What are the pros and cons of drop bars vs trekking/butterfly bars for a touring bike? I am rebuilding a Trek 520 and realizing this is a kind of crucial decision point since it will determine the shifters etc. I would porbably go with bar end shifters if I get drop bars but I am not sure about trekking ones. It's a lot easier for me to find drop bars but I have only had one other bike with drop bars and didn't find them all that comfortable. Does anyone have any advice on how to make this decision?

a wise man once said.....

good advice!

....

had drop bars on loaded road touring bike. spent most of the time on the
hoods, and found hybrid with straight bars was more comfy for looking
around. also felt more positive control off road, so next time went with mtb
conversion with brahma bars.

recently tried flutterby bars, but too narrow for me. okay on road, but didn't
feel "solid" enough on trails. also fewer mirror mounting options, so back
to straight bars with bar ends.

Interesting, saddlesores, that you say butterfly bars were too narrow for you. Trekking bars are the same thing, right? I just recently mounted some trekking bars made by XLC, and sold by Niagara Cycles. They're a nice light aluminum, but powdercoated black, lol, and the best part is, they're nice & wide, one of my most important considerations. They're actually a bit wider than the flat bars I replaced, and overall, probably the best (for me) bars I've ever tried. I'm using older but NOS Suntour 6-speed thumbies, with Tektro v-brake levers, and clamp-on grips, but the grips aren't as comfy as I had hoped they'd be. Everything else is perfect, especially the extra reach, on the more forward section. Obviously, multiple hand positions is the big selling point, and they're great for that. I just need to wrap some bar tape, & find some better grips. EDIT: Forgot to say, these were cheap too, like $15 or less.

Having bikes with drops, flats and Bosco bars, I'll throw my opinion in. For faster less take in the sights rides I get more power, better handling and have more fun on drops. For slower look around and smell the roses type rides nothing beats the comfort and versatility of the Bosco's. I commute 30mi round trip at least 3 days a week on drops and am fine. Went on a slow, pace with the wife, 20mi ride with drops last weekend and my neck was in agony from trying to look around and bs while we were riding. Flat bars just don't have enough hand positions for distance riding for me. I do find the Boscos to be a bit on the large side and have a cheap set of north road bars I'm kicking around trying. I'd really like to try a set of Civia Loring bars but they quit making them..


Image shamelessly ripped from this thread...

https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-me...-flat-bar.html

In my experience, which is mostly from the commuter perspective, the trekking bars are the most comfortable everyday bars. Drops are better in a headwind, but the trekking bars are better than flats or north roads in the wind. I prefer the trekking bars in any situation other than the strong headwind. I used to preach north roads for commuting use, but my first trekking bar converted me and now I have them on two of my bikes, and am considering a set for my folding bike.

milofilo, Since you're uncomfortable with drop bars, try the trekking bars. Worst case is you'll swap them for some other style of flat bar.

Brad

yeah, i think butterfly & trekking are the same, but there are many
varieties and shapes available. the ones i tried were about 60cm
wide, but with the inwards curve, put the center of the grips spaced
at 42cm. too close to be comfortable, and didn't feel like i had the
leverage i wanted on rough surfaces. i dinna use the tops, just
the grips and sides, so kinda pointless really.

originally had 70cm wide mtb bars, which migrated to another bike.
have replaced with 64cm flats, center of grips measure 48cm.
even that feels a little tight, 66 would prolly have been better....

Since this topic pops up now and then, I always say that if you occasionally use your drops, then stay with a drop bar but if you always ride the tops then consider a trekking bar for more hand positions than a flat bar. I used trekking bars on a couple touring bikes that I built up but I found that I missed my drops in the wind and so have gone back to drops (Plus you get more style points for looking faster and more cool with drops)

Drop bars are uncomfortable only if they're not set up right for your style of riding....

Drop bars for me. But there is a huge amount of different width, drop, flare, and then there is carbon, different handlebars. My eyes roll backwards if I try to think of the perfect handlebar.
And then we could talk about saddles.
Good luck folks!!

I love my Northroads. I've toured with drop & butterfly too:

• butterfly's are fugly and my least favorite of any bar
• drops are fine and good if you wanna be aero and/or expecting wind issues
• Northroad style = enjoy the ride!

While i've not yet taken pics of my new bars installed on my bike, i can tell you they are a huge improvement over my trekking bars, previously installed flat-bar as well as drops.



Here's a thread i posted about them:
https://www.bikeforums.net/touring/10...one-these.html

For most riding that i do, these have been wonderful. I almost bought a second set for "just in case" purposes.

so milo, what did you decide?
I have been trying out trekking bars for the last month or so and they are better than I thought.
I think its fair to say that for riding on a lot of rough surfaces and low to medium speeds, they seem to me to be a pretty good option. The main disadvantage of them compared to drops is with big headwinds, properly set up drop bars that you can comfortably ride in the drops are going to be more efficient with an unpleasant day of headwinds.

In my case, the bikes I have tried the butterfly bars on already had trigger shifters so it was a fast and easy tryout, I didnt have to buy anything and didnt even have to change the housings, so it was just a matter of slipping the things off the riser bars and onto the trekking bars.

If you are like me my bike falls over at least twice on every tour. Trekking /butterfly bars have the brakes and shifters on the Inside, protected from the impact.
Something to consider.

I recently got some butterflys bars from nashbar for my utility bike, a late eighties MBT. Have tried everything else, drops, tried all sorts of stem lengths, various riser bars. Always felt wrong. Finally got what I consider to be the dorkyest looking bars I could imagine. Freaking love them! Climbing finally feels good, and they have lots of places to move my hands around on.
The only thing keeping me from putting them on my other bikes is that the utility bike was the only one giving me problems with fit and comfort. I am really considering them for a couple others though.

You are building your bike in a co-op, right? Try the treking bars, using some cheap friction thumb shifters and whatever levers you can find. Nashbars are cheap, but Amazon has them as well. If you like them, get some good trigger shifters or whatever you like, and good levers.
If you hate them, you can start building up some drops to do a bar swap.

I have Trekking bars (XLC) on my Trek 720 commuter - I went with reverse aero levers and Tektro RL721 cross levers - had to drill out the end of the bars. If doing over, I would use four RL721 levers on the bars, and no drilling. I used an old MTB bar extender to hold my mirror, and a Topeak Extender for my two headlights. The bars are fully taped, so hands can and do go anywhere. Sunrace friction shifters are mounted close to the clamp and accessible from several hand positions.

If wanting V-brakes, Tektro RL740 levers - SJ Cycles or ebay.