Flatbar vs dropbar
 

I'm kind of at a crossroads in my cycling life. I'm 54 years old. I'm 6'7". If you can see my profile pic, you can tell that my 63 cm road bike that I've had for 14 years is set up pretty aggressively because of my size and the size of the bike (It was the biggest bike I could afford at the time)

I'm now at a point where I rarely ride my road bike and use my hard tail mountain bike when I do rides 1-3 hours just because of how difficult it has become to stay in position on the road bike.

I'm wanting a new bike (what solves EVERY cycling issue). From what I've found I have 2 options in my price range that accommodate my size. .

https://bikeclydesdale.com/rein/

https://www.bigandtallbike.com/khs-f...road-bike.html

I'm looking at this bike to last me from now until I can't ride anymore.

If I go with the Rein, I would get a 50/34 chainring as I mostly do road riding.

I don't feel like I need multiple hand positions because I rarely come off of the hoods when I ride my road bike. I also thought about getting bar ends if I get the flat bar bike.

What are your thoughts? Pros and Cons? Things to think about?

If you do go with flat or mountain bike handlebars, I strongly recommend perpendicular bar end extensions. Since all of my road bikes have drops, the extensions are my primary position when riding my mountain bike. With my 4-finger motorcycle-style Shimano brake levers, I can easily slow or stop from the bar ends, as well. I am delighted with them.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...58c8c51c88.jpg
Some bikes don't need any decorations for a neighborhood Fourth of July parade. :)

It seems what you want is an endurance road bike. But obviously your height is relatively extreme. That Zinn bike has promise as you could put road tires on it and it would make for a road bike that way.

This is one of those things where I think you would benefit from a pro bike fit to find out what frame dimensions you need. Maybe someone makes an endurance road bike that would work for you.

A lot also depends on your proportions. I'm 6' 2" (quite a bit shorter than you) and ride a Trek Domane 60 cm. It works well for me, but is a bit more endurance than I think I could have. The reason I say that, is I have relatively short legs and a long torso. So, my saddle is somewhat low. So, even with the stem slammed, it's not very aggressive. I'm toying with the idea of getting another in a smaller size to have a more aggressive position. Or maybe I'll just get a race bike.

The point being, if you happened to have shorter legs relative to your height, then maybe the largest endurance bike, like the largest Domane, could work by keeping all the spacers under the stem. Reach can be played with with a longer stem.

If your legs are pretty long, where much of your height is, then that's tough to find a bike that won't put you in such an aggressive position.

Something to consider is using the bike you already have and putting in a stem with a large positive angle that will raise the bars. Perhaps a bit shorter also to bring them back.

If your fork's steerer tube has been cut down, then of course getting a replacement fork and stacking on some spacers might be an option as well.

Oh something else to consider is at your height, you likely need relatively long crank arms. If you happen to be runnign something short for you, longer cranks would allow you to drop the saddle.

The more I think about this, I wonder if longer cranks, and a stem with a large positive angle could get you there on either your old bike or any one of a number of new ones.

Obviously a custom frame is always an option, but is not budget friendly.

That KHS is truly cool, but it is another drop-bar bike. On the other hand, the fit might be casual enough for you to ride it into perpetuity. But if you decide you want a flat bar somewhere down the road, conversion will be a little tedious and costly. I suggest finding a dealer who will let you test ride the largest fitness bike available to them, just to confirm that the KHS will be your forever bike.

[QUOTE=Tall Cool One;23356010}
I don't feel like I need multiple hand positions because I rarely come off of the hoods when I ride my road bike. I also thought about getting bar ends if I get the flat bar bike.
What are your thoughts? Pros and Cons? Things to think about?[/QUOTE]

I would recommend the KHS Flite with the dropped bars - set so that the tops are roughly level with the saddle. With your height, no more than 2 inches lower, and really level would be the way to go here. I humbly submit that the reason you rarely come off the hoods is because no other position is at all comfortable. The older cycling manuals from 50 years ago and more used to recommend bars level with saddle for non-racing purposes, and as a 63-year-old I have found this works really well on all sorts of road surfaces. I would also gently suggest looking at how traditional Randonneuring bikes are set up. Having the bars higher would let you use ALL of that real estate, which in turn lets you use different muscle groups and spread the workload around.

Caveats - I note that much of my cycling is on fixed-gears and single-speed bikes, which if ridden for any distance over any varying terrain pretty much requires dropped bars to use all sorts of body English. I tend to lean towards traditional steel bikes. My cycling history starts with the bike boom of the early 70s, which had more of an emphasis on touring and day touring, and less focus on performance or speed or even technology.

I spent decades riding drop bars. Now they just annoy me.

For the last 5 years or so, I've divided my roughly 15 hours of riding per week between a hybrid with flat bars plus add-on aero bars and a fixed-gear bike with bullhorns bars plus aero bars.

Unexpected advantages of the flat-bar bike: it's not only more comfortable than my drop-bar bikes and safer in traffic but also faster, thanks to the aero bars. Meanwhile, the drop-bar bikes have been just sitting around collecting dust.

Here's my take on flat vs. drop bars.

A flat bar gives you one hand position, a drop bar gives you many. Advantage drop bar.

A drop bar can be set up so the "hoods" position is identical to what a flat bar could be. Advantage neither.

The drops of a drop bar give you greater control option when the road gets "spicy". Advantage drop bar.

The hoods of a drop bar provide the option of an aero position when going fast or riding into the wind. Advantage drop bar.

Conclusion: Flat bar is limiting, while drop bar is not uncomfortable.

I've always been a drop-bar guy. But when I was putting together my Moulton, I installed a "bull moose" mountain bike bar because I thought the design went well with the lines of the bike. With a set of Ergon grips, this bike is supremely comfortable, and the bar ends on the grips give me another option for my hands.

I didn't see any "hate" for flat bars. Also, longer lever equals less movement? You mean as in wide flat bars compared to relatively narrow drops?

And drops are certainly better for control compared to the same width flat bars. I do have 780mm flats on my mtb which is a huge improvement over the narrow things we had years ago.

I would also consider modifying the fit of the current bike

the current setup is so bad I would first attempt to get it into the ballpark (so-to-speak) and get a few rides in before any new bike fit or purchase

this is a custom frame (with significant head tube) - but note the long steerer with spacers and positive rise stem to get the handlebar up

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...d791ecc11.jpeg

FWIW a friend is 6'8" and has a KHS 747 and is very happy with it. Another friend is 6'7" and has a 64cm Roubaix and is very happy with it but he is built differently than the other guy.

The KHS is $1100 less than the other bike you linked plus you said you would want different gearing which would add $$.

I'm only 6'2" but I have long legs and cannot run the bar much lower than the saddle like I did 30 years ago. I found a used Seven which measures at 65cm but has a short top tube and long head tube, so it fits pretty well with shallow drop short reach bars.

Custom frame only, moving current bike components, might approach new bike cost.

I second the idea of raising bars to where hoods and drops are both viable. At 6'3" my 60cm Domane is capable, but I have tall spacers making bars level, shallow drops, and aero bars on risers. Hoods, drops, and aero bars are all tolerable. I tend to ride aero bars whenever conditions allow, then hoods, and finally drops for something different. Options are good.

The current bike looks to have 5 or 6 inch drop from the saddle, but it's hard to tell from the tiny avatar. I had a 63cm CAAD 5 and the head tube is at least 220mm, so not much would have been cut from the steer tube, if any. So he could raise the bar some but probably wants a bigger frame.

A couple years ago (when I was still in my 60's) I was trying to get myself in a more upright position on my 40yo road bike and decided to try a longer stem.
It worked out so well that I bought 2 more stems for other bikes I had.
It literally gave me a 4-5" height lift on the dropbar and changed the whole feel of the bike, in a good way. Just another option...

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...bd1ae8ea9.jpeg

Those bars both suck, and so does deFaileurs BTW. You want a ride around bike or something multi-purpose USEFUL, like a tour bike?? Something like the Koga World Traveller without the bungie fork, but I see it's out of stock now. There's lots of others, might need custom for XXL tall.
Nothing beats full sweptback bars for comfort. Even at 73 lbs, I've ridden my Rohloff14 tour bike just the last 25 days >> 91, 95, 97, 96 and yesterday 116 miles. Only thing that hurts is my bum. After 21,500 miles the R14 is quiet as a mouse with ZERO chance of not getting me home everytime.
Actually. my thick SMP tires just saved me from a 1 1/2" nail, that went in sideways, 50 miles from home.
Same with my SA XL-FDD dyno drum brake front hub. With my chaincase I can go thousands of miles with just what came on the new SRAM chain. Many are using a belt now.
Yesterday's ride was perfect with 8 mph tailwinds for 80 miles. The first 55 miles to lunch was under 4 hours clock, 15.2 avg moving. I'm 70+ now also.
Seldom see anybody else riding the trucker highways. These brakes stop better than anything.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...327e6e0a51.jpg

Check your local bike shops for bikes on sale. Usually sale bikes are either XS or XL. I’ve seen some phenomenal deals lately if only I was 5’2” or 6’6”.

Exact approach I use for age and arthritis challenges to my saddle time, spacers, high rise stem and bars with a short drop drop, ideally 120mm.

It allows you to put weight onto the front wheel, gives you a more even weight distribution over the frame, and a lower center of gravity. When the road gets challenging and I need maximum control, I instinctively come off the hoods and hit the drops.

A Rohloff14 alone costs more than my (Claris) racebike. And in the dead of a Norwegian or Danish winter, the go to drivetrain of choice is derailleurs my friend. Rim brakes and derailleurs have stood the test of time, and when we have polluted, virused and cyber attacked ourselves back to a Bronze Age level of technical infrastructure, there will not be much hope of keeping tricky bits of kit like IG and/or drum brake hubs at peak performance. So, for boomers like us, it's all well and good to thumb our noses at foundation level tech, but it's best not to get too sanctimonious about it. It won't last.

He's......different.

I have always been a drop bar rider. Returning to riding after period of the bike. My riding habit & back issues are such that I am much more comfortable and stronger rider when I am in the drops. To me, everyone is slightly different with different wear & tear issues. Fortunately, there is a great variety of bikes & equipment to chose from.

I like being in the drops, but my back has a vastly different opinion these days.
I'm mostly on the hoods now, which seems to be a slightly more comfortable compromise.
I'll agree with the points above on the drops, but I have not much experience with other bar types.
I find straight MTB bars a strange, somewhat painful experience if they're set too low and forward.
Standard upright bars I could never really get comfortable with, and I know nothing about the other types.

-D.S.

In my 50s straight bars started becoming problematic for me. I added inboard bar ends to my MTB approximated riding on the hoods of my drop bar bikes. I then added an aero bar which was really nice for habd comfort and high-speed cruising.

But since I mostly commute in traffic, I need brakes where my hands spend the most time, so I converted my MTB to drop bars.

For the last year I have owned a small folding bike with straight bars. The handlebars are narrow and I rest my hands on the brake levers which hang parallel to the ground on the front of the bars. I don't remember doing this on the MTB, but it may be an option for you.

I'm in the same boat. At 6'-3" been riding drop bars forever but getting older and just not using the drops, it is too uncomfortable to bend over that far.
I put flat bars and 28mm tires on my 20 year old Specialized Allez and I find it much more enjoyable to ride.

I just turned 74 so my birthday present is a Trek FX Sport 4 and I love it. Carbon frame, disc brakes, flat bars, 10 speed.
I upgraded to carbon fiber bars and seat post, changed to a 11-34 road cassette, 30mm tires, and put on some lightweight flat pedals.
For me it is the perfect gravel - road bike, lightweight, good seating position, fast.

It is not a real hi tech drop bar road killer, but it is light, fast, and very comfortable and affordable. Ten gears is all I need. Keep it simple.
They make the FX Sport in an XXL, that would probably be a good fit for you.