Originally Posted by
Doohickie
This is such a great question. Just about EVERY roadie I see out on the road or on the MUP are up on the hoods. Why not just put bullhorns on road bikes and be done with it? I think tradition and aesthetics are the only reasons. Drops have become as necessary as fins on late '50s cars.
I ride on the hoods most of the time, true, but for the 10-15% of the time I'm on the drops I'm awfully glad they're there. Anyway I don't really accept that the curve of a bullhorn is a good substitute for a drop bar curve with a hood. And of course there are actually folks who spend most of their time in the drops. Not commuters, granted, for the most part.
Back to the OP's question. I didn't see mentioned (though I could have missed it) a discussion of top tube length on road vs. mtbs. The mtbs I've been on (older ones) have had longer top tubes than road bikes of similar st size. So you might find a need for a longer stem on the road bike if you're switching to a flat bar.