as much of an issue as some people say it is.

 

[vickster]

Previous incarnations of the Sirrus shared a frame with the drop bar Secteur. I don't know if this is still the case

 

[StuAff]

I've seen at least one Sirrus with drops on and it looked like it was designed that way.