[Sir_Crackien]

i'm looking into raod bikes but i know i hate raod bars. so i'm looking in to flat bar road bikes. my options are the giant FCR 1(thing is new for 2005), and the fuji royal. i heavily lean toward the FCR.

the FCR has
shifter SRAM X-9 Trigger
front derailleur Shimano Tiagra
rear derailleur SRAM x-9
brakes Dual Pivot Long Reach
brake levers Alloy Direct Pull
cassette SRAM PG-950 12-26T, 9 speed
chain Shimano 9-Speed
cranks TruVativ Elita, 30/42/52T
bb TruVativ ISIS
rims Xero XSR-2 20/24H
hubs Xero XSR-2 20/24H
spokes DT Stainless Steel 14G
tires Michelin Dynamic, 700x 25c
handlebar Easton EA50 XC 2014 5 Degree
stem Easton EA50 6 Degree
headset Integrated
seatpost Composite, 27.2x350mm
saddle Anatomic Comfort
pedals Shimano M505

i use the X.9 setup on my mountian bike so i use to that setup. also i like the way giant makes there bikes.

what do you guy think?

btw the reason i'm only looking at these two is because i get the mad hook-up on these bikes at my shop!

 

[chicodude]

Honestly, I hate those things.

Why all the hate for road bars?

The are actually quite practical...........

 

[chriskaiser]

Do you actually know that you hate road bars? Or is this just an assumption, or a one time experience?

Sure that bike will give you a close feeling to a rode bike, but it's not, in essence, a "true" road bike.

I say that you should get a rode bike with the drop bars, once you get used to them you will like them, I guarantee it.

Having several different hand positions is greater than you may now think.

When I am on my mountain bike cranking along getting a good pace up, having drops just for aerodynamics and a posture change would be such an ideal thing, and this I came to realize from using road bars, which are just the best thing ever, that's all . IMO

 

[LordOpie]

^ what they said.

Plus, I feel more stable and in control in the drops on the downhills. Now if you're not lucky enough to get above 30mph, then I guess it's not as much of a factor.

 

[Pau11y]

That thing looks like it'll sit you too straight up/down, I mean even more so than mtn bikes.

 

[Sir_Crackien]

well one thing i will say is that at one point i time i did own a road bike and the thing i disliked the most about it is that it had drop bars. also as for the top tube its on par with most other road bike in the same size catagory. as the the speed thing i know that the flat bar thing will not bother me either, i have plenty of high speed experance (i mean like over the 60 mark). the one thing that i do know is that i really honestly HATE drop bars. they just don't work for me.

also the pic is of the small size i would be getting the XL.

 

[sanjuro]

well one thing i will say is that at one point i time i did own a road bike and the thing i disliked the most about it is that it had drop bars. also as for the top tube its on par with most other road bike in the same size catagory. as the the speed thing i know that the flat bar thing will not bother me either, i have plenty of high speed experance (i mean like over the 60 mark). the one thing that i do know is that i really honestly HATE drop bars. they just don't work for me.

also the pic is of the small size i would be getting the XL.

There are a lot of reasons for drop bars:

Multiple hand positions, which are key for long rides. Unlike mtb, you will not shift your body position much, so your hands and wrists will be dying for another position on a long ride. Youl could get bar ends (and they make bar ends which look like drop bars), but if your hands are on the ends and you need to make an emergency traffic stop, yer dead.

I wonder why you hated the drop bars. I ride 50/50 road/mtn, and the one thing I noticed is the bar widths. Road bars are usually less than 20 inches wide, where some risers are 26+.

Hey, and there is nothing wrong with riding totally on the tops and the levers. I ride only 5% on the drops, but I use them for sprinting and such.

 

[-dustin]

i don't like drop bars, either. i have never been comfortable in the drops, and don't feel like i get the power i want out of my arms while sprinting on the hoods. not to mention 44cm still feel really narrow to me...which also makes me feel like i'm not utilizing my arms like i could be. if i need to be aero for whatever reason, i just slide back in the saddle, move my hands further up on the hoods, and bend my elbows.

anywho, it's your bike. get what you feel comfortable with. just don't put aero bars on a flat bar.

 

[Sir_Crackien]

the what is killing me. i ordered the bike but giant is waiting for it to arrive! then they got to inspect the first batch. so its atleast 2 weeks out .

 

[Serial Midget]

You'll never get as much power transfer out of flat bars as you will out of bars with drops. The front curve of the bars is a handy place for your hands to grip while your arms pull your body down. When dead sprinting your effort not only propels the bike forward it also directs energy back up through the body with is absorbed by the flexing and arching of your back. Drop bars allow you to use your arm muscles to flatten your back and lesson the power loss.

 

[JRB]

If you get one of those, get one with road calipers, so you can put drop bars and sti shifters if you decide. Julie started on a sirrus, but grew out of the flat bar thing. I had to use travel agent's since it had v brakes. It would have been far better had it had road calipers. Don't ignore the Specialized Sirrus and the Del Sol Veloz, I think it is. They are cheap alternatives. The Giant looks nice though. I was checking one out at the shop yesterday.

 

[The Toninator]

i'd just get a hardtail mtb and put some slicks on it then switch out with some knobbies if you wanted to go dirt. that way you'd have 2 bikes.
honestly road riding on a hardtail isnt much more of a workout.

 

[indieboy]

and don't feel like i get the power i want out of my arms while sprinting on the hoods

that's b/c you don't know how to sprint. period

 

[-dustin]

maybe that's 'cause i ride mtb 99% of the time.

 

[Sir_Crackien]

btw i'mnot going to race or many of that jazz. its just for fun. its is a road frame and uses all road componets except the bar shifters and brake levers. also drop bar flex alot on me and its not just one type either (even the 31.4mm ones). yhe flex is because of my size (i'm 6'5" and 240 lbs). i have tried many road bikes out and even use to own one. Also the reason to get this bike and not a mtb w/slicks is because of the overall bike geo.

 

[chicodude]

maybe that's 'cause i ride mtb 99% of the time.

Excuses. It's not that hard

 

[-dustin]

it's not that to sprint in the hoods? i can sprint in the hoods, i'm just not comfortable doing it, and don't feel i get as much power as i could. i don't race, i have no need to balls to the wall sprint.

 

[Pau11y]

btw i'mnot going to race or many of that jazz. its just for fun. its is a road frame and uses all road componets except the bar shifters and brake levers. also drop bar flex alot on me and its not just one type either (even the 31.4mm ones). yhe flex is because of my size (i'm 6'5" and 240 lbs). i have tried many road bikes out and even use to own one. Also the reason to get this bike and not a mtb w/slicks is because of the overall bike geo.

Hum, maybe it should be said that 240# and those wheels might be another source of flex. I'm only 6ft/180 and I'd be a bit leary about riding wheels like that.

 

[Sir_Crackien]

i know the wheels are a soyrce of flex and a weak point one the bike. i will just ride then until the wear out. then i will biuld a wheel for myself with stronger componets. but by flex i ment in the drop h-bar only. they just move all over the place on me (well it feels like it). also for another hand position i'm looking into getting some bar-ends.

 

[-dustin]

have you tried something like moustache bars (i might have spelled that wrong)?

 

[Sir_Crackien]

i did think about those actually. but for the time being i will just use the bike stock and then later make the approrate changes

 

[indieboy]

maybe that's 'cause i ride mtb 99% of the time.

i grew up racing mtn bikes and didn't ride a road bike till years after i'd been racing. and frequently switch between riding my road bike, my cx bike, and my mtn bike. don't really lose any feel for any of them. i just think you aren't set up properly on your bike. for the longest time i didn't feel comfortable in the drops, ask suspectdevice, being he's the one who fit me and has ridden with me enough to tell you for a long time i didn't ride in the drops. to an extent i still don't. i use them when i'm really really really pushing it and when i'm sprinting. sprinting in the hoods is like trying to play baseball with a pool stick. seriously try and learn to sprint in the drops, it's a much more effective means and you'll go faster

 

[indieboy]

i know the wheels are a soyrce of flex and a weak point one the bike. i will just ride then until the wear out. then i will biuld a wheel for myself with stronger componets. but by flex i ment in the drop h-bar only. they just move all over the place on me (well it feels like it). also for another hand position i'm looking into getting some bar-ends.

that flex could be coming from a few places: stem, fork, bar, and/or the front end of the bike.
how big of a guy are you? i'm not that big but i can still get some torque out. i like my stuff to flex a little bit, it's natural and makes the bike feel snappy. an overly stiff bike to me just feels awkard.
however, try a stiffer stem and bar combo. something a little on the middle of the line and not the lightweigth stuff.