Cyclocross - straight bars

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.

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

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

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.

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.

you will get used to drops. dont worry.