tkehler

Hi -- I'm looking for a bit of advice about a build. I'm hoping someone has a tip or two.

This concerns a friend of mine. He's a fit Danish guy in his mid 60s. He's ridden bikes all his life (like many Danes, tens of thousands of kilometers just commuting). For this particular bike, he wants a light, high end (maybe ti) road frame and 700 wheels, but he intends to put flat bars on the bike.

He's got other bikes but he's had prostate surgery and some back problems and wants a flat bar for comfort. I would also urge that he gets a frame with a fairly long headtube.

I think he should just get drop bars with a steep angle stem, but he says that's out.

I'm tempted to recommend that he get a ti bike from Bikes Direct and then make some switches. Or perhaps a high-end hybrid bike. But to repeat, he would like a road frame, 700 wheels, and a flat bar. Any thoughts would be much appreciated!

LorenzoNF

Nashbar has the Planet-X Pro Road Ti in stock right now, $900 for the frame if you use one of those ubiquitous 10% coupons floating around. Just finished building mine up (though I haven't ridden it as of yet) but I must say the welds and quality look fantastic.

Panthers007

There are many other options than drop-bars:

https://sheldonbrown.com/harris/handlebars/index.html

Shop around with the rider. See what would be good on his back and prostate.

mooxster

https://www.moots.com/#/product/bicyc...lity/comooter/

Steel Man

Check Independent Fabrication

www.ifbikes.com

They are all custom made (ti, carbon and steel) and have different models. Based on what you say, the Independence or the Club Racer may be what your friend is looking for.

Their frames are designed based on the characteristics of each rider and the intended use. I am sure they will be able to accommodate your friends need.

dalava

I have been thinking about building a similar bike for my wife, albeit at a lower price point. So far, I've been keeping my eyes out for a compact carbon/ti/steel road frame and good deals on light-weight road components, e.g. crankset, wheels, etc. Afterall, I have so much stuff in my parts bin, I could easily build half a road bike.

What I haven't figured out yet is the combination of handlebar and shifter/brake. I would like to use the road style Shimano STI shifters but haven't found any handlebar would work well with them other than the regular road handlebar. If I have to go to hybrid/MTB style shifters/brakes, I believe there would be downstream implications such as that I may have to use V-brakes and different derailleurs, etc. And those components are not as lightweight in general.

invwnut

If he is willing to spend the money on a high end bike? Have him look at Roark bikes: https://www.roarkcycle.com/

SpongeDad

Does he want the flat bar to be near the brakes w/o dropping down? I would think a CX style bike with Avid in line brakes would do the trick.

Trek has some nice flat bar carbon bike w/700 wheels and an elastomer on the rear stays to add a bit of shock absorbing comfort (IIRC Hincapie used same elastomer at PR).

https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/bike_path/fx/79fx/

I bet you could get an LBS to upgrade the components if you wanted.

tkehler

These are all very helpful replies. Thanks, I'll pass them on. Ah, a new build ... it just doesn't get much better, does it? Cheers

BengeBoy 

I see you're just up the road in Vancouver.

These two Seattle-based builders could accommodate your friend's needs - both have plenty of experience fitting older riders who are enthusiastic riders but not as flexible as they once were --

www.davidsoncycles.com (tig steel, lugged steel, ti)

www.rodcycle.com (tig steel, their site mentions they are going to be announcing something in Ti)

I have a Davidson; I would be equally comfortable recommended a Rodriguez. The Rodriguez website is more detailed but I doubt if anyone in this area has more experience fitting riders of all types than Bill Davidson (his shop is also my LBS and I get to see a lot of interesting bikes that he builds for customers...he has accommodated lots of different needs over the years).

the beef

When I worked at the LBS I used to sell a lot of Gary Fisher Montares - https://fisherbikes.com/bike/model/montare

They're a flatbar bike with a nice 63mm shock in the front. It's light. The tires are skinny enough to be efficient but tough enough to go off-road or ride in really crappy weather. It's probably not what your bud is looking for, but I thought I'd throw it out there anyway because it really is a fun ride. You literally feel like you can ride it anywhere, any time.