Originally Posted by
stapfam
If you do get drop handlebars- You will probably find that most of your riding will be done on the hoods--The top of the brake levers. Very few road riders use the drop position much.
An inaccurate generalization, and completely up to personal preference.
Originally Posted by
stapfam
This is to give a more stretched out ride position that is also aerodynamic. The same position can be achieved by fitting Long Bar ends to your current bike.
Also inaccurate. Being in the drops on a road bike and having bar ends on a flat bar hybrid are two different things. It is not the same position. Being in the drops gets you a little farther forward but the primary point of drops is getting lower, not more stretched out. How stretched out you are is dependent on top tube length and stem length.
If you want to get as low as a drop bar position on a flat bar hybrid, you would need to remove spacers and get a much longer stem. That would screw up fit pretty badly resulting in more stress on the wrists, arms, and shoulders.
The way to get lower on a flat bar bike is
not to buy bar ends, but to simply grab the bars closer to the stem and bend your elbows more. It's not as comfortable as drops, but a hybrid is not a race bike. If aerodynamics are that important you should buy a road bike in the first place.
Yes, converting a flat bar bike to drop bars is possible.
You would need different brake levers and brakes, since road levers have a different amount of cable pull not suitable for V brakes.
Also needed are road shifters. You can buy brifters (brake levers and shifters in one unit) or brake levers with bar end shifters.
The front derailleur needs to be a road type.
You will need drops which are the same diameter as your stem clamp, OR buy a new stem.
The rear derailleur will work fine as is.
Cables and housing will need to be redone.
Another
major consideration is top tube length. Flat bar bikes generally have longer top tubes than road bikes. What this means is you'll need a shorter stem to get the drops to fit, but you can only go so short with a stem before steering gets squirrelly.
In summation, it's an expensive job and it's a pain in the butt. If you don't know how to do the work yourself, it's an even more expensive proposition.
My advice? Save up for a road bike.