straight bars

[MUDDY88YJ]

Hi i have been riding a mountain bike for a while now but would like to get a cyclocross. I have been test riding a few bikes and my question is if any of you ride a cyclocross with strait bars or is that just a bad idea. I know i would need new shifters and brake levers. the problem is the road bars just arn't comfortable. Should i just ride the bike for a while and get use to the bars or would anyone suggest changing them for straight bars. thanks for the help.

[inkrider]

If you are against the hand position of road style bars perhaps look at some Bullhorn style bars.

Here is a link to a set I found.
http://www.bikeparts.com/search_results.asp?ID=BPC118410

[Dabbo]

Or you can try cross tires on your mtb, that is what I did last year and it worked fine, it was my first year doing cross and I had a lot of fun and did OK with an old heavy mtb and skinny cross tires on it.
Cheaper and easier, if you like cross after a while just get a cross bike.
There is a reason why they do them that way....
Ciao
Paolo

[LBIkid]

I recently built up a cross check with straight bars for use as an everyday bike. I don't race it, so I can't speak for the benefit/lack there of in racing. I too was used to riding a MTB and had little to no experience with road bike handlebars. Long story short, I switched the flat bars our after about 2 months. I found that I was using the bike mostly on the road for trips to the store or for short to mid distance road rides (10-20 miles). As many have said, the lack of hand positions killed me. I ended up replacing the flat bars with an old Scott AT-4 bar and love it. More hand positions, didn't have to change any components. I knew this may happen when I built the bike, so I did build it with Pauls Thumbies and bar end shifters just in case I want to go all the way back to a drop bar. Obviously, the coice is yours. I was sure I wanted flat bars and they didn't last more than 2 months.

[YoungerNow]

Hi i have been riding a mountain bike for a while now but would like to get a cyclocross. I have been test riding a few bikes and my question is if any of you ride a cyclocross with strait bars or is that just a bad idea. I know i would need new shifters and brake levers. the problem is the road bars just arn't comfortable. Should i just ride the bike for a while and get use to the bars or would anyone suggest changing them for straight bars. thanks for the help.

One option might be a style of drop handlebar designed for off-road use. I recently replaced the drop bars on my bike with On-One Midge bars (see pics), after having read about them on this forum and elsewhere. These are much wider and shallower than most conventional drops, almost like a cross between flat and drop bars, and you'd probably find them much more comfortable. They've hugely increased my confidence in off-pavement situations -- I can comfortably ride full-time in the drops, where I've got a much better grip on the bars and much better access to the brakes. And the width gives great leverage for climbing.

Since they're designed to work with road bike brakes/shifters, you wouldn't need to replace the ones that come with an off-the-shelf cross bike. You'd probably need to replace the stem, since the Midge bars have a 25.4mm clamp diameter, instead of the larger clamp diameter that's typical for road drop bars.

[xccx]

you will get used to drops. dont worry.