Originally Posted by
BlueRaleigh
While it was a great bike, the flat bars were awful for rides more than 20 miles. I was resistant to getting drops because I thought they'd be uncomfortable, but I found that really it's the low stem angle, on most bikes with drops, that I don't like.
Agreed on flat bars for long distances. I ride my hybrid on MTB trails and you cannot have bar-ends in the woods. Bar ends aren't nearly as good as drop bars anyway.
Look for 'endurance road' bikes. The Specialized Secteur does not have a low stem. It is almost geometrically identical to the Roubaix carbon bike, at a far lower price. If they had the same components they'd weigh about the same, too, except they don't.. the best Secteur is not quite equal to the cheapest Roubaix. (And of course the Roubaix goes way higher into pro-grade equipment.)