# Flat Bar Road Bike - Do you go up a size due to the reduced reach?



## Weaklink (May 26, 2006)

I am thinking about building a commuter bike. A Kona Sutra, Salsa Vaya, or Long Haul Trucker. I usually take a 56cm road frame with drop-bars. I am going to use a flat bar, mtb triggers, and speed lever brakes. Do I need to go up a size to compensate for the reduced reach from a regular drop-bar, or do most people just sit-up a bit more?


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

You are likely to sit up more with your hands further apart than you would with drop bars so the same size frame ought to work fine.

You are still going to want plenty of stand-over so any adjustment should be with stem reach and height not frame size.

HTH


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## tarwheel2 (Jul 7, 2005)

Have you considered bullhorns? They could provide additional position advantages over flat bars. It sure is nice to be able to stretch out at times.


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## bignose (Sep 15, 2005)

Or those funky "touring bars", flat bar ride with tonnes of hand position options.


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## baker921 (Jul 20, 2007)

I think the advantage of going up a size is to get a taller head tube, cross bkes can be more flexible here.


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## davidka (Dec 12, 2001)

Keep in mind that the "home" position on a road bike is the hoods so the effective reach is much longer than on a flat bar setup. It's a good idea to run a longer stem and/or a slightly lower bar position w/flat bar to keep the front/rear balance good. Short reach setups on road geometry can cause some weird handling traits, not the least of which is speed wobble.


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