5 Style

Hello, this is my first post here. I've been a cyclist for decades and have done a number of bike camping trips over the years. I live in a city, Portland, OR and don't do much cycling at all these days and even less over the past few years. I got into photography and generally hike around the city taking photos, which works less well from a bike. Anyway, though I have a few bikes, I'm thinking that a new one might inspire me to ride more, once things thaw out a bit and the idea of riding around the city is more attractive. I like road style bikes - ones with skinny tires and low rolling resistance. I've looked at several in the local internet ads that look great and are priced very attractively. My only issue is that nearly every bike that's the kind of really efficient road style thing I want, has drop bars, which I don't really love. I modded out an old road bike I have with bullhorn bars, which I prefer, but it's not like I've ridden that bike all that much since the mod and I wonder of there's some issue with changing a drop bar bike to one with bullhorn bars?

Basically, my question is if I swap drop bars for bullhorns on a typical road bike, am I messing up the ergonomics enough to where I ought to simply look for a bike that's designed from the ground up to have different bars (probably flat bars, which could work too, though not my preference)? Also, if I were to make that swap, what then to do with brake levers and gear shifters? I realize that I probably won't be able to use the same stuff with the bullhorn bars...

Finally, what should I be looking for in a road bike? I've seen lots of bikes for sale that seem to be gently used and are probably pennies on the dollar, including a pretty inexpensive carbon fiber one. Is something like that really preferable though to an aluminum one, at least for someone like me who's just an occasional, non-serious rider?

Iride01 

IMO, buying another bike probably isn't going to inspire you to ride more. Having friends that cycle a lot and riding with them might. A change in your health that gets you concerned might encourage you to ride more or some other reason that just gives you that aha moment that gives a shove to your desire to ride more.

Steel, aluminum, carbon, titanium, bamboo and etc are all just materials that bikes can be built from. Higher prices of some are just due to the cost of manufacturing and not that any is particularly better. However the more expensive bikes tend to be made with more care and quality as who is going to pay that much for something that is poorly built.

On a road bike, drop bars are the norm. And for good reason. It gives you several hand positions that you can swap to as you ride which not only helps with giving you a little more aero position to go faster, but also just changes your hands up so they don't stay in one position for 60 miles and get numb. If you are going to buy a bike and swap bars, you need to realize that the bars you pick will alter the way you fit to the bike. And STI's on a drop bar bike won't work well on a flat bar. Getting shift and brake levers might make that simple bar change expensive.

Personally, I'd recommend a drop bar road bike. Get one that appeals to you and the newer the better as it'll have newer components and more gear selection on the rear. Which isn't everything, but it helps to have a choice of gears when riding with others so you can pick the gear and cadence you like for the speed of the group you are with. Which very well may not be the gear and cadence any of them prefer to use as they may be more or less fit than you.

Buy a bike that you can easily afford. That way you can get another after you've gotten some experience, become stronger and fitter at cycling and find that bike no longer does well for you.

Welcome to BF.

LarrySellerz

There are plenty of skinny tire fast bikes that have bullhorns, but they aren’t as common. If I were you I’d find a fast looking bike that already has bullhorns or flat bars on it so you don’t have incompatible brakes and shifters.

Outrider1

If you've 'been a cyclist for decades' and 'own a few bikes', how can you be so in the dark regarding bicycles? Serious question, not trying to be snarky. And welcome to BF

Steve B.

Simple answer is go buy what is known as a "hybrid". Somewhat skinny tired bike with a flat bar. Buying a road bike, even used, then modifying to use a flat bar means replacing the shifters, likely the front and rear derailers, maybe the brakes and brake levers, etc..... it get expensive in a hurry.. Problem with hybrids is they generally are not built with the top end components that tend to last linger and work better. And I too am puzzled that for somebody who is already experienced at touring and who owns a few bikes, it's an odd question.

Russ Roth

I'd check out something like the trek FX3 which is a performance hybrid; aluminum frame, carbon fork, flat bars, hydraulic disc brakes and a simple to use 1x drivetrain. If looking used, try to find an older FX 7.7 or FX 7.6, those had geometry similar to a modern adventure/gravel bike with performance tires, really nice frames and road wheels.

SoSmellyAir

I have not ridden on bullhorns, so I may be missing something -- but what is oh so different about riding on bullhorns than on the hoods of a contemporary drop bar?

Also, if you are adamant about having bullhorns, can you just install these:

Cinelli Bullhorn Handlebar 31.8 mm Black (santafixie.com)

... but upside-down, then clamp the STI levers on the ends, which have the same diameter? The reach is probably too long, so you would need a shorter stem, which may put the tops too close. But oh well ...

LarrySellerz

bullhorns are cool, lance has a bike where the drop bars are flipped and then cut to mimic bullhorns

baldyphill

Riding with friends makes the difference. Not much of a chore then

SoSmellyAir

Unless they are all faster than you.

RH Clark

If I wanted upside-down bullhorns, I would just install normal drop bars which will work better in that role.

Bullhorns will allow a slightly more stretched out position and your hands will be more vertical than horizontal like the top of a drop bar. They are a good option for someone who mostly rides on the hoods but would like to occasionally change wrist position and be slightly more aggressively positioned.

CrimsonEclipse

Some folks ride the same 3 speed for decades but have no info on higher performance bikes, modern build concepts.

noimagination

If you get bullhorns with a reach and drop that mimic the reach and drop of a dropbar, then ergonomically there should be no difference. The shifter question is different: I don't think you want "brifters" (shift levers integrated into the brake levers) on bullhorns (though I'm sure it's been done - search for "frankenbikes"), so you would end up swapping out "brifters" for thumb shifters or downtube shifters, which would be more expensive and (if you do the work yourself) would be time consuming. So, I agree with you that you'd be better off getting a bike that already has a flat bar or bullhorns (not sure if there are any road bikes that are spec'ed with bullhorns - there might be some more obscure brands, and maybe some single-speed or fixed gear bikes).

For a used bike, the most important parameters are, first, whether the bike fits you and, second, the condition of the bike. Be sure to inspect the frame and fork, especially, for damage particularly at tube junctures and around the dropouts, and for overall alignment (i.e. frame is not bent). (Edit: look for cracks, wrinkled paint, corrosion, larger dents or bent tubes. Chips in the paint and minor corrosion you'll find on any bike that's been ridden more than a few miles.) Inspecting the bar and stem carefully is also a really good idea because, although not as expensive to replace as a frame or fork, having a bar or stem fail on you during a ride could really ruin your day. And these are parts of the bike that frequently take impact during a crash. Most used bikes are fine, though, and are nearly always sold because they just never get used - so it's not extremely likely that you'll get stuck with a bike damaged in a crash. But, there's no harm in performing due diligence to protect yourself.

As for material: I have no reason to disbelieve people who claim that there's a significant difference in ride between steel/carbon/aluminum/titanium/etc. But I, personally, have never really noticed a difference. Fit, geometry, tires (size/pressure/construction), weight, heck even the width of the bar - have had more of an effect on the "feel" of a bike than the frame or fork material in my experience.

Rick

Crazy Bars are a drop bar replacement that doesn't change much.

Steve B.

It’s been debated endlessly, but I think many people are sensitive to ride quality and they can tell the difference between frame materials and how they transmit the feel of the surface you ride on. Some say Aluminum feels stiff, steel not as much, carbon is dead, etc…,etc……. Then they also develop opinions as to which kind of materiel they prefer based on those observations, all good, I am not that sensitive and am OK on about anything,