Originally Posted by
genejockey
If you are thinking of replacing your flat bar with drops, don't just stick a drop bar into the same stem at the same height, because then your primary position (on the hoods) will be about 4 inches farther away than it is currently. 4 inches is a lot to try and make up with a shorter stem - 101mm! That's almost the entire length of an average road bike stem! So, yeah - a dedicated drop bar bike may be the best solution. I hear the used bike market is getting cheaper, so maybe look there.
EDIT: Yes, go with brifters. Not only is it more convenient, but the shifting on bikes that have them is generally WAY better than any bike with downtube shifters. And if you're used to shifting without removing your hands from the bars, going to DT shifters can be jarring.
Actually, the bike in question used to be a proper drop-bar one with DT shifters...
That looks like this today:
And yes, to ride this bike after almost two decades of being in storage and use the DT shifters after years of indexed twist and trigger flat-bar shifters was jarring. But those same DT shifters were perfectly fine way back in the 1990s they were all I knew and all I had, when I was a little skinnier and a little more flexible! Today, my stiffer body - and my stubborn pot belly - get in the way of a lot of things 😅