It you want a flat bar bike then you need to think about hand position. With a flat bar bike, there is basically only one way to hold your hands on the bars. Your hands/wrists will fatigue and you can't really reposition them. This is even more important as a beginner because you haven't built up a tolerance to riding much. However with a drop handlebar bike, you can hold your hands on the drops, on the hoods, and back at the stem on the tops. Furthermore, you can grab at slightly different angles in each position. This is very important in keeping you comfortable on the bike and thus want to get out and ride more.

I bought bar end extenders for my mountain bike just for the ability to be able to reposition my hands. If you want to be able to handle more off road or gravel, then there are also cyclocross bikes and gravel bikes to choose from.

Now, that bike looks killer! That's exactly probably what I will eventually get. If the drop bars is just a preference in riding position, I'll have to check them both out. Thanks for this link!!!

So, is the Dolce Evo considered a "gravel bike". I really don't want to sound stupid, but up to this point, the info i got from the LBS is that the drop bars is the difference between road and hybrid bikes, and road bikes do not ride well on anything but paved roads...for anything else, get a hybrid. I do understand that the drop bars will require a more aggressive riding position, but i was also told that it's strictly for speed and long distance riding...mostly on paved roads. Like, if in the future i want to ride in group rides, most of the those riders have the "road" bikes. This is the impression i'm getting from other posters that say, "just get the drop bars...". For those longer rides, it's more comfortable.

I guess i need to understand the pros/cons between the flat bars and drop bars...especially when i'm also told that you can address any pavement concerns by just changing out the tires. Also, when i've been asked "what is your purpose for the bike", i'd say 'fitness'...basically i want to keep in shape and eventually long rides. When you look at bikes, it's the hybrids that are listed under 'fitness'...to me, that's a little weird, since you can work your a$$ on a road bike. It's almost like hybrids are being advertised as the bikes for the ultimate work out. As for terrain, i live in Florida where we have some nice paths, but sometimes, you may have to ride the crappy side walks, or through grassy parks, to get there. I don't have the luxury to have a bike for every little situation...again, i live in florida where it can rain at anytime, our winters are just about 40-50 degrees, and it's guaranteed there will be sand patches/pot holes everywhere. i just want to make sure i'm not looking too much into this.
In any case, that Dolce Evo looks sooo nice! From the little bit i've researched, the components are pretty good. Thanks again!!!!

checking the LBS and most don't have this one since they carry mostly the 2017's. What about this one? Listed under Road - gravel/endurance... Dolce E5

so with the drop bars, you're saying that since there are a couple of positions that i can place my hands, it possibly could be a more comfortable ride? How about the fact that a road bike with drop bars requires a more aggressive riding position. will this cause fatigue or back pains? I rode a hybrid with flatcars, and my hands did hurt a bit after a while...it had the bar extenders and that helped.
i appreciate this info...i feel the info that the LBS is giving me is just basic info that isn't really helping. I was literally told that a road bike has the drop bars/skinnier tires and a hybrid has the flat bars for a more upright riding position. While that's all true, i'm sure there has to be more for me to consider. Thank you!!

A lot can be done during the fitting process to put you in a more upright position if that is what you want: the easiest is just selecting a stem with a higher rise and shorter reach.

I have owned a lot of different bikes: flat bar fitness bikes, cyclocross, road and mountain. The fitness bike was basically good at nothing. The cyclocross bike was a bike upgrade. I could put on road tires and keep up in faster group rides or I could take it off road. It was only when I tried keeping up on more dedicated mountain bike trails where it started lacking. It was then I decided to buy both road and mountain bikes. But if I had to pick just one bike to do everything, I would pick either a cyclocross/gravel bike or a hard tail mountain bike. To pick between them, ask yourself, are you going to be riding over rocks bigger than a baseball or riding over fallen small trees or large roots? If so get the mountain bike. Otherwise that specialized Dolce ego looks nice. If you go the mtb route, you can buy slick tires for the smooth roads.

yes, the Dolce Evo is a gravel bike. just the Evo, not the other Dolce models. and you're right, the shop is giving you basic info, your sales person may not be very sophisticated. hopefully they can get you properly fitted.

not all drop bar bikes have an equally racy/aggro riding position. a "racing" bike will be the most aggressive. "endurance" bikes will have a less aggro position. gravel bikes are more like the latter. you can look at the geometry chart for comparison... a longer head tube raises the bar relative to the saddle, increasing comfort for long days. gravel bikes like the dolce evo tend to have longer head tubes.

hybrids/flar bar road bikes are listed under "fitness" because they aren't very good for anything else. every bike is a fitness bike, but fitness bikes have limited uses: exercise, commuting, errands. if you want to join fast group rides or charity rides, or do anything off road, then there are better options. even if buying purely for fitness, there are better options... namely anything with drop bars.

This is plain wrong and might suggest that you are at the wrong LBS. There are lots of drop bar bikes that are good off paved roads, they are called, variously, gravel bikes, cyclocross (cx) bikes, or adventure bikes.

Again, this is simply wrong. A racing bike is one type of drop-bar bike that has an aggressive riding position. Drop bar bikes with less aggressive positions include the off-road bikes already mentioned as well as endurance-style road bikes.

A properly fitted drop bar bike should not cause fatigue or back pains.

This info right here would have been great when I purchased my first bike. When I went to purchase, I guess I kind of made it easy for them because I thought I knew the bike I wanted and they just repeated what I said and made it seem like I made the right choice. As for being fitted for a bike, they just said "well you're this tall, so this is the bike for you"...they made adjustments to the bike seat and that was it. Instead, they push a "body geometry" fitting program...$250...um, no thanks.
I know other bike shops that are extremely more helpful. All a little further away, but much more knowledgeable. Thanks again for your help!!

A real good bike fit is going to cost $200-300. I'm not talking about where they look at you on the bike and make adjustments based on what they see, i.e. the eyeball method. The Body Geometry fit is likely where they put sensors all over your body and aim a special camera at you that feeds all your biomechanical data to a computer that will give objective results. I've had fittings done both ways and have fund that the more sophisticated approach yields better results. My latest fitting was on a Retul system and took about three hours - and it cost $295. I can honestly say it was money well spent as the bike fits me like a glove now.

Now, to be fair, I'm a 5,000 mile/yr rider and spend many, many hours on the bike and thus a proper fit is exceptionally important. If you're a casual rider the eyeball method may be just fine.

Oh, and welcome to the club. Cycling is awesome!

These statements always make me curious.


What "better results" did you get?

Fair question. On my current bike I tried to get away with the eyeball method and was experiencing weird tracking with my left knee which was resulting in knee pain. I was also experiencing numbness despite trying a number of different saddles.

The specific changes made were:
- wider and shorter saddle
- moved seat back 1.0 cm
- moved seatpost up 2.1 cm
- lowered stem (removed a spacer) - I forget how much
- added spacer to left-side crank arm
- added spacer under left cleat
- added a wedge in the left shoe
- repositioned left and right cleat

The changes altered my position enough that my left knee now tracks much straighter and has eliminated the pain. Also saw a ~10% increase in wattage. Improved aerodynamics, although that's subjective because I haven't done any wind tunnel testing. On group rides a number of people have commented that my upper body moves much less that it did previously

In any case, it was money well spent.

Ok, that makes sense now. It sounds like you have something irregular with your left leg (length, gait, etc..)


I thought you were saying that everyone needs a specialized bike fit.

Truthfully, I think every cyclist can benefit from it, but I'm not suggesting that everyone should have a specialized fit. Frankly, unless you're experiencing some sort of problem you probably don't need the $250 variety - but I do think it's short-sighted to dismiss it simply because it costs $250.

And yeah, I get that there's sticker shock with it. If you've budgeted $1000 for a bike it's tough to justify a 25% increase in the total cost.

True enough, but you should get more than a saddle adjustment when you by a new bike. It's not unreasonable to expect the person at the LBS to put you on the trainer, and to adjust the saddle height and fore and aft position as well as the position of the bars, at a minimum.

Yeah, I guess I should have mentioned that I'm new to all this and probably won't be riding as much as you do. However, if I did, I'd definitely get a custom fitting. I'm excited either way...I'm sure I'll be riding for a long time. Thanks for the info!!

Maybe I missed it, but did you buy anything yet? Just curious. And want pics, of course. You can't buy a new bike without posting pics.

that's right! Angie, whatever it is you end up riding, we demand satisfaction!

Sheesh...the most important thing...PICS! I ended up getting a Specialized Vita Elite. Really nice bike, but I know for fact I'll be returning and going with a road bike w/drop bars. After all the great advice, it's better I get it now instead of upgrading down the line.
Here's a photo...please don't mind the kickstand...I only had the bike a few hours 😁

Here ya go...please note, there may be a new bike soon!!

Drop bar does not have to equal more aggressive riding position (saddle to bar drop.) My gravel beater (Fuji Sportif) with all the spacers was like a mountain bike. Even with all spacers removed, it's tall head tube still keeps the bars well above any of my other road bikes.

I've tried to post photo, but I don't have 'rights' to post any pics yet. Anyways, I currently have the Specialized Vite Elite. I really like it, but I'm not sure if i'll keep it. I think after most of the advice on this forum, and really thinking what my ultimate goal is, I might as well get a road bike. I'm going today to check out the Specialized Dolce E5 Elite. It's in my price range and from what I read, it's a great bike. Funny thing, just when I'm making a final decision on "hybrid vs road bike", I choose road bike, and realize there's like 17 different classes of road bikes. LOL
Hopefully, if all goes well, I'll be able to upload pics.

As for an expensive fitting ... for new riders or riders who don't ride much, an expensive fitting will likely be worthless because they will adjust and change their riding positions as they ride more.

I have been through a really rough year of injury and illness and bikes which I had set up perfectly are now uncomfortable because I have lost strength, flexibility, and endurance in various parts of my body, I have a few still-healing injuries, and I have gained back some weight.

if I got a $300 Retul fitting now, I would (hopefully) be a completely different rider in a month or two ... and a moth later, and another month ....

Things like different limb lengths and such, and the finer points of under-cleat spacers, cannot really be done by trial and error ... but stuff like saddle and bar positioning ... one can look online and find all kinds of info about ways to set up a bike. Try things.

this.

ahhhh haha late to the party I see.

FWIW, don't bother with a high end fitting for at least a few thousand miles. Get a basic fit. Pay attention to how you feel, and also to your form and technique. Try to get some gopro video from time to time to review. Eventually, as your fitness and flexibility and core strength develop, you may want to get a high tech fit.

If you have pain or performance issues however, you will want to revisit that basic fit and either research and adjust it yourself, or go for a fitting sooner.