fusilierdan

I'm looking for a new commuter and was seeking opinons on Flat vs Drop bars. Currently I have a flatbar and feel it gives a good platofrm for lights, computer and, bell. Also the brake levers seem to be in a better position for stopping.

Dropbars offer more variety in hand positions and more comfort. I have drops on my road bike.

Any other thoughts?

johnny99

Drop bar is great is you have serious hills on your commuting route. Otherwise a hybrid-style flat handlebar, maybe with barends, is fine.

CACycling

I've always commuted with drop bars. Usually ride on the hoods but the drops are great when headwinds kick up. I have interrupter brake levers and still room for a pair of headlights and an Airzound.

idc

Ever since I rode a road bike, I prefer drops (or barring that, bullhorns). I've always preferred riding in that position where my palms face each other and even with flat bars I always had bar ends (better on my wrists). The reduced handlebar real estate is not worth the trade-off imo. Brake leverage is fine in the drops. On the hoods, yes it's not ideal, but again not worth the trade-off to flat bars imo.

matimeo

Drops all the way form me. Its all about comfort and drops are by far more comfy in my experience. I like being able to get low when I want too.

modernjess

For a commuter, +1 on Drops, or some other bar with multiple hand positions. Northroad, Albatross, Surly Open bar, H bars, trekking bars, etc etc. Really anything but straight flat bars, The single hand position gets uncomfortable, bar-ends do help but aren't as good as any of the others with multiple positions. With that said, flat bars (or flat with a riser) are well suited for mountain biking.

Puget Pounder

I loooove my drops. I think the hoods gives a more anatomical position for your hands/arms.

Schwinnrider

Drops are the way to go if your commute is long. I rode a flat bar bike on my commute once. 20 miles each way and my hands were getting pretty numb by the end. I need to move my hands around to stave off numbness, and drops are better for that.

veloronfla

Schwinnrider brings up a good point; how far is your commute? I commute 10 miles each way and cannot imagine riding it with anything other than drop bars.

Drew Eckhardt 

Drop bars are more comfortable and modern brake setups work great from the hoods where you spend most of your time.

ThermionicScott 

Drop bars > flat bars.

1nterceptor

Another vote for drop bars


Handlebars by 1nterceptor, on Flickr

tjspiel

I'm gonna say flat bars just because their fans seem under-represented in this thread (and even though I personally prefer drops).

It looks you have experience with both so I sorta wonder why you're asking.

hueyhoolihan

early this year i changed from drops to straight on all five bikes. i like everything about them. better climbing, better speed. lighter. simpler, better visibility and control in town. just better.

bored117 

Drop. I am in process of converting my folding bike to drop bar configuration...

Sixty Fiver

I find that trekking bars are a nice compromise... use these on a number of bikes while most of them have drop bars.

frozen fork

From my extremely limited experience of only riding MTB’s my vote goes for flat bars. I like sitting upright. Caveat is that my commute is short, very short. Also I currently have to get off road for parts of my commute because the road is to narrow and the drivers to impatient at one choke point

fuzz2050

I'm going to say that flat bars are inferior in just about every way; they are uncomfortable, offer poor control and a paucity of hand positions. For just about every application, there is a better choice.

Of course that it just my opinion. In this case though I'm right...

imi

I have drops on my touring bike, and ride the hoods 99% of the time. Definitely most comfortable position for riding all day.

However, for commuting and city riding my other bike is set up with chopped 'n flopped bullhorns.
Keeps hands nice and close to the brakes.

imi

Unless you're in the drops, I would contend that dropbars give you inferior braking in the other hand positions. Of course that is just my opinion. Though, in this case you're wrong...

Sixty Fiver

Modern drop bars, levers, and brakes can offer some truly insane braking performance that can be found from the tops of the hoods.

My P20 is set up with drop bars, Tektro linear pull levers and Deore V brakes with Kool Stop pads... they have the lightest action and a one fingered man could stop this bike on a dime.

imi

I agree, the breaking power maybe the same, but in a "panic" brake I'd rather be holding the bars in the drops (or on flatbars) rather than on the hoods... in order to control the whole bike, lift the front wheel, make a sudden turn or whatever, if necessary...
Or bombing down a hill at 50 km/h + Then I get into the drops...

This is why I find bullhorns a good solution for city situations.

The Chemist

Flat. I used to ride a drop bar bike and I never really found the drop position to be very comfortable. I've lowered the bar quite far on my bike so I can get pretty low and aero to fight headwinds too. Plus I much prefer the action of rapidfire shifters to brifters or any other type of shifter used on drop bars.

Monster Pete

I don't like flat bars. The hand position is awkward. I have one bike with swept-back north road handlebars, and another with drop bars at a sensible height and like them both. You get several hand positions with drop bars, and if they're not set too low (top of the bar level with the saddle is a good start) all of them are useful. You can get 'interrupter' levers that give you extra brake levers on the top of the bar. North road bars give you a nice upright position with your hands on the grips, and you can also lean forward onto the front curves or even the flat central section to fight the wind.

audi666

my commutes is a bit over 30mi RT and usually ride drops or bullhorns depending on the bike. But in the winter choose a flat bar as lack of dexterity comes into play.