Flat Bar Gravel Bike Anyone?
 

Ready to venture into the newer gravel/go anywhere/do-it-all bike and considering a flat-bar version. I currently ride 29er MTB and 26" MTB, traditional road bike and a rigid hybrid bikes. Would a flat-bar gravel bike perform better over a drop-bar on unpaved road and singletrack? Looking at GT Grade FB, Specialized Sirrus, Giant etc. Any recommendations? Thanks.

Their hybrids, not what would be understood as Gravel bikes.

If your looking for a flat bar Gravel bike, and you already have a 29er, just stick some CX/Gravel tires on it, and you will effectively have a flat bar Gravel bike for the cost of a set of tires.

Average 29er would weigh more, have a longer fork and higher BB than the Grade FB. A nice XC 29er race bike would weigh less, I reckon...

I have the GT Eightball. Has an IGH hub.

Its much lighter than my 29er and with all-around tires can perform well on fire roads and single track.

Don't let people call them hybrids. They're worthy do-it-all bikes.

The best argument for flat bars (other than just personal preference) seems to be steering control over rough surfaces. If you ride some really rough gnarly stuff, that may be a way to go, but then again, if its that bad you might just be better off with your 29er.

Drop bars great...i was on gravel for over 6 hours yesterday, and its nice to be able to reposition your hands in so many ways. Several companies make "flared" drop bars which give you some of the extra leverage of flat bars. Salsa's woodchipper bar is a good example. Speaking of Salsa, you might look at the Vaya and Fargo bikes...they both come with flared drop bars.

I rode Soma Oxford bars for a 7 hour gravel ride last week, on a converted MTB. They provide a more upright position than even the original flat bars. I like this ride a lot, but its kind of an "old man" style. (See my Ocoee thread in this section).

Speaking of Salsa and similar higher end bikes, it is nice but currently too pricey for my budget. My 29er Jamis steel works wonderfully on gravel, mountain and rough dirt but bit heavy and sluggish on flat gravel riding. My road and hybrid bikes with 28c rubbers may not be as durable or even suitable for long haul gravel riding, fear that something will break.

Lots of small hill and dry dirt road alongside my local dedicated bicycle path (30 miles round trip) and I wanted a gravel bike to tackle both on a one bike outing instead of going home switching bike for different pavements. With my aging body lol......I am comfortable on flat-bar but not so on drop-bar over long haul riding (getting old sucks and not so bendy.....lol again). hence I was looking at the GT Grade FB over the drop-bar version, Specialized Diverge over the Sirrus and other comparisons.

I wonder how's it is like riding hours over gravel or road? Really admires and inspiring you guys riding 6-7 hours. did you guys continuously on the saddle for that long or have take short breaks in between? I had done a hour road riding with a few seconds to a minute for water break. longer than that w/o break will see me dead flat on the pavement, having a good nap.....

The redesigned 2016 Fairdale Weekender is now the best flat bar all-around bike out there. It has the clearance to take Panaracer Fire Cross 700 X 45 tires. That would still be lighter than a 29er and the balloon tires would feel solid on gravel...

Open Cycle has some really nice rigid 29ers, that have been built up at about 14 lbs.

http://www.mtb-check.com/wp-content/...en-ora-ltd.jpg

I think rigid 29ers make excellent gravel bikes and you can build them up as light as anything else. I'm a big fan of the Jones Loop H-Bar. I've had really good experiences with the Stan's Raven 29x2.0 tire; they roll nice on smooth stuff but have that extra volume for when things get chunky.

Understandable concerns. Another advantage to flat bars seems to be price. Before I bought my gravel bike I looked at a few flat bar fitness/hybrids (including the specialized sirrus). Price wise, it seemed to me like there were more options (especially at the lower end) if looking for something with flat bars.

I rarely ride that long unless it's an organized ride/race (like it was last weekend...that was my longest ride so far). An hour or two is more typical for me. On the really long rides I try to stop frequently or pedal out of the saddle if needed...coincidentally, i learned I need to do that more on long rides like this due to some saddle area numbness issues. Oh, and there was definitely napping later that day!

isn't that what a hybrid is, a worthy do It all bike?

How about the Giant Toughroads??

After riding mtb exclusively since 1990, & currently riding a 2006 Heckler, a couple years ago I tried something new, I purchased a Giant FCR2 flat bar road bike, but had some hand numbness after rides of less than 1.5 hrs. I recently built up a Trek 3500 disc with a carbon fiber fork and 29" wheels. Drop bars came eventually. I used them for 100 miles or so, then switched back to flat for one ride. I really missed the hand positions so I went back to drops & never looked back. Got an actual cross/gravel bike on the way with drops & can't wait to try it out, I'm hooked now! Once you get used to the drops & the extra speed gains, you will likely love them.

If you like a rigid 29er, its a good bike. Comparable to my Marin Muirwoods 29er.

Had my Surly Cross Check commuter set up with flat bars for a few years.

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3199/...abbc1a41_b.jpg

Flat bar gravel bike? Isn't this what they call a mtb? :)

A vintage mtb can made a dynamite and inexpensive gravel bike with a tire change; oh yeah, they come stock with flat bars.

Here's a 2009 Kona Jake the Snake that I converted to something along the lines of what you're talking about. I bought the bike from a guy in Jersey this past spring for $500. Low mileage (one ~700 mile tour) and bone stock. He threw in a rack, bag, tubes, Lezyne hand pump, and some other sweet extras. Was a pretty good deal in my opinion. Anyway, ditched the knobbies for some 35mm Panaracer T-Servs, put on some Truvativ carbon riser bars, as well as some steel fenders from Velo Orange. It's my all weather commuter and it handles the bad street surfaces really well. Run 60psi in the back and 40psi in the front.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=485501

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=485500

I know this is completely off topic, but how do you post those large photos like 66Satellite above? I've been messing with the attachments and trying to dig up old threads on the topic but I am having no luck. Do my images have to be hosted on a third party site like Flickr in order to post full size? I'm using Google Chrome on a computer running Mac OSX 10.7... Does that matter? Again, sorry for hijacking the thread, this is really getting on my nerves...

Upload to Imgur and then copy/paste the BB code. Works for me, anyway.

My gravel bike is a Salsa Fargo and I'm running Jones H bars on it. Love 'em. I've wrapped almost the entire bar giving me lot's of hand positions including forearms when I hit the smooth stuff or need some relief from the wind.

I have friend who is mostly a MTB rider, though he does have a drop bar road bike and a bike for gravel rides. His gravel bike is a Specialized Sirrus Sport with a 2.0" front tire and a 38mm rear. (the most he could reasonably fit in each case)

We rode together this past weekend on a mostly hard packed gravel ride and he did very well. I've ridden with him before on a ride that involved gravel, pavement and a few miles of moderate singletrack. No problems with the bike at all. While I am far more comfortable with drop bars on that kind of ride, he is equally biased toward flat bars.

It really comes down to what you feel better with.

I ride a Specialized Sirrus Sport with bar ends and it works well with me. Started as a mountain biker, flat bar is more natural to me as it opens up my arms and chest. Recently bough a entry level Specialized Diverge A1 Sport and a Giant Defy but my upper body not so getting used to its drop bars. Hopefully a few more "new bike shake-down" and minor adjustment rides will get it right. All my bikes are adjusted to the same configurations: handlebar horizontal height same as saddle and handlebar/stem distance to saddle, give or take 1/2" - 1". Wider flat bar suits me better as the ends are more swept inwards and more relaxing grip w/o twisting my hands too much like on a drop bar.

Diamondback Haanjo Metro?

@bikemig that's one of best thing about those old steel MTBs. Most have tons of clearance for big fat tires.