Lestat90

Hello all.i dont know if this is the right category for this but I want to buy a Bottecchia Duello(racing kind) for 200euros, however the owner has changed the handlebar to a Riser Bar.
Is it a good idea to buy this bike since I want to use it in the city. People are telling me that road wheels(mid section)are not good idea for in city riding.Also shifters are changed to Shimano. Thanks in advance for your help guys.

JohnDThompson 

Riser bars are fine for noncompetitive city riding, but a racing frame may have tight clearances that would limit your tire selection. Depending on road conditions in your city, you may find this to be a problem.

Lestat90

Thanks man this is really helpfull

Unca_Sam

You can ride any bike anywhere. If you like it and it fits, buy it!

If your streets are bombed out, with craters and rubble everywhere , buy a stronger wheelset. Racing wheels are fine for most cities, if you're careful.

canklecat

Most of the folks I know who hybridized a road bike with swept bars like albatross or North Roads, or riser bars, also switched to saddles better suited to the more upright position. Selle Anatomica are pretty popular for that -- softer than Brooks, no break-in, a sort of hammock type ride.

Other folks using flat or riser bars slam them so they're still in a fairly conventional road bike position, which is good with narrower saddles. Depends on pelvic angle, where the sit bones meet the saddle, etc.

So check whether the bike you're looking at has the handlebar at saddle height, or significantly above or below saddle height. That will influence saddle choice.

If you go for swept or riser bars, be sure there's enough clearance for slow speed turns without knocking against your knees. My only bike that I've switched to a Nitto albatross bar is an older steel Univega with a long-ish top tube, so there's plenty of clearance other than the very slowest maneuvers -- in which case it's mostly the Shimano bar-end shifters that knock against my legs. But in actual riding conditions that's rarely a problem.

Regarding tires, most older road bikes will accept 700x23 and many will handle 700x25 as well. Those are good enough for most city riding. And you can find plenty of suitable tires, including some suitable for modest gravel riding for folks who are comfortable with skinny tires on gravel.

The only tricky bit for some folks is remembering to be more cautious about road hazards such as uneven pavement, ripples, ledges, grates over flood control and utility access, etc. Most of the time when I see someone crash on a group ride, they're inattentive to the demands of riding skinny tires on bad roads. Most folks would do better with a hybrid designed for 700x32 or wider tires. I use 700x20 up to 700x25 tires on my road bikes, but 700x38 and 700x42 on my hybrids. Makes things much more pleasant when I don't need to worry so much about the latest unannounced road crew work stripping the asphalt down to the concrete substrate, leaving a mile or more of teeth-rattling striated concrete.

Seattle Forrest

I've been riding mid depth road wheels in my city for years.