Your experience, in numbers, probably isn't the opposite, only in perception. When I only road flat bar hybrids/ road bikes, I never felt limited by the bike, and now that I've ridden drops much more, perceptions change.

In a group ride, most of your time is sheltered from the wind, and most of the time you are not at max effort. Without having power meters, you have no idea what power the guy next to you is using to maintain the same pace and position. When you take your turn at the front, you are probably pushing harder than a comparative rider in drops, but again, as long as you are under your max sustainable, do you notice or care?

I never thought of things in this context until I tried to solo off the front, and push at max efforts at the front. That is how, over time, I learned that even aggressively set up flats were slightly slower, for me, than drops, and I can stay off the pack longer with drops. In my case, we aren't talking 2 mph faster, more like .5 ish, but sustainable longer. That means I am using less watts to get there.

You being slower on hills is probably nothing to do with the bike, and more to do with each riders FTP, and how much they choose of it to use. I out climbed an awful lot of drop bar guys on my flat bar bike. By the same token, I out climb a lot of road bike guys on my drop bar SS. They always catch up and pass later, so it all seems to level.

Overall lots of your initial premise posts make great sense, if your sole goal is going faster on a flat bar bike.

I know your post is a few months old, but I just wanted to share comments:
I used to look at this almost the exact way that you wrote it, feeling constantly judged, or viewed as ignorant, for choosing to ride something different than the masses. Getting the looks, and everyone's comments, got very tiring.

But I have kind of gotten to the point that I really don't think are judging, or questioning your intelligence. They are only thinking that their experience will match everyone's, and I think there is sincerity in their comments. I can think of very few cyclists that I have met that were not sincere when they offered what they thought was insight. I have met many riders who ride at the edge of their ability every day, and cannot fathom giving up any potential advantage. They honestly can't fathom that someone else isn't at the edge of their ability every second.

I used to ride flat bars at my local group ride, and now I ride a single speed. So I hear what you are talking about every week. There may be some small part of insult in the comments, but I think that there is far more simple failure to understand.

Just my opinion, and your post was thought provoking.

I'm 3 months in after a 40 year gap from cycling. Bought a Specialized Sirrus and am really enjoying it. I am, though, a tinkerer. Shortening the bars is something I'm reading about as my hands just feel too far outside my body. I put Ergon 5 grips and bar ends on but after a 30 mile ride I'm not that impressed. It's the feeling that not only are my hands wide but now I'm reaching wide. Plus I'm getting cyclist palsy which I hope gets better with time.

Any idea on how much to cut off the bar? I suspect it's a "cut until comfortable" but where should I start?

I've started holding the bar close to the stem as part of my moving hand positions around to keep them from going numb process. I find that a nice position. Elbows tucked in, good arm bend and a fast feel. Not great control but I ride a lot of "rails to trails" stuff so cars and people aren't an issue. I've read about bar ends mounted near the stem for a pseudo aero bar feel. Anyone have any experience with this?

I have commuted for many years. I learned clipless pedals, a mountain cassette(11-32/34) and Cyclocross gearing(46-36t) is far better than sneakers, 11-21 cassette and compact, road gearing(34-50t). Additionally, disc brakes have improved so much....they simply cannot be beat, in moist conditions.

Depending on your commute terrain - a wider, 700c x 30 slick or CX tire is about the perfect balance of comfort, cornering confidence and speed. Lastly, if you can afford to drop any weight.....do so, by all means. Here is my 19.6-pound, Hybrid Flatbar CX-friendly rocket:

2002 Cannondale F3000SL CAAD5
http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/k...psiyscxmhs.jpg

The 19lbs on weight is quite impressive.. 'Am hoping by next year i would be able to reduce mine by atleast 3-4lbs by going tubeless and changing the 40mm tires to 33 or maybe even 30.

Nice tips! Now we need 10 tips for hybrid owners that like to do dirt trails. lol

Ideally you want your arms pointing straight ahead so the grips need to be shoulder width apart. But it may not be that simple depending on your bike. Some handlebars get thicker as they get closer to the center and so the brakes and shifters may not be able to fit. The other thing to think about is whether or not you want to add bar ends. The attach at the end of the bar and you'll need about a half-inch of bar for them. Good luck.

^ +1000 - Very well said! :thumb:

Lowering the handle bars can for people with certain type of back issues be more comfortable. For instance I have an old MTB that I use to get around town when running errands. It's set up so that I'm sitting pretty upright. When I ride it more than 1/2 an hour it hurts my lower back. (Yeah, I'm going to get around to lowering the bars.) However, on my road bike that I use for 125 plus miles a week and century rides now and then it doesn't hurt my back at all. YMMV as we are all different as individuals in our strengths, weaknesses, preferences and so on.

Also wear your helmet!

Encountered this problem due to 31.8mm bars. Solution was to fit 25.4mm bars. Didn't want to buy a new 25.4mm stem to fit 25.4mm bars so resolved problem by getting some 25.4mm to 31.8mm shims and bought some 25.4 mm handlebars. Chopped the bars down to size.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=472458


Now the gear shifters and brakes have freedom to move. My bars grips are now positioned to enable shoulder width comfort. Also got bar ends on. Massive improvement to the wider bars, unless you intend to ride on rough stuff.

Good thread, I think a lot of people, not all, have aspirations to increase their average speeds over time. A competitive edge is one of my traits so enjoy catching riders ahead of me and make riders work when they overtake me, it's a bit of fun. A recent 103 mile sportive had many 'roadies' looking puzzled when I was in the lead group for the first 20 miles on a 'flat bar' with disc brakes. Have considered putting drops on but like the reaction a 'flat bar' gets.

Just seen a hybrid with a bunch of roadies go through town London 2 Newcastle Cycle

300+ miles in 24hrs.

What a ride!

im looking on buying a giant escape (1 or 2) with 32 tires. how do they do on gravel overall? i would consider cyclecross tires for serious gravel grinding

They do OK. I usually ride the bike on crushed limestone which is smoother than gravel usually. They certainly do better than the 700x25s that I have on my road bike.

Wow, that was as if I was reading exactly what I had written. Everything you wrote, I can relate to perfectly, with the exception that I have a Giant Roam instead. I also have the Ergon 5's.

I wanted to take about an inch off each end of my bars, but the pro at my local LBS talked me out of it. He said the width of my bars provided more control, and was about the correct width for my shoulders. I have my doubts, but I don't want to do something I can't undo if I need to. Unless I spend more money, that is.

Perhaps buy a relatively inexpensive handlebar with the same geometry as the OEM (~$20 for decent ones), and then experiment on it. Try several... For less than $100 you could try 5. Once you find the sweet spot then modify the OEM.. or keep using the experimental version. :)

Don't forget to redline every gear and double shift when needed.

My LBS also said the same thing. I got some bar tape and wrapped a bit inward from the grip. I'm holding with half my hand on the grip, the other half on bar tape. Now I have a bunch of hand positions which really helps the numbness thing.