Johnny Mullet

I decided to make a few changes on my commuter bike. I was running with drop bars on this bike, but when you are riding in traffic, I felt it would be better to change the bars back to mountain bike bars. I have many reasons for this. One reason is to sit in a more upright position so I can see traffic and traffic can see my reflective vest and me better. Another reason is brakes. I don't mind riding in the drops or on the hoods with drop bars in town, but it's better for me to be upright and to have my fingers on the brake levers at all times while riding with these idiots in town. I also like the fact that my rear view mirror is now in a position where I can see traffic at a quick glance instead of moving my arm to see the mirror on the drops. Here was my commuter before..........



Here it is now with mountain bars, thumb shifters, new brake and shift cables, new Sram brake levers and grips.........

kickstart

I too prefer bars other than drops for commuting and utility cycling.

rmfnla

I built my daily rider with flat (low riser) bars from the get-go; haven't missed the drops yet.

Did you also swap out your stem (or at least shim it)?

Road bars and MTB bars have different clamp diameters (26.0 mm vs. 25.4mm) and although they are close they are not really interchangeable...

Johnny Mullet

I swapped the stem with the original stem and bars from the bike before it got converted.

I am going to use these lightweight Sakae drop bars I just removed and transfer them to my Huffy Techtra Lite to replace the heavy chrome bars on it. The updated aero levers will also be nicer and lighter on the road bike than the suicide brakes. I got new white bar tape already......

Cyclosaurus

Maybe I'm wrong, but can't you set up a drop bar bike to ride upright with the right adjustment to the seat, stem, and handlebars?

ThermionicScott 

Cool. Drop bars aren't for everyone.

Darth Lefty 

I've been on my MTB the last couple weeks. I am liking the low gears but miss the drops. Want my frankenbike finished.

Johnny Mullet

This being an older USA built Huffy, there is no stem made long enough to justify use of the drop bars and there are no stem extenders available for this oddball size. Not only that, but sitting "upright" while riding drops makes no sense to me. I don't need to get aero on my commute. If I want to get aero, then I will ride the road bike.

cale

Why didn't you just flip the drop bars over?

irwin7638

Drops are nice for club rides and pretend racing, but for touring or commuting I prefer an upright with some back sweep.
The Riv Bosco Bars provide the greatest range of body positions I have seen. I have them on two of my bikes and Albatross Bars on my dedicated commuter.



Marc

BobbyG

FWIW, I commute and two of my bikes have drop bars, and on both I fitted interrupter brakes on the uppers. They're like the dual-lever brakes that used to come on 10-speeds, but with interrupters, the linkage is the cable so they can be positioned independently of where the main brake levers are mounted. Drops, flats, trek bars, ape-hangers? Ultimately it comes down to what works for you.

Gresp15C

I had to give up on drop bars because my neck don't bend that way any more. And flat bars pound the hell out of my wrists. Swept bars work great for me. A potential drawback is the need to replace the brake levers when making the switch.

wolfchild

I don't understand all the hype about drop bars, they're not for everybody...I had them on one of my bikes for 2 years and took them off because I just didn't like them, couldn't get used to them, it just didn't feel right. There is nothing special or extraordinary about drops. Millions of people ride without drops and are doing just fine.

Johnny Mullet

The only things beneficial when using drop bars is the multiple hand positions and the aerodynamics when riding in the drops. This is great for group rides or short tours or wanting to get a quick, fast ride in to burn off that 12 pack you drank last night, but that's about it.

When I commute, I do not go for speed. I wear my work clothes when commuting and I don't like to break a sweat except for the ride home I'll push it.

Gresp15C

How long do you have to ride before feeling the need for multiple hand positions?

InTheRain

I don't believe that drops are ideal for a commute either. If I bought a bike that was a dedicated commuter (and I'm seriously thinking about it) I'd probably have something different than drop bars. I've been seriously looking at the Surley Ogre and I think the Jones Loop bar on it would be ideal for commuting.

https://gspiess.files.wordpress.com/...4526b7d8_z.jpg

Currently my commuter is a touring bike. It commutes well. For long distance touring, I think I still prefer the drop bar. Since it's a serious touring bike, I'm sure that's why it came with a drop bar. But yes, a commuter with an upright position and disc brakes... that's what I envy.

zonatandem

Do as you please.
Commuted with drop bars for 16 years.
At age 82 still use drop bars on single and our tandem.

Deontologist

I commute and I actually ride in the drops on my commuter bike. But that's because my stem is angled way, way upward. Perhaps you could have kept the drops by adjusting the stem angle.

On my other road bike the stem is level with respect to the ground and the only time you'll find me in the drops on that bike even is if I'm doing drills or just heading into a stiff wind.

spare_wheel

heresy.

drop bars work great for racing and longer recreational rides but in the city i find them to be a complete pain.

spare_wheel

assumptions. my flat bars are many inches below my saddle (slammed and reversed stem). i simply find drops to be sluggish and unnecessary in the city. ymmv.

hardboiled718

Another good option is bullhorn bars. I had drops for a while but switched over to bullhorns just to give it a try and love them for commuting. Still get a comfy riding position like riding on the top of drop bars but the extended part of the bar makes climbing out of the saddle much easier (There are a few kinda big hills on my commute and it always sucked climbing in drop bars without hoods.) I miss the drop bars ability to get me low, but you can stretch out on bullhorns and get lower too.

mcours2006

I've gone the opposite direction. I had two commuter bikes that were flat/riser bars. I converted them both to dropbars in the two months and couldn't be happier. They were otherwise sitting around collecting dust.

I don't ride in the busy traffic of the city, but in the suburbs where you don't have to deal with close quarters, stop lights every 50m, and pedestrians. I think if I did have to deal with these issue I might feel differently about dropbars.

tarwheel 

I had bullhorns on one of my commuter bikes for a while. I really liked them but ultimately switched back to drops because I wanted a more aero option for windy days. My one-way commute is 15-16 miles, and the wind can really punish you without drops. But hey, you gotta do what works for you.

Robert C

An option I like is a cross brakes.

Mr IGH

In my old age I've become counter-culture. I changed to drop bars and derailleurs on my commuter. My old commuter had an IGH and upright Misfit FU bars, now I run Woodchippers and 3x9 with indexed barcons. My commutes are much longer and I also use my commuter for gravel grinding. I was getting hand numbness from the uprights, I changed before I hurt something.