Flat bar assassin
10-23-23 | 08:10 PM
#2
Junior Member
Joined: Sep 2023
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As long as you can get the seat up and the bar low and into a good riding position, there is no reason why a flat bar would cause a road bike to lose much speed. If you look at the results of pro gravel races, there are guys who finish 100 to 200 mile long gravel races with an average speed over 20mph with flat bars, and in a much shorter race they would surely tack a few more mph on. I have ridden flat bar bikes with fat tires to around 20mph averages over 20 kilometer distances in the not too distant past. Fast is a subjective term though........
10-24-23 | 05:34 AM
#3
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The fastest flat-bar bicycle is the one ridden by the fastest rider.
10-24-23 | 09:03 AM
#4
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From: Scotland
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It's mostly down to the rider. Wout Van Aert was annihilating people's road bike records on a city rental bike - a hugely heavy dutch style:
https://road.cc/content/news/wout-va...ionship-301061
But in terms of the bike itself, you can get flat bar road bikes that will be pretty much as fast as the drop bar equivalent.
I suspect it felt fast because there's a remote chance the bike was about the right size for you for a change and it was in good condition.
https://road.cc/content/news/wout-va...ionship-301061
But in terms of the bike itself, you can get flat bar road bikes that will be pretty much as fast as the drop bar equivalent.
I suspect it felt fast because there's a remote chance the bike was about the right size for you for a change and it was in good condition.
10-24-23 | 09:19 AM
#5
climber has-been
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From: Palo Alto, CA
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10-24-23 | 11:21 AM
#7
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From: San Jose (Willow Glen) Ca
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As long as you can get the seat up and the bar low and into a good riding position, there is no reason why a flat bar would cause a road bike to lose much speed. If you look at the results of pro gravel races, there are guys who finish 100 to 200 mile long gravel races with an average speed over 20mph with flat bars, and in a much shorter race they would surely tack a few more mph on. I have ridden flat bar bikes with fat tires to around 20mph averages over 20 kilometer distances in the not too distant past. Fast is a subjective term though........
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Life is too short not to ride the best bike you have, as much as you can.
Life is too short not to ride the best bike you have, as much as you can.
10-24-23 | 11:48 AM
#9
I don't know.
Joined: May 2003
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From: South Meriden, CT
Bikes: '90 B'stone RB-1, '92 B'stone RB-2, '89 SuperGo Access Comp, '03 Access 69er, '23 Trek 520, '14 Ritchey Road Logic, '09 Kestrel Evoke, '08 Windsor Tourist, '17 Surly Wednesday, '89 Centurion Accordo, '15 CruX, '17 Ridley X-Night, '89 Marinoni
I converted my 2003 USPS livery OCLV Trek to a flat bar and then gave it to a friend's son. That thing was a hoot.
10-24-23 | 12:34 PM
#10
Klaatu..Verata..Necktie?
Joined: May 2007
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From: SF Bay Area
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No reason a flat bar bike can't be fast, as long as you're not talking one of those wide, wide MTB bars.
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10-24-23 | 01:11 PM
#11
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10-24-23 | 11:42 PM
#13
Method to My Madness
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From: Orange County, California
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10-25-23 | 05:04 AM
#14
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Think how much faster she'd have gone without that excess weight! 
10-25-23 | 11:57 AM
#15
Mad bike riding scientist
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From: Denver, CO
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You don’t mean the 2000 lb car that got her up to the that speed, do you ?
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Dreamin' of Bemidji Down the Mississippi (in part)
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
Stuart Black
Dreamin' of Bemidji Down the Mississippi (in part)
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
10-25-23 | 01:13 PM
#17
climber has-been
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Posts: 9,149
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From: Palo Alto, CA
Bikes: Scott Addict RC Pro & R1, Felt Z1
10-25-23 | 02:15 PM
#18
Super-duper Genius
Joined: Aug 2016
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From: Muskrat Springs, Utah
We may have found a great suggestion for Larry. Get a special vehicle to follow, so you're always drafting. With that setup, handlebar choice is pretty moot. He'll be getting crazy-fast rides everywhere!
10-25-23 | 09:02 PM
#21
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10-25-23 | 09:28 PM
#23
Senior Member
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Bikes: 2015 Workswell 066, 2017 Workswell 093, 2014 Dawes Sheila, 1983 Cannondale 500, 1984 Raleigh Olympian, 2007 Cannondale Rize 4, 2017 Fuji Sportif 1 LE
In his, as in all matter cycling related .... I ask myself, "What would Larry do?"
