Erwin8r

Sir, I concur!

dynaryder

It really depends on the commute. I've used drops,flats,and a trekking bar for my commute,and honestly don't care which I use. Every once in a blue moon I'll have to deal with wind gusts,but otherwise the multiple hand positions of drops and trekking bars are pretty much moot since I can't go very far without having to stop. When I stop at a light,I just let go of the bars and sit up. If I was slogging along the MUPs coming in from the burbs,and could go for miles without stopping,I might go with drops or treks,but in the city flats work fine.

Meh? My Dew Deluxe is based off a MTB,my BBU's are MTB's with skinny 700's,and my Marins are both basically rigid MTB's;they all ride and handle very well.

AlTheKiller

I think I confused some of you. when I was discussing choice between the seek or the drop bar bikes I was not talking about converting them to flat bar. just discussing my options.

and yeah, I agree that my bike quota is way too low. I spent nine months off the bike. my fixed gear commuter is in pieces, and my roady isn't the best for commuting. (stiff, no rack/fender capability, aggressive body positioning) I have only worked at the lbs since my accident and I've been loath to spend money on bikes I can't ride. hell, when I started I had a bad limp and was about toast after a six hour day.

about to get the gf the avail road bike, and just having huge indecision about what to get myself. something with gravel grinding/dirt/adventure riding capabilities speaks to me, but at the end of the day my riding will be 99% in town on pavement, or riding up valley on pavement.

maybe I'll get the seek for fender/rack commuting with some gravel adventure on the side, and the defy for my road needs... defy with 700x28 might even be able to handle the odd shortcut...

jacobinchina

Two things. One: I make you right about drop bars. Two: cool bike.

spare_wheel

the tight geometry of the seek is designed for climbs not for long rides on pavement. moreover, i suspect the rigid mtbs you use have do not come equipped with 50c tires. i to commuted on rigid specializeds with slicks back in the day and those bikes were far better equipped for riding on tarmac than the seek, imo.

dynaryder

OP hasn't said what his commute is like. If he's in the city,those bike will work fine(see my post 27). I actually had an older Seek;only reasons I sold it was I didn't like the ride of the straight blade alloy forks,and the first year models had a wonky seatstay bridge that made mounting fenders a pain. Nothing was wrong with the riding position or handling. Oh,and I've got 2" Marathon Supremes on the Pt Reyes.

RubeRad

Over those short distances, that's probably OK.

That would be enough for me to embrace my inner fred and get that 8sp IGH with fatty 50s. Screw 'em!

Even better, why not look into recumbents -- how about a recumbent trike! Then you'll be rollin in ultimate comfort, and no problems with hand pressure either!

droy45

I have bikes with all types of bars. My favorite is the bull horns, then the drops, then the flatbars. Now with that being said, I find Flats to be the most comfortable by far. The drops are the most versatile and offer the best performance all around. And the bull horns are a cross between the other two. I commute 31 miles round trip on either. It really doesn't matter. If you are trying to heal up from an injury then I think the flatbar bike will be the best choice IMHO.

AlTheKiller

I was planning on throwing some 32s on there after wailing on the ridiculous 50s for a week or so. Not sure how a rigid specialized on slicks would be much more efficient than the seek given similar tire choices.

And as said earlier, my commute is very short, I could do it on a fifty pound beach cruiser just fine. It's also mostly flat besides a couple short yet very steep overpass climbs. I feel the upright seek would be a lot more comfortable just hoping on and going. I've never had an issue with hand/wrist pain on my drop bars, but I always felt the need to speed everywhere and turn into a sweaty mess. I think I'm just entering a slower realm of cycling and having trouble with adjusting.

I could probably sell any of them and at least break even since my cost is generally close to 50% retail price. In the long run I really think the tcx is what sings to me the most. I just don't know if what my heart wants is what my body currently needs.

chaadster

For what it's worth, I think the Seek is cool, and it strikes me as the kind of bike that would always be welcome in your stable, if at some point you decide to go pure road. It looks perfectly suited to nipping around town on, and can easily be made sportier and/or more utility friendly.

spare_wheel

look at an old-school rigid mtb:



and look at the frame of the seek:



the seek has a frame designed for climbing, picking an aggressive line, and hopping over obstacles. imo, the seek is a rigid 29er masquerading as a hybrid.

AlTheKiller

I'm pretty bad at judging ride characteristics from pictures and geometry charts. the main thing I'm seeing is a much more sloping top tube, which is throwing my eyes off for the rest of the geometry. possibly shorter wheel base is what you are basing most of this on?

it's certainly not going to be a road bike, or even average hybrid on the tarmac, and that is part of the appeal to me, and I also get the hopping over obstacles vibe you do... and I kind of like it. I'm just really not sure what exactly brings me to this conclusion... but these traits aren't all bad for my in town commute, sprinty, nimble, upright seating position....

plus yeah, I'd love to eat some fire roads on it.

spare_wheel

there you go then. sounds to me like the seek1 is a good fit for you.

dynaryder

I see alot of differences there.

BTW,you didn't mention which model of Seek you rode. You have ridden one,right? And you caught the part where I said I owned one?

chaadster

This has left me scratching my head, too.

fietsbob

^^Seek, it's a suspension fork frame, without the Sus Fork^^

Ghost Ryder

/thread.

Paramount1973 

I can't seem to ride on flat bars for any length of time. I'm slowly converting my flat bar bikes to drops. With this one, I started with rando drops. It's currently my favorite commuter.


P4170263 by galoot_loves_tools, on Flickr