No need to get defensive.

Anyhow, do you ever rides on the hoods?

I understand about the properly fitted part, but the speed issue is not a concern of mine. I ride for fun, exercise, peace....speed is never my concern, wind resistance isn't either. As I get older I find that my competitive nature is dedicated to other things and not my bike rides. I'm the same way on a mountain bike trail. I ride alone quite often and if I ride with a friend or two we are of the same mind when it comes to speed or competition....it's just not how we ride. I do appreciate the advice.

??? I'm not the least bit defensive. On the hoods?

There are 5 positions you can use with drop bars. Tops, bends, hoods, hooks and drops. I get that you don't ride the hooks and drops, but riding on the hoods is where a lot of cyclists spend 80 or 90% of their time. It isn't as upright as the tops, not as aggressive as the drops, and most importantly, unlike flat bars, puts the wrists in a neutral position.

You are talking out onto the top of the brake levers? Yes I do on occasion, but 90% of my time is on the tops. Most of my time on any bike is on the mountain bike and out on trails. I'm sure that is where my desire to go flatbar comes from. It's my comfort zone.

66 miles? That's a very long commute. Well, at least the weather was nice. Haha

Best wishes...

You rode over 20 miles on a bike with drop bars. I rest my case!

Two different things here. I rode a bike with drop bars for more than 20 miles, yes. Did I want or need them? No. One of the guys who rode the second century with us did it on a fixed gear track bike with bullhorns. I have ridden my fixed gear track bike with bullhorns on several 50+ mile rides. Did I want drops? Apparently not.

What works for you, and what you think is a necessity, often times isn't what others need or want.

^^yes sir, whatever you say sir.

It's as much about comfort as it is speed. Anyways, hope you find a solution.

I've done about a dozen of these conversions for friends and many with single gear up front as well. Mostly I use 80's Japanese bikes with downtube shifters as it simplifies everything but I did a 3x9 once and used mtb Deore XT shifters. The thing to watch for is cable pull. Shimano 11spd rear I don't think are the same between mtb and road so you can't just use, say Deore M8000 shifters. On the front, derailleur pull is also most likely different between road and mtb. Although you can use a single gear on the front, I usually used the smaller gear (39 or so teeth) and mounted it where the large gear was then use a shorted bottom bracket to bring it closer to the frame and grind down the chainring nuts and screws. Easy with old bikes as I have a box of parts but if you need to experiment with new parts to get the chainline near center of the cassette it may get expensive. For brakes, all modern road bikes except the new Shimano SLR use the same pull ratio as older cantilever brakes. I usually use Shimano BL-R550 levers as they are great quality, come with all cables and in black or silver. However if you have slr brake levers I'm not sure what flat bar levers are compatible. Although I think this is a great conversion for city use, make sure you know what you are getting yourself into as all these conversion factors can quickly make this a nightmare but perhaps others can chime in on compatible shifters and levers. Here's a pic of my last conversion, a $70 Nishiki to 9sp x 1.

Moustache bars have a 26.0 clamp diameter. If you need a decent adjustable stem, go for a 31.8 stem with a 26.0 shim. The bars would be where you want them to be.

I have a flat bar Giant Escape and a drop bar Norcross Blue cross bike that I use as a road bike. The Norcross Blue is about 10 pounds lighter and has superior components. It's effortless to ride, but I like the feel of the Giant flat bar and am considering converting the drop bar to a flat bar. This summer I will ride the Norcross Blue a lot and see if I get used to and prefer the drop bars. If not, I will either sell the Norcross or convert it. And for those who feel that a flat bar is not good for rides of over 20 miles, let me respectfully say that you really don't know what you're talking about. I've ridden my flat bar on many rides well over 20 miles (most of my rides) including a century ride and other rides of 50 miles or more. My hand comfort was not issue. If you don't ride a flat bar regularly, then don't make such statements.

Yes,Sir, whatever you say sir. You would know best. You have so much experience.

Yeah, but adjustable stems are so lame...

Thanks, same to you!

Hey, great dog; here's mine:

I usta pretty much think that, too. Mebbe use them to tweak a fit and then replace with fixed. Twice this year, tho, I've done the fit thingy and then just left them in place. Were working just fine and I, if it ain't broke don't fix it, decided it was a too hard pita to mess with changing.

If you have a bad back or you're not as supple as you used to be when you were younger, getting the bars up higher makes riding a bike more comfortable.

And that be why I felt a need to adjust beyond OEM in first place. Another reason for my leaving the adjustable(s) on is the bars can be easily lowered and extended a bit for, along with a saddle adjustment, a more conventional riding position when I'm up for it.

I grew up riding stems without removable face plates so to me swapping out a stem these days is no big deal. I still crank hard once in a while and I don't want a stem with a built-in weak spot...

You can find a fixed stem with the same rise if you want...

Makes sense, but I spent so much time getting my saddle just right that nothing's going to make me mess with it...

Swapping out the stem isn't a big deal, I agree. It's more a matter of my laziness wrt hunting down a geometric replica. I'd still probably eventually do that if it weren't for second part....wanting the ability to change the adjustment setting to lower the bars on a good back day. My adjustables are sturdy...just a bit heavy.

Also agree with that don't want to mess with a dialed in saddle position bit. I actually have a second saddle/post setup for my road bike....a B17 adjusted to compatible with the lower bar position. Other bike I use an adjustable stem on is my sorta hybridized mtb with a cruder saddle adjustment.