greg.

Is there such thing as a bike where I can sit perfectly straight up? It would be like when riding with no hands, and the handle bars are so long (or angled toward you) that they are still reachable in this position. This would obviously be for comfort (back, hands), not aerodynamics. I was thinking of having custom handle bars made for my mountain bike, but then I realized that would be complicated with gear shifting...

I realize cruisers are more straight up than my mountain bike, but I don't know if they are completely and 100% straight up. I also still want lots of gears. Call me crazy, but this is what I want.

Thanks.

Dave Cutter

You're NOT crazy! There are tons of recumbent cycles out there. Nothing wrong with comfort.

FBinNY 

There are a few that come close and could probably be modified to what you want with new bars, but they're all low end bikes sold in big box stores.

OTOH there are lots of nice hybrids, that could probably be made into what you want with changes to the bars and saddle.

Search the net using phrases like "upright bicycle" "bicycle with upright riding position", and other similar phrases, and you'll find some ideas, along with articles that might suggest specific brands. Also search for "Dutch bikes" or similar for other possibilities.

greg.

This is true, I should have mentioned recumbents. They are cool, and I have a recumbent exercise bike, but I'd prefer to be high off the ground. Basically, I want to ride a "regular bike" without hands but have the handle bars magically there.

greg.

I've tried searching upright bikes (need to more), but I didn't know about "Dutch bikes", so thanks. Also, I'll need to pay someone to make the changes (and I still want lots of gears) with my limited knowledge/experience/tools/etc. I wish there was one ready to go.

Rollfast

Ape hangers angled back? What size frame do you require/your measurements?

greg.

I'm 6'1" with ~33" legs, so based on an online calculator, I may need a 19" frame.

fietsbob

You are talking A Dutch bike Opa (grandpa) Oma (grandma)

they are designed to be a bike you ride to get to any place wearing the clothes you wear
during the day where you are going to , suit and tie or flowing Dress

Jeff Wills

FWIW: I ride a recumbent (Easy Racers Gold Rush) and my head is close to the same height as many "upright" cyclists' heads. The Sun EZ-Sport places the rider's head even higher.

There are plenty of ways to put tall "ape-hanger" handlebars on an upright bike. All it takes is a bicycle shop that knows what parts it takes to build what you want.

Philphine

a foot foward bike should do it, especialy with some cruiser handlebars. a stretch cruiser should also.

Soody

Get a road bike with a threaded fork (quill stem, old style), a tall headtube and in a larger size (small gap between top tube and groin, or no gap- for you maybe a 60 or 62cm bike). Pair with Technomic stem and bars which sweep up and back. Bar end shifters will work with anything, so don't worry about compatibility. You can find brake levers to pull the right amount of cable for any kind of brake too, no hastle.



Nitto Technomic Stem, Tall, 26.0 Clamp






Fiddling with all this stuff is totally not difficult or frustrating (unless the bike is in bad condition), so you could fit the bars, stem and shifters that fit the bars, then the only hard-er part is cabling it up, tuning it, and checking for safety, which you can get a shop to do.

CliffordK

I have a little folding bike that put me a bit too upright. Very sort "cockpit"

It was very annoying hill climbing as I couldn't keep the front wheel on the ground

fietsbob

Horses for courses .. only The area around Maastricht in NL is not so Flat, it extends into what is the Ardennes further south,
in Belgium..

Philphine

i shoud have added though, if you get yourself too upright (especially on the bikes i mentioned) then the seat become more of an issue.

if you can't lean forward and put some of your weight on your arms, or stand since your feet aren't quite under you, the seat needs to be really comfortable.

youngbull

uprite riding is nice for casual cruising

squirtdad

what type of riding are you doing? How handy are you? if your are doing mostly road and trail but not heavy duty mountain biking you can take a road bike (especially older with quill stems) swap out a few parts for not too much $$ Stem, handle bar, brake levers and go with simple thumb shifters

note also a pure upright position does not guarantee comfort, some balance between handle bars and seat is needed.

velo orange has many of the parts you could use Handlebars - Components

here is an example (my commuter/utility)



here is an example