As title really, would you buy a flat bar road bike for spins on the road when you can’t be fussed with muddy trails etc and for the very occasional commute?.

is this a serious question?

It’s mountain biking.

If you’re scared of mud, i’d sell your MTB and use a road bike permanently

“Flat bar road bike” – you mean a hybrid?

Yeah – why not? Many folk argue that an upright position is better for riding in traffic anyway and if you’re not bothered about ultimate speed then a slightly less aerodynamic riding position isn’t going to bother you.

@Barry……I am not scared of mud but sometimes it can be tiresome on the local trails and just fancied being able to bang in some mileage straight from my front door and get back without having to fanny around cleaning my bike etc. 🙄

I know what you mean tbf, but I would much rather have the hassle of having to wash my bike lol.

It was weird not having to wash my bike in the summer all the time, now it gets absolutely filthy every ride

for an hour post work blat when you don’t have time for the post ride tidy up operation, a road-specific bike is great. Flat bar/drop bar is just down to your preference really – and it’s not necessarily fact that flat bar bikes are more comfy. Boardman do some great Hybrids

Or a rigid mountainbike. It’s handy to be able to recycle cast-off components from your usual bike.

I’ve just ordered a cyclocross (ok with drop bars) exactly for this purpose. Did have a look at some hybrids – def worth a look – but in general got put off by the weight of them.

Not a hybrid specifically but something more like a Giant Rapid/Scott Speedster that kind of thing. I am put off road bikes because of the bars gears set up so thought a more familiar position via flat bar would be better?

why not go for a drop bar? you can still set it up with short stem and spacers so that it’s more comfortable. and there are plenty of road bikes with more relaxed geometry. you’ll soon get used to it.

I am put off road bikes because of the bars gears set up so thought a more familiar position via flat bar would be better? – See more at: http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/flat-bar-road-bike-as-a-winter-trainer#post-5535616

try them – you very quickly get use to them, and for road riding they make more sense – more weight over the front wheel makes handling better. You soon get used to the gear/brake units and how to brake/shift at the same time, it’s more seamless than mtb.

Drop bars make sense on a road bike if you’re covering any sort of milage. You will get use to it very quickly and end up really appreciating them.

wow, copy and pasting from other text in the thread adds links to the thread now. odd. Don’t like that.

Upon my command, unleash h8erz!

But seriously… Sometimes for a short ride it’s so much hassle for mountain biking, get dressed, go riding for an hour, then spend as much time washing, maybe maintaining, cleaning kit, etc etc. So yep agreed.

And personally I don’t like drop bars much, it’s worth trying as it really is better, but it’s not for everyone The difference between a hybrid and a mountain bike is actually very small so an old cheap mtb makes an ideal hybrid… Or, Halfords do a couple of nice flat road bikes/fast hybrids.

Buuut, it seems like this is an N+1, if it’s just occasional rides use your mtb?

@Northwind….I did use my 29er hardtail last year for a short rural loop for rubbish weather days but I have a 29er full suss now with nobbly winter tyres on, I think it would be a proper drag……plus the stares from the large roadie contingent locally would just be tooo much to bare 😆

Have you tried a bike with compact drop bars?

I never used to like drop bars, I had a road bike but never rode “in the drops”, just didn’t feel comfortable.

Then I got a bike with compact drop bars and found them excellent, could comfortably use all the positions.

Go for a drop bar road bike. I have a flat bar one for commuting on so i can use studded tyres in winter and there’s no way it’d be as fun, fast or comfy for proper road miles.

Most winter bikes will be reasonably heavy anyway so less twichy than a full on race bike if you have worries about using the drops. But there’s nothing to worry about using the drops if the bike fits you properly – and compact bars are ace. 8)

I find road bikes way more stable whilst on the drops – more weight over the front just seems to work well.