littlewaywelt

I've been commuting on flat bars every day over the last seven years. Seem comfy and suitable to me. Certainly it's subjective not a fact the way to put it. The large majority of bikes in the metro rack by my office are also straight bars. Considering the average commute is 5 miles or less, they are plenty suitable for commuting. I'd have no issue doing 20-40 miles on mine.

caloso

Flat bars are fine if all you need is a single hand position, two if you have bar ends. Many of us prefer more hand positions than gears.

ok_commuter

Who does that?! I brake from the hoods 90% of the time. And I have better visibility from the hoods than from straight bars. And I hate bar attachments, so screw that.

Drops FTW.

DataJunkie

So you can do this?




-------------------------------
I'm sorry but I am a jacka##. Nothing amuses me more than encountering a hipster with bars so short that they can barely fit one hand on each side of the stem.

CliftonGK1

Now that's some excellent positioning for visibility and long distance line-of-sight.
Crap for aerodynamics, though.

ok_commuter

^^^

Think she's clipped in?

ht70

No hate here for fixed gears. I'm about to build one up for myself. But, I have a serious loathing for those who ride fixed w/out a brake and with super small flatbars (unless it is messenger in a big city). They are endangering themselves and others for the sake of stupid fashion. They are the "non-conformist" conformist. That is, they are just conforming to the fixed-gear cultures. Anyway, paint your bike pink or put cards on the spokes. That's cool by with me. There's enough car-bike animosity here in Chicago to have some goofball skid through a stop light and get smoked by an SUV.

deez

I do. But i'm new to drop bars, you've just enlightened me to a new way to brake.

Sirrus Rider

+1 If you're chopping bits off a perfectly good frame there is something wrong with you.

frymaster

it all comes down to judging "functionality" by what "function" you want to achieve.

i built my fixed gear (100% suicide, right down to the qr's) for winter. direct drive gives way more control in slippery situations: think gearing down to first in a car when going down and icy hill.

after six months on it, though, riding a geared bike just seems kinda weird and detached and... unnatural. yeah, i know, you're sick of all the fixter types yapping about "zen" and "connectedness" and all that pseudo-metaphysical mumbo jumbo. me too. all the more so because i know exactly what they're talking about.

ps: road drop bars, one brake, black belt, no vans or sunglasses, coffee yes, coffee while riding no, helmet always, no messenger bag, no tattoos. score: 12.5%

capolover

I ride a single speed and i think drops look horrible.

Anyway, fixie culture is a mix of track bike styles, bmx, and all kinds of youth influence.

It's not really practical to have clips, speed shoes, and no breaks when you only ride to the coffee shop... but they do it.

CliftonGK1

I didn't have to chop anything off my frame when I converted things to fixed gear. Removed the derailleurs, rebuilt the rear wheel with a fixed hub, removed a chainring, and put in the correct length BB spindle. I don't like seeing frames all chopped up for a conversion, although I've seen a few where they did it right: Heated the brazes to remove cable guides and filed the der. hanger very cleanly before having the frame repainted.


Ooh ooh! There's points? What's my score?
Road drops, two brakes, two waterbottle cages (accelerade, no coffee), Protege 9.0 computer, superhero lycra, Look shoes, helmet (with mirror), lots of tattoos (none visible outside of short sleeves, though), as likely to ride at the velodrome as I am on the street.

RNICE

Yes there is - several are listed in responses to you're post - you're just not listening.

frymaster

3.2%.... unless you're riding the velodrome at 3am with a 19 yr old art student in a capris and flip flops sitting on your handlebars holding a six pack of pabts blue ribbon.

in that case it's more around the mid forties.

CliftonGK1

I don't think my fiancee would be too keen on that handlebar accessory. Best I can hope for is that this is like golf, and low score wins.

lil brown bat

It's not just subjective but also individual. I've had a lot of upper extremity injuries: hands, wrists, elbows, shoulders, every single one has been broken or sprained or developed serious tendinitis or arthritis. What's "functional" for most people is a lot less so for me -- I can tolerate a lot less pressure on my hands and arms, so I just don't spend much time on the drops when I'm on my roadie.

J.C. Koto

Word.

ok_commuter

Straight bars are gay. Ironically, gay bars are also gay.

aMull

On m y fixed gear i have a front brake only, and it's on top not on the drops.
https://www.2404.org/smull/fuji/4.jpg

I'm thinking of swtiching to bullhorns since i'm not really using the drops.

tbannin

Another reason people ride flat bars with no brakes is it is easier to skid. You don't have to worry about your knees getting caught between your head tube and drop bars which is a bad bad thing.....just trust me on this one. Anyway that is my take on the situation and I have found that drops vs flat is ultimately a preference thing. That's what so great about riding bikes is you can personalize how ever you want and no body should say any different about it.


This is my daily commuter....

'85 Dave Scott Ironman Centurion red/white, white deep v's w/black spokes, laced on white Phil Woods, 44/15 gearing, 170mm track drops.

CritEastwood

It's only a bike and the worst bikes are the ones that don't get ridden.

Brian Sorrell

If it's a fashion thing, so be it. It's not like Lycra and carbon fiber aren't all about fashion / looks as well -- at least for the level at which most of us ride (read: not professional racers).

If fixed gear bicycles are *just* a craze, so be it. What activity could "hipster" 20-somethings do that would make you happy anyway? Play video games? Drive like idiots? Knock over liquor stores? Don't worry so much about people who aren't hurting you and are engaging in an activity that we all love. Sheesh. Lighten up.

pinkrobe

Crap, I didn't know we were scoring this one! Let's see...
XT SPD pedals
Shimano mtn bike shoes [smelly]
nylon webbing belt [grey]
helmet
mtn bike gloves
48cm road bar
both brakes
shonts [like shants, only shorter, but longer than regular shorts]
12 year old saddle with duct tape holding it together
1/4" long hair
scars, but no tattoos

I think I'm coming up with a big goose egg here, although the smelly shoes might keep me out of a negative score...

slvoid

There's a lot of hate going on in this thread.

While there are plenty of hipsters who can't ride for sh*t, there are also plenty of good messengers who ride 10x more than the people making assumptions here on this thread and can probably handle a bike much better in traffic too, fixed, brakeless, and rocking flat bars. Are they better off with "proper" bars? Who knows, they do what they do well enough.

Personally I find the flat bars on my current commuter road bike to be pretty comfortable and a change of feel from my regular road bike. It's narrow, in between the drops and tops for height, and its comfortable enough. Honest, show of hands, how many people making assumptions here have ever ridden a fixed gear in heavy city traffic?

frymaster

well, the clipless put you in double digits -- just barely tho', for the big score you'd need eggbeaters. of course no clipless system can beat toshi's on platforms. shonts are tough. if they're like bermuda shorts, well, that's a big hipster loss. if they're more like mountain climbing knickers, though, that's serious hip turf. especially if you go sockless.

11.4% with bermuda shorts
18.2% with knickers