Gravel bike flat bar / drop bar

I’d be keen to hear from anyone who has ridden both, about to start a build on a Camino and can’t decide which to do. Flat would allow lower gearing, more control on downs and I think I could have bars in a lower position that running drops, so effectively the bars would be lower that the tops of drop bars, so apart from being able to hunker down in the drops on road, there should be little difference in pace when in road. Maybe I’m wrong tho

Anyone tried both and which was preferred??

Ta

Go for flat bar (ssshhhh Hybrid), you’ll have more control and fun on the descents.

You can get low gearing on drops now. Your point re flats giving more control on downs is mostly true though, but on road drops are much more comfy/efficient. All IMO of course.

How would flat allow lower gearing, I’ve no idea that handlebars effected cassette/chainring combination?

I’ve used both I’m a big fan of super wide shallow drop Ritchey bars they’re great bags of control, the shallow drop if you’ve got your positioning right lets you get a lot of use out of the drops everywhere.

Or have a look at something like an H Bar or the Ritchey super wide cruiser bars as a halfway house?

I am tempted for that reason, and freeing up the sti hydros for wife’s bike

Sorry not fully explained, I have a 10 speed double groupset if use if flat bar, I’ve also a pair of ritchey venturemax flared bars if I go drop bar, are those the ones you mean raouligan

its not a gravel bike unless it has drops.
part of the fun is riding in the drops on tricky/fast descents and singletrack where you will have more control than on the hoods. you will only use the hoods for the dull stuff.
1×12 with Venturemax or Enve Gravel bars

its not a gravel bike unless it has drops.

🤮

I only ever use the actual drops (position) for fast descents/hard-braking/headwinds/long sprints. Use the hoods, shoulders, tops, crooks etc for variety, relief, posture-efficiency.

Drop bars (for me) are to date the favoured option on all roads/tracks except (usually) rocky singletrack/technical MTB terrain. If my overall average ride/terrain ventures into (say) >30% MTB territory with short path/road/gravel transitions then I’d instead go out on bike more suited to the ride.

For me atm that’s either:

1. A rigid 29er, flat bars and bar-ends, 2.2 Race Kings, or
2. a hardtail with 2.4s and wide rider bars.

If the ride is long and/or mostly road, path, lanes, byways, towpaths, fire-roads etc with a bit of woodland/bridleway exploring/bimbling then I like

3. drop bars all day please!

I do also like a monstercross for riding solo/exploring and being silly/exhilarated by trails/features that my hardtail/750mm bars would laugh at.

Monstercross the bejayzuz out of a day then tuck down/in for long and surfaced solo race home? I love it. Again, ymmv. I can’t explain it adequately. I like singlespeed too! Seem to enjoy limitations as well as versatility. Still dream of a singlespeed monstercross 😎

I do have some swept ‘loop‘ bars for bike-packing/lugging loads offroad, yet even then I still miss (say) the attack-climb luxury of having palms rotated inwards with thumbs pointing upwards (ie on the hoods or bar-ends)

It feels natural to me to climb that way, then up on the tops, breathing deeply, opened up, on to the crest. On flat bars (palm-down) I miss the different muscle-recruitment that is otherwise available when gripping hoods of drop bars.

Had two decades away from drops (because of mtb) even after initially cutting teeth on them for first decade of ‘grown up’ cycling (ie 15-25 yrs old) so it’s been like a homecoming/rediscovery these last 4-5 yrs. 👍🏼👍🏼 YMMV

Drops make for a very different ride offroad, which I guess for a lot of people will be the point of a gravel bike. I’m not a fan really- I have them on the road bike and I had a cross bike which I quite liked- but basically that’s where much of the novelty is.

TBF, a flat barred gravel bike is just a mountain bike fitted with skinny tyres. Nothing wrong with that but it opens up price options like mad, because you can use any older-school uncool 29er and dodge the Gravel Tax.

I have a lot of experience in switching between the two on the same bike. The type of bike I ride on gravel (and road) allows me to change bars in literally 2 minutes. I can change bars on a whim just before I go out for a ride depending on what I fancy. Over the years I have observed the following;

The drop bars are only marginally faster (and when I have drop bars fitted I ride in drops more than 50% of the time – mainly because I have no hoods)
The drop bars allow change of hand position which can good when riding a rigid bike on rough gravel for an hour if you suffer from any hand or finger pain when riding

But ultimately flat bars are more fun for me. I just enjoy riding them more and have them on the bike 90% of the time. I prefer the steering, hopping over things and just the way the bike feels overall.

but it opens up price options like mad, because you can use any older-school uncool 29er and dodge the Gravel Tax.

Instead you can get stung by the retro-kool-MTB tax. (Actually not convinced that gravel bikes are overpriced)

Old tourers are the best tho. Aren’t considered cool and they aren’t (or weren’t, pre-Covid tax) expensive.

I bought one for the price of a set of 29er tyres. And it had two new tyres (fitted), a NOS cassette, chain and rear-mech (all provided as spares)

So, money left over for some nice bar-ends for the 29er because climbing on flat bars is no fun for me.

I have a lot of experience in switching between the two on the same bike. The type of bike I ride on gravel (and road) allows me to change bars in literally 2 minutes. I can change bars on a whim just before I go out for a ride depending on what I fancy.

Same here for the ‘MTB/gravel bike‘. Am serial switcher between flat w/bar-ends or loop bars (depending on ride)

Takes a bit longer than two minutes though as have to realign bar-ends/ergonomic lock-ons/re-fit bell/front-light clamp. Probably 10 minutes max. But it means keeping the cables overly-long which is beginning after 6 months to mess with my mind.

Depends on your usage and expectations.
For me, a flat bar gravel bike/hybrid is getting close to 29er hardtail territory, so just buy an MTB and fit some skinny tyres. It’ll lose a bit on the road and gain off road, particularly down hill on anything rocky.
Drop bars give you the hand positions, but also a different experience off road in terms of feel. Part of the joy of gravel bikes is that they make my local trails interesting due to the handling characteristics off road. Flat bars make it easier, which isn’t always better in this case.

It wasn’t long ago that I was moaning about dropbars offroad…

I still can’t make sense of dropbars off road

…but having moved back to alternative flat-bars (Mary’s and similar) and despite now having a conventional very wide and straight modern bar on my Stooge, I’ve returned to dropbars on my monstercross and love them.

I think with a wide shallow drop drop-bar, set at a suitable height, is actually as confidence inspiring downhill as something like an On One Mary bar (for one, with a Mary my hands slide forward a little under heavy braking). And the dropbars are obviously far more comfortable on roads, easy tracks and climbs.

Ritchey Venturemax are probably my favorite bars too, much shallower drop than many other offroad drops.

its not a gravel bike unless it has drops.

I think this is reasonable. It doesn’t mean that other, eg flat bar, bikes aren’t incredibly suited to gravel. In the nomenclature of bikes, “gravel bike” means it has a drop bar. That’s all. The same goes for a “road bike”. This doesn’t mean a “flat bar road/gravel bike” isn’t just as worthy. All bikes are great.

No-one is being snobby about it, just specific.

Back on topic, I’d go for a wide and low drop as mentioned above.

At the start of lockdown I built up a Sonder Camino as my first proper (I.e. not bodged 29er with drops). The only thing I didn’t get on with was the flared drops – I tried a few pairs – so have gone with some conventional drops that are an unfashionable 440mm width that have a greater drop distance than any of the flared bars I used. I run SRAM Apex 11 speed (11/42, 42T front) with an XT cassette.

Just last week I built up a **cough** Tracklocross **cough** bike using a Genesis Dayone frame as the basis and a flat wide bar.

My 2 cents …

I actually much prefer the drop bar. So much so I think I will be switching the Genesis to drop bar – I think the riding position will feel more normal.

Drop bars without the use of hoods are not quite so versatile (especially standing climbing), assuming you don’t have brakes on your tracklocross bike.

I have tried for so long to justify a gravel bike over a lightweight 29er with semi slicks/ gravel tyres. I just can’t get away with drop bars. Flat bars for me with a lightweight fork just to take the buzz of my old wrists is a compromise I’m willing to make weight wise. Most of my riding these days is cycle way, bridle way, three ply tarmac and the odd sneaky bit of footpath. I can make 30-40 mile loops with very little road work around County Durham I love being able to go anywhere on a ride if needed. The fork and stability of a MTB allow this.

@kerley – front and rear brakes ☺️

I fitted a flat bar to one of my CX bikes to use it as a commuter for a while – didn’t make any difference in terms of control, but I was slower due to the more upright position and it made my wrists hurt. A decent drop bar position, hands on hoods, bent elbows is surprisingly good at absorbing shock.

Drop bars it is As I do most of my riding these days has been road bike anyway. If I don’t get on with it then maybe change whole bike for a rigid 29er we will see. Thanks for comments everyone.

@kerley – front and rear brakes

You need to remove them, tracklo-cross bikes don’t have or need brakes. Try it, it is great fun.