Originally Posted by
wassertreter
The bike should still go straight when there's no steering input, regardless of bars width. But you bring up a good point about what the bike is built for. Probably the weight distribution is not ideal for riding on the road, not enough weight in the front, so it tends to swerve more easily.
But going from drop bars to flat ones will make that even worse, unless you compensate with a significantly longer stem.
I put deep-drop racing handlebar & long road stem on an 80's MTB which made the handling
feel twitchier despite more front weight. OTOH I rode it for 1,000's of miles since the super-smooth ride helped make up for quirky handling. Karate Monkey allows wide tires, perhaps using wider tires could help reduce twitchy handling?
So many variables involved, Wiki notes that "Although the scientific understanding of bicycle steering remains incomplete"...heh.