exwhyzed

Hi All,

I'm thinking of getting a flat bar road-ish or hybrid bike to put me more in an upright position. From past experience, holding the flat bar for a couple of hours leaves my knuckles hurting and stiff. I never get that when riding the hoods on my current bike.

If I switch back to a flat bar, are there any bar ends available that simulate the "riding the hoods" position?

kdeleon

I'm interested in hearing what other have to say as I would also like to install them on my new hybrid. I have looked online but don't have personal on either. These are the two main solutions:
Traditional bar ends are offered by Ergon, but I worry at the ends of a flat bar the position would be too wide.
Then I saw someone mention these and I'm really considering them, SQlab 411 Bicycle Innerbarends.

Sorry, I can't post links yet.

qclabrat

check out the Velo Orange crazy bars, it's a swept back flat bar with bull extensions similar to where road hoods would be

fietsbob

I like the Ergon integrated grip bar- ends , but yes unless you cut the bars shorter ,

they will not be the width of a road bar .

I like figure 8 bend trekking bars too , but they are wider..

My ITM Freetime trekking bars are relatively narrow @ 20" (tube centers..)






...

daoswald

I've got some Ergon 2 grips that give me an alternate hand position. But I've never been successful in emulating the feel of "on the hoods" on a flat bar bike if that flat bar bike fits correctly. A road bike will have longer reach to the hoods. To get that same longer reach on a flat bar bike you would need extensions sticking at minimum six or seven inches out in front, and even then it probably would be a little closer than desirable.

Measure from the middle of your seat to the hand resting position on your road bike's hoods. Now check from the middle of the seat on your flat bar bike and see how far forward you would need the extensions to be to give similar reach.

Ergon grips would still put the vertical extensions too far outboard to emulate the feel of hoods too. But I've seen people post images of stubby extensions that go inboard of the grips. Those would get you closer to the correct width, but unless they extend forward a few inches you would still not have adequate reach.

Saddle to bar drop is another factor that may be hard to accomplish depending on your frame's geometry. But to me what is more critical is the amount of reach. As long as your reach is too short, you'll feel like you are leaning down onto the grips. To feel like you're just resting your hands in the drops you have to be reaching forward more.

subgrade

Just mount the bar ends inboard of grips. With the right shape of bar ends you could emulate the hoods postion rather closely, however it might prove difficult to find bar ends that are curved to your liking. SQLab Innerbarends are ones that are designed specifically for this mounting position, but any bar ends that clamp onto the handlebar can be mounted this way.

here's the setup on my hybrid (these bar ends can be adjusted also by rotating them around their longitudinal axis):

fietsbob

I have mine fairly flat, so I don't have to even grip them (until I brake or change gears..)

broad paddle grip + short bar end I open my palm flat across all of it ... on my Brompton M they're 21" to the ends..

center of grip pad is about my road bar width 42cm...

bruce19

Have you considered a stem with a different angle?

HerrKaLeun

Jones bar has many positions including an aero position. Different than drop bars.... but with similar result. Check out the videos where Jeff demonstrates the positions.

I used ergo bars etc. Befote the Jones. Overall the positions still are limited and hands too far away from shifter and brakes to be used continously.

t_e_r_r_y

imo the best "riding in the hoods" position, when not actually riding in the hoods, is on a set of flipped and chopped drop bars. riding on the "horns" is about as close to riding on the hoods as you're going to get really.

however, this leaves the flat part of your bars pretty narrow. no more narrow than what you're used to on regular drops, though.

picture borrowed from the internet

HerrKaLeun

What if the OP wants shifters?

Drew Eckhardt 

A road bike with a higher handlebar will put you in a more upright position while letting you keep your brake hoods. Endurance geometries do that. Randonneuring bikes are usually setup like that.

You might even get there on your current bike with a taller stem.

t_e_r_r_y

i suppose it would depend on what type of shifters. you can still run road bike brifters on diy bull horns, as well as bar end indexed/friction shifters. or thumbies down on the flats if you like.

jideta

I run Ergon bar ends and cut the handlebars down as far as I can while still being able to mount the controls. Very similar to riding the 'corners' on drops.

Paul Barnard

It would be a mistake to assume that a flat bar road bike or hybrid will put you in a more upright position. Some of them have fairly racy ergos. If you aren't having issues with your current bike, why change?

BirdsBikeBinocs

Excellent point. To get more upright it's going to need an adjustable stem or more spacers and one of those "head extenders." If ya know what I mean...name it.

Reynolds 

+1 to this setup. I have a similar one on my MTB (used as a gravel bike) and it works OK for me.

WOT

My setup

canklecat

Try a traditional swept bar -- albatross, North Roads, etc. There's a pretty good reason why those were popular for decades. They work.

My old Univega MTB-lite has morphed from the original flat bar to lower riser bar to albatross bar. The swept bar is a keeper -- comfortable, versatile with almost as many hand positions as a drop bar. And the brakes and bar-end shifters are accessible from most of those hand positions. Leaning into the forward arc of a swept bar feels like riding the hoods on a touring type drop bar bike. Some folks prefer mustache bars with the brake levers in that position.

Flat bars are great for quick maneuvering at slow to moderate speed. But they aren't comfortable for long rides. By the time I realized I was considering bar-end grips to make a flat bar more comfortable, it was because I wasn't using the bike as it was originally intended. If I was riding 2 hours or longer at a time, 30-60 miles at a time, I was ready to try handlebars better suited to how I rode the bike.

The only problem with swept bars is they can hinder tight turns if the ends of the bars knock our knees, thighs or top tube. I rarely encounter that problem, probably because my bike has a long top tube and stem so the reach is pretty long. Swept bar ends can be trimmed if needed. But add-ons to flat bars might be better for folks who still need the maneuverability.

autonomy

Good suggestion, but CyclingAbout's Alee found the 45 degree sweep too much so he designed a bar together with Koga

https://www.cyclingabout.com/koga-denham-bars/

qclabrat

are these available in the US?

mpls85

Take a look at the Surly Moloko bar- similar to the setup that subgrade posted, all in a one-piece bar.

subgrade

Wide and flat bars are great for maneuvering at any speeds - after all, downhill riders use them.

That said, it's entirely true that they aren't well suited for going fast on road for prolonged time periods.

PDKL45

This guy got flat bars cut to 44-46cm and had a welder attach extensions to bar ends to make parallel bars for his hands to have a hoods like position. He has a Rohloff twist shifter, but you could use trigger or thumb shifters and inverted brake levers.

Gresp15C

I've been extremely happy with swept bars. I can ride for hours in one position with minimal discomfort. Most of my bikes are built from odd parts, but one was a flat bar road bike that I converted to swept bars, and an advantage was that I could use the same controls, grips, and cables, so the cost was manageable.