Dave68

When I first got into cycling I was into hybrid bikes and brought a flat bar carbon road bike, the Giant Rapid Advanced 2011.
I've since converted the bike to drop bars with 105 shifters which works very well.
Looking at the geometry, the main difference of the Rapid Advanced frame to the usual road bike frame (like Defy) is that the top bar is about 2cm longer to accommodate the original flat bar.
Changing the frame is going to be expensive and I wondered if it was really worth it in terms of performance. The bike certainly goes well in hill climbs.
Can anyone advise me on this?

Campag4life

Dave...your decision probably hinges mostly on how good your fit was when you bought your flatbar bike. If the bike is a hint too big, having a longer top tube than for a std. drop bar fit, will only accentuate the problem. Conversely, if you bought the flat bar bike true to size or toward the small side of range...then it is no big deal. It really comes down to how the bike feels to you with a drop bar...how good your fit is with a shorter stem.
None of us keep our frames forever anyway and some like to experiment with different frame geometries..sometimes often. No doubt you will change frames at some point as well if for no other reason than to experiment.
Have fun.

caloso

Swapping stems is a lot cheaper than swapping frames.

Dave68

Thanks Campag4life,
I feel very comfortable with the size of the bike with the drop bars, just shortening the stem 2cm would finish it off.
I have been told at a bike shop that I would be faster on a "made for purpose" road bike frame, but I don't believe all I'm told at a bike shop as they are trying to sell some product! I seem to be able to keep up on a club run so I think I'll leave as is.
Going to get a winter/rain road bike so that will be give me a different perspective.
Thanks again for the advice. Much appreciated.

Dave