Hi everyone, I’m a complete gravel noob. I was watching some gcn when they made a video about flat bar vs drop gravel bikes. I’m just wondering, do people like riding these? Do they race with these kind of bikes and is there anyone famous who rides them? I’m not hating, these look bad ass I’m just curious
by mydadisgone11
13 Comments
Not tried one. But they make me feel uncomfortable. I have an MTB that I sometimes I have to ride quite far to get to the station (in the UK we often take the train to trail centres/bike parks). I really don’t like flat bars and pedaling for more than 30 mins. I start getting wrist and shoulder blade discomfort. Drops are just more comfortable in my experience.
I also think on flat ground – my drop bar cyclocross bike is way more manoeuvrable. Tried racing cyclocross on my mtb, but I just struggle swing it around as easily.
However – the fixie guys use flat bars, and they are loaded with awesome tricks. So must be more to it
Gravel riders generally prefer the multiple hand positions and aerodynamic positioning of curly drop bars, but there’s nothing wrong with flat bars. It fits well with the commute and urban market (and has WAY cheaper brakes/shifters, but if you’re chasing high speeds or extremely long rides then you’d probably want the better aerodynamics of drops and the multiple hand positions respectively
My hot take:
– It’s a way to sell a fancy 90’s MTB for $2000 in today’s market
– They probably sell mostly to people who want a “gravel bike because it does everything but they don’t like drop bars.”
– If you’re going for wide flat bars most people will be happier with hardtail mountain bike that will be a lot more capable, forgiving, comfortable, and arguably fun to ride (IMHO).
That is a bit cynical and there are definitely people out there who have a specific preference for a bike like that but if it’s on a showroom floor I do think it’s trying to capitalize on the chance to sell a “gravel bike” to someone who thinks they don’t want a mountain bike and also thinks they don’t want drop bars.
This is what we might have called a hybrid in 2000
Ewww brother ewwwww
they’re just overpriced hardtails with strange geometry
Drop bars are way better ….
I have an open upper with flat bars. For off road riding it’s great. Shaved minutes off my climbs vs my heavier xc bike. On downhills I leave my gravel riding buddies in the dust. If I rode it on the road I might switch the bars, but I don’t see the advantage of drop bars for trails. I don’t know why these are fighting words for some people. My handlebars are pretty short. I cut about 1.5” off each end. Foamy grips are comfy.
I like both flat bar and dropbar gravel bicycles. I used mine with a dropbar setup for a year but couldnt keep going because of my back pins and converted it flatbar setup with inner bar ends. That way i can still have more than 1 hand position and have a more upright position. With flatbar its much easier to manouevre but as its wider it has some disadvantages with tight spaces like in trafic. I likes the looks of dropbar better but i would rather have a healthy back and keep riding. Alao for racing i would defonitely go with dropbar. You are gonna have more aerodynamic position
Ride what feels better for you, if you prefer a flat bar do it. Flat bars can be better if you aren’t too skilled or you have to do too technical tracks.
They aren’t too much different to hybrid bikes or old 26″ MTBs.
All bikes are great. Your life is much more diverse than what goes on photo shoots for bike marketing. Perhaps, your perfect bike sits between industry categories like that.
The only points of contention are whether it fits the definition of the term gravel (if that is important to you) and whether the market dynamics will make something marketed as such a bad deal.
If you could only have one gravel bike, it probably would not be the first pick but I have one and it’s super fun to ride. It definitely blurs the line with a hard tail mountain bike, but I only have an enduro mountain bike so it fills a nice slot for when I want something more capable on big mountain climbs and descents but not proper MTB (ie black trails). It’s mainly built up to be a city bike for commuting with my child on the front seat and in the trailer, it’s great for that with more space at the front and control.
Going for a rip on it puts a smile on my face in a way my drop bar gravel bike doesn’t. Its much lighter and more nimble than an MTB or hybrid
Flat is better and 10 times safer if u suck at offroading especially when new. Irs very dangetous even if ur not new, but its a risky fun challenge. But if u constantly do very rough and fast downhills than u want a hardtail if u lack skill