Can I change to a flat handlebar?
I'm just getting back into biking after 30+ years away.... Back in the old days, I had a 10-speed with racing style drop bars. A Sears "Ted Williams" model! I rode it a lot. Wish I'd had an odometer on it, it would have been a pretty good number.
Recently, I acquired a new bike, a 16-speed model which also comes with drop bars, Shimano Claris shifters, etc. The trouble is, I don't find the drop bars comfortable any more. Compounding the issue, I can't apply the brakes with my hands up on top of the bar, which is where I do all my riding. The Sears bike had a second lever on the brakes which were reached from on top of the bar, and that was the way I rode. I almost never used the drop position then and I don't use it now. I don't find it comfortable.
Can I buy a flat bar and swap the shifters over onto it? It looks like it'll work, but I notice the Claris shifters for sale on Amazon and on Shimano's website specifically mention different models for drop vs. flat bars. Am I missing something? There looks to be plenty of slack in the cables. Maybe TOO much. But surely I can absorb the excess to some extent. My current bar diameter is 25.4mm and there are plenty of flat bars available in that size. Can't I just untape and remove the Claris shifters and re-attach them to a flat bar, and adjust placement so its most comfortable? Or am I just not seeing some sort of stumbling block which makes this impossible?