What kind of Handlebars for my new build? I am building up a leader 721 and i cant decide on what kind of handlebars. Right now i have bullhorns on my conversion and really like them, but what are some opinions on track drops or flat bars.

I'm trying to decide between drops or bullhorns

Sway me to one.
thanks for the help

are you climbing lots of hills?

no not really. im in nashville and central arkansas so there are some. and since i have bullhorns on my other im leaning toward drops right now. I'll also be running a front brake

DEEP drops. Major Taylors?

I voted drops, but it really depends on what kind of riding you plan on doing. If you are just dorking around, not going very far, then flat bars are fine.

On the other hand, if you want the fastest, most versatile setup, use road drops with hooded road-style brake levers. Bullhorns are a poor substitute for a good drop-bar road-lever setup. They offer some of the same hand positions but not all. Track drops on the street are idiotic. They are not intended for extended riding, are too deep, lack other good hand positions, and don't work well with brake levers.

alright i was thinking drops with a cross lever brake rather than hoods. i find it more pleasing visually and flow wise..

But i was planning on running some thin maybe 36 or 38 cm drops. i have an old specialized stem so any suggestions then

I've done this...its just not as good as drops with hoods. The hoods give you a very good climbing hand position (essentially like bullhorns) and you also have better access to your lever from multiple hand positions.

YOu may think its more visually appealing, but to me it looks like a silly noob setup. I'm curious, what do you mean you like a cross lever setup more "flow wise". Because hoods have much better "flow" to them, unless you think sitting upright and changing hand position everytime you feel like you might need to grab your brake has more "flow". Cross levers are a big PIA when you start going fast (especially when going downhill), because you can't keep you hands down in the drops, unless you are riding somewhere there are no intersections or traffic.

I have a cross lever and when I was running drops it kind of limited my ability to use different hand positions while riding in traffic in hilly Athens, Ohio. I could either ride on the tops or near them so I still had access to the lever while going down hills.

i mean when ever i ride down in my drops and my road bike i have few instances when i need to brake from the drop. a lot of it is visual yes. but i mean the brake is there for comfort and back up in emergency. my first method of braking is my legs. and most the time when i am constantly braking i tend to be on top of the bars for quick braking and maneuverability

I used to think the same thing until I installed hood-levers. I quickly realized that the improved hand position and having more immediate access to my brakes made me faster. Hoods are designed to work with drops. Cross levers are meant to be used as an accessory to hoods.

I hit my knee too often when skidding with drops. I've tried a few bullhorns (a couple of Nitto's) but Syntace are my favorite.

yea i get what your saying. its just i has a cross lever already from my last build and just dont have a whole lot of money to spend on parts right now.

any suggestions to what drops are worth while?

i like nitto bars a lot...i have nitto rb-018 and i like the b123aa's

yea i dont do a lot of skidding but i do find bullhorns make skidding a lot easier. i havent really tried with drops before just flats and bullhorns

i have nitto b115(road drops) that I like a lot. track drops are pretty impractical if you'll be running this on the road.

yea i mean it doesn't seem like there are a lot of big differences between road and track drops?
i like slimmer handlebars like 38cm

track drops don't allow for as many hand positions, they're pretty much designed just to ride on the drops

yea thats what i thought. there is more curvature on the top of the drop

What about a scenario where you only want a front brake? I'm used to riding road levers obviously, and yes that is definitely comfortable. I'm just curious what would the best option be then?

It would look rather silly to have a brake lever attached to nothing , catch my drift?

same here. i almost put a hole in my knee when trying to skid with drops. not using bar-ends ftl

Drops son. Drops.

i am only going to run a front brake. that is the reason i am hesitant about running hoods. i dont like hte look of one and i dont like having the other one there and not doing anything.

plus i have a cross lever so i can just use that and wrap the whole bars

i see that all the time. it might look stupid, but at least its not for style, it's for hand positions

i totally see your point and i mean thats how you ride which is cool.

like i said my feet are my brakes first then my brake second.

Very true, only in my case, I won't be doing long rides (more than 10 miles) on my FG. (at least I don't forsee that yet.) I typically do long rides on my carbon roadie which is very comfy.

I had thought risers would be fun for charging about town, but so would bull-horns. (I'm not going to be doing track riding, that I can tell you for sure, so track drops make zero sence.)

I'm new to fixed gears totally, so I'm open to suggestions and tips, but I'd like to hear about the real advantages and disadvantages (style points aside)