I have a nice Centurion Pro Tour and while I enjoy the drop bars on it, I am thinking that my horrible neck is hoping for some relief. I am thinking about putting on some type of flat bar. Is there any bar type other than a drop bar that will work with Shimano 105 5700 10 speed brifters. Or should I just bite the bullet and get some Shimano Ultegra 10 speed flat bar shifters? I was looking at some trekking bars and they seem like they would require being installed backwards to get enough reach and look akward

Brifters pretty much require drop bars to be usable. If you were willing to try bar end shifters, there are a number of flat or flat-ish bars that would work well. (You would need bar end shifters, and new brake levers). Have you considered just raising the existing bars? You would need a new stem like the Nitto Technomic. They're available in a range of forward extensions, and would let you raise them about 3-4" taller than a stock stem.

+1 on a technomic to get your bars up high; I have a chronic pinched nerve in my neck, which requires that my bars be a bit above saddle height, so I have technomics on pretty much all drop-bar bikes.

That said, a friend who uses mustache bars on all of his bikes has a couple set up with brifters.

To use brifters, there are two issues.

First, road handlebars are usually 23.8 mm diameter while upright/mtb bars are 22.2 mm. Some brifter levers will tighten up adequately on the thinner bar, others won't. Most mustache bars are 23.8 mm .

Second, the handlebar has to have a pretty tight curve so the brake lever will actuate. This rules out any straight bar and most other upright bars.

Most "mustache" bars can be made to work, especially with the older Shimano brifters. Campy Ergo levers, with the thumb control, are more difficult.

Getting a mustache bar set up so your neck is happy, this isn't something I can speculate about. I've done it successfully once, and failed miserably more than once.

Good luck!

Neck tip: Learn to look up with your eyes, without tilting your head up. My neck sometimes gets to really hurting when biking, and then I remind myself, look up with my eyes! Keep your neck in line with your back. It takes a little practice, and with glasses, I use my bigger sunglasses as otherwise I am looking over the top of my regular glasses.

On raising bar height, I'm a big fan of one of the dirt drop style stems. Get one with the two bolt face plate.

+100 Upright bars tend to be 22.2mm, so don't count on everything moving. I'm a big fan of North Road bars for upright positioning. If you are thrifty, stem shifters work just fine, just don't get any style points. Add MTB cantilever brake levers and grips and you are done. One thing I look for at co-ops are nicer alloy North Road bars. I'm out right now. Used the last set on a build for a friend. Bar ends are always an option too. STI levers, not really......

I've never had luck with mustache bars, but I have had good luck with trekking bars.

Ditch the drop bars. Convert to upright & free yourself from trying to keep up with the 20mph crowd. Start enjoying the scenery when you ride. I've done numerous drop bar to upright conversions. Three things need to match in order for shifting to be precise. Shifter lever increments must match number of cogs on cassette. And generally speaking, shifter lever manufacturer must match RD mfg. I don't know much about 10 speed drivetrains. But you should have no problems finding 7, 8, or 9 trigger shifters that will work on upright bars. Just change out the rear cassette. If RD is Shimano, you're good to go.

I agree Brifters are made to work vertically oriented, on drop bars..

You can Hybridize your bike sell the brifters, to help fund the other levers for straight bars..
Mustache bars with simple road brake levers , and bar end shifters are another way to go..


door #3 Trekking bars 22.2 tube figure 8 bend , hand position variety.. [Mine are set up higher than my saddle..]






...

Technomic!!!

IMG_1703 by Dave The Golden Boy, on Flickr

1990 Miyata 1000LT Front End by Dave The Golden Boy, on Flickr



Or a Nitto Dirt Drop:

1985 Trek 620 by Dave The Golden Boy, on Flickr



FWIW- the stems are all slammed as low as they'll go on all those pix- they can raise much higher.

Cinelli Priest bars are upright with a slight rise and are designed to work with road levers. Fietsbob seems to think that brifters won't work if mounted horizontally. I don't know. I don't do brifters. I'd post a picture of my Priest bars, but I don't have access on my work computer.

My brifters are horizontal on my mustache bars, and they're fine. But mustache bars aren't for everyone. For me, they don't offer as many positions as drop bars. But there are enough. They vary in reach but not in drop. I have them set up with a stem that is tall and has a short reach.

I have moustache bars and a Technomic stem on one of my Peugeots. I've never liked them much. There are more than one hand positions possible, but none of them is comfortable for me. I plan to change back to drop bars one of these days. It's not a bike that I ride much, anyway.

Is the geometry of drop handlebars the problem, or the bar position that you're currently using? If the goal is to have a flat-bar wrist position, switch to flat bars. If the goal is to have more upright postures, move the saddle backwards and down a little to where your butt position achieves the desired aggressiveness, and raise the bars by however much is needed to bring them to where your hands want them. There are some very long quill stems out there to facilitate this, if needed.

My experience is flat bars cause me a lot of wrist pain the are simply not ergonimic (YMMV) ..... I would suggest keeping your bars and using the nitto dirt drop stem or similar to raise them....you keep the multiple position advantage for drops and have a higher bar position.

think rivendell bike look feel

Flat bars are not comfortable for long rides, but drop bars with tall stems look goofy (IMO).

Form versus function!

[MENTION=332373]bwilli88[/MENTION] : I scored a Soma Fab. mustache 'bar for <$25 from a seller on Fleabay (it's on my old 26" MTB). Combine something like that with an affordable 2-bolt quill stem like this… https://www.industrialbicycles.com/sunlite-alloy-2-bolt-stem-67080.aspx …and you should be able to convert without too much trouble.

Exactly how I perceive the problem. My solution so far has been two-fold:

1. Large frames for a French fit on my long distance touring bikes (effectively brings up the bars - works perfectly with brifters as well)



2. Flat bars with an angled stem and an EZ-fire set-up for the shorter, late evening rides

Personally, I'd rather be uncomfortable than ride a goofy looking bike.

I'm not surprised you say that. You're unusual that way.

I'm not sure it's that unusual among this crowd. I, for one, share that sentiment. Would make for an interesting poll perhaps ...

A contrarian POV, I have often found neck relief using slightly lower bar positions, resisting the impulse to use tall stems. As @wrk101 suggests, eyeline can help solve neck problems. Bars have to be below saddle height imo. (edit...assuming no specific health issues with spine, nerves, etc)

Helps the stomach muscles too.

Well, I might sacrifice a little comfort to avoid an egregious aesthetic violation, but I would not settle for being downright uncomfortable.
[MENTION=332373]bwilli88[/MENTION] my Super Course has "all-rounder" bars which are swept back very slightly. I have bar-ends on them, the type people put on flat bars. The bike has thumb shifters. I find the setup extremely comfortable, and it offers two or three positions.

I'm about to completely rebuild the bike, and I have brifters, which will require drop bars. I'm slightly apprehensive I won't like it, but I'll try it before I decide. The bike is slightly small for me, but it has never been uncomfortable, and I have had various handlebars on it.
[MENTION=27118]Grand Bois[/MENTION], please divert your eyes. This is a highly ugly bike.

Personally, I'd rather be comfortable and ride a goofy looking bike.

regards, Brian

Personally I'd rather be goofy-looking and... wait, I am, so no choice there.

When you're riding the bike you don't notice if it looks goofy or not. If you think it'll bother you, just don't look at it once you dismount. I have this setup on two bikes and both are very comfortable, and I'm slow enough that no one sticks around to make fun of me.
RB-T Stem.JPG