commuting handlebars?

[7rider]

I use a flat bar with bar ends.
Bars were stock with the bike (a flat bar road bike) and I added the bar ends for hand position variety.

[Veronica]

When I commuted with my Rambouillet, I had drop bars. Now I'm commuting on a Bridgestone MB1. It has flat bars.

V.

[KnottedYet]

I use the flat bar that came with my Kona Dew. I put Ritchey grips on it, though (grippier grips). No bar ends, I'm not co-ordinated enough to manage bar ends.

Rode my road bike to work yesterday, and really didn't like the feel of riding in traffic (on my usual route) on my drop bars.

Who knows why, but I feel the Kona is a better commutermobile than my road bike. Maybe it's the positioning, or the gearing, or the wider tires. Or all of the above...

[GLC1968]

My commuter (a Terry Classic touring bike) originally came with flat bars and that's how I rode it up until this past January. I had added bar ends, but that was for variety of hand position.

Now it's got drops and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it so much more. I'm so much more comfortable with drops!

I think if I commuted in a more metropolitan area, I'd probably have left the flat bar so that I'd be more upright. It was great for visibility around traffic. Since my commute has a lot of wide open industrial areas where wind can be a major pain, the drops give me better aerodynamics when I need them.

[divingbiker]

My commuting bike, an old Trek hybrid, has flat bars with twist grip shifters. I had bar ends on it for a while, but the bars are too wide and I felt like I didn't have enough control, so I took them off. I'm experiencing a lot of wrist pain with the bars/twist grips so my new commuting bike (that's supposed to be here in a couple of weeks) will have albatross bars and bar end shifters. I'm hoping that the position of my hands with the new bars will make the wrist pain go away.

I would be way too nervous riding drop bars in DC traffic, but I see a lot of people doing it.

[7rider]

My commuting bike, an old Trek hybrid, has flat bars with twist grip shifters. I had bar ends on it for a while, but the bars are too wide and I felt like I didn't have enough control, so I took them off. I'm experiencing a lot of wrist pain with the bars/twist grips so my new commuting bike (that's supposed to be here in a couple of weeks) will have albatross bars and bar end shifters. I'm hoping that the position of my hands with the new bars will make the wrist pain go away.

I would be way too nervous riding drop bars in DC traffic, but I see a lot of people doing it.

You didn't get your bike yet?? I'm waiting to see pix!

Yeah, I think dropped bar riders in a metro area may be on fixies, but that's just a guess. I prefer the flat bars in a metro area, and would only go with drops if they had the brake handles on top, a la cyclocross bikes.

[alimey]

Loved the narrowness of drop bars - but didn't feel upright & in control enough on the hoods or the drops. Couldn't stomach the costs of moving to flat bars (new shifters, new cables, new front derailleur, new brakes) - so I bought a pair of bullhorns & mounted the sti levers sort of underneath.

I LOVE this setup - nippy & narrow, but feels very strong & in control. Easy to get out of the saddle, easy to change gear & brake. Also in addition to having your hands on the 'horns' you can also put them on the horizontal bits next to the stem - for example when climbing.

Cheap conversion too!

[kiwi girl]

I love the drop bars on my road bike for recreational riding, but I have flat bars on my commuter. I feel a lto more comofortable with the upright position in traffic. Also I use a courier bag for commuting and I don't like the way it feels if I am in a lower position on drop bars