I did some research before I built my first SS (check the pics if you're so inclined).  I checked out a lot of pics and decided on what I liked about this and that and I'm almost there.  We go to great lengths to alter the bike from what it was originally designed for, be it a road bike or a mountain bike.  Since I'm not a mountain biker most of my comments/questions are pertaining to road bikes.  Where I'm confused is why there are so many SS's out there that keep the drop bars.  IMO the bike is no longer a road bike, it's a SS.  Get rid of things, make it more sleek looking, lighten the load.  The only thing that isn't changed or changed much is the frame and seat.  When I see drop bars on a SS I think it's not, how should I express it, fitting.  Why do so many people stick with drop bars after changing so much of the bike?  Do people have opinions out there other than "well I'm used to drop bars so I stuck with them".  A question I would pose would be are you not used to gears and shifters.  I believe a change should also be in the handlebars, even if it's an automobile steering wheel (exaggeration of a point).  What do others think/feel?  If you've read this far thanks and if you reply much thanks!

Art 

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Ride it like you stole it!

The current 'fixie' fashion is for cut down (very narrow) MTB riser bars with long BMX grips and a short stem - preferrably Jap 'Nitto' brand if you're affluent and seriously trendy. What will the fashion be next week? Bar style should be dictated by riding position, and position should be dictated by the use the bike is put to - not messenger lifestyle trends.

I have several SS (not fixie) road bikes. I ride them amongst regular geary club racing cyclists with my local cycling club. I'm usually the only one without gears. To keep up (which I do very well) I need the same aero advantages as my club mates, so I need drops. My bars are dictated by riding position which is dictated by the type of use my bikes are put to. Also, drops give a choice of three very different riding positions - each with a real purpose in proper cycling. Narrow riser bars give just one.

If you just want to pose around town with this week's fashionable bar style, then I suppose gold anodised Nitto risers might be okay. My bikes have substance and are about me actually using them for real cycling - not just posing. Narrow MTB bars would be pretty useless for a 110 mile club run in the company of a bunch of fit club cyclists!

The great thing about SS is that we need not follow convention, and can build a bike to perfectly suit our needs. If your need is for fashion then you'll build a completely different bike to me! narrow risers have become the new convention for fixies - but I'm keeping my drops for SS.

So, there's your first opinionated response!

Next...

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"Gears are like eyes or testicles. Having more than one is an unnecessary luxury." Elvis A. Presley

When I built up my SS road bike I was looking for something different than all the latest carbon fiber, ultra light, racer wannabe bikes that many of the guys I ride with were using.

I went with the on-one Mungo bar and too be honest, I liked it only because it was different. Now having done multiple metrics and centuries on it, I love the bars because they're comfortable, give me good hand positions, lots of leverage when I'm trying to climb and also because they're kinda "different" looking.

 Of course, on my geared bike which I use for long rides with lots of climbing (anything over 5-6K) I appreciate my drop bars for the various positions and the aero tuck I can get in to on the descents.

just my .02

-rich

the prettiest thing on a road bike is the drop bar.  it's sexy, curvy and functional.  Nothing against the guys who like the chop and flop style, or the tiny risers etc. but I like to ride my 'road bike' with only one gear.  I also like to ride my 'mountain bike' with only one gear.  SS is fun and cool, but I still think of my bikes as what they are first.  a road bike with a flat bar may as well be an unforgiving hybrid bike if you ask me. Am I expected to use unconventional bars on my MTB just because I got rid of the gears?  I like my 1" riser bar, and my 90mm stem.  I'm not going to change it to a mary bar just because some people spend to much time on the internet reading up on the latest fads.  As devoid explained, I too like to ride my bike.  I don't have time to stop and take flack from trend whores.

I've seen all kinds of things attached and unattached to bicycles.  Living in Las Vegas we have a large homeless population and they have really used their ingenuity as far as living off their bikes, as far as attaching their earthly belongings to it.  I've seen bikes really in need of oil and grease just to name two.  Yet these bikes roll on and apparently serve their purpose.

I meant no disrespect to those of you that keep the drop bars.  I was just curious, and to each their own.  Personally, and I believe this of course has to be a personal preference; I've never used the lower portion of my drop bars when they were on my 10 speed or SS before I did the chop and flip.  That's just me.  

I've seen pics of SS's with drop bars that would make me stop and inspect/respect the bike if it was within my eyesight and of course I would consider them to be a much nicer bike than mine.

So please apologies if I've offended anyone.  It's a free country isn't it?  (Please let's keep that last question rhetorical.)

@ devoid_punk: I've just recently gotten back into biking after about 40 years so I'm a little (actually a lot) older than trying to impress people with what I have.  When I saw pictures of SS's/fixies my jaw just dropped and I though how cool is that.  I started riding about 4 years ago, and then fixing and it just grew from there.  I don't "hang out" with any riding club or group to "show off".  You said "The great thing about SS is that we need not follow convention, and can build a bike to perfectly suit our needs."  That pretty much sums up my entire life.  I just think the SS is the most practical vehicle around for me and these questions about the drop bars just couldn't escape my head, so I asked.  Got the answers too and I'm satisfied.  Thanks.

@ rzims: Thanks for your .02 and it sounds as if you've built your $1,000,000 ride.  I want to go fast on the flats or slight inclines, I saw the chop and flips and like it because it was different.  I also turned my break levers around not just to be different but also for the leverage.  Thanks for your input!

@ Hardly Core: IMO you're not expected to use unconventional bars, but only to enjoy riding, like me.  I'm up at least 5 days a week in the summer at dawn (when it's 90 degrees and cool) and ride about 25 miles.  In the winter I'm out in the afternoon when it warms up a bit.  Probably what I said in the very beginning of this post applies to you.  I wouldn't see me as a "trend whore", hell my car is from 1992 and I don't have many different kinds of clothing and only one tie and shirt to wear it on.  As my signature states "Ride it like you stole it".  Thanks my friend.

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Ride it like you stole it!

Hi Tat2art

I have also chopped and flopped my bars for two reasons

1. The bike had a very uncomfortable riding position with the drops and that is why it hung on my office wall for 4 years and never got ridden. When I decided to build a single speed it was a good choice as it had cost me nothing but I still found it hard to ride because of the position so I chopped and flopped them and now it is a nice bike to ride.

2. It looks cool

 

mamos

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carpe scrotum

If you didn't build it, you don't own it.

wasn't actually directing my statements to anyone in particular.  I'm sure you're not a trend whore, and I know that I may partake in a little trend whoring now and then  I appreciate all bicycles, all bicycle configurations and a person's right to explore options.  Sometimes I won't like their bike.  

But it's still a bike.

except for geared bikes; they're more like space ships..

Gotta be a ditto head on both your reasons.  Glad it's off your office wall, although it's an improved work of art.

Thanks! 

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Ride it like you stole it!

Hardly Core:

wasn't actually directing my statements to anyone in particular.  I'm sure you're not a trend whore, and I know that I may partake in a little trend whoring now and then  I appreciate all bicycles, all bicycle configurations and a person's right to explore options.  Sometimes I won't like their bike.  

But it's still a bike.

except for geared bikes; they're more like space ships..

Never took anything personal H C.  Hey just wearing jeans, tee shirts & sneakers make us all trend ho's, now doesn't it?

I too appreciate all bicycles but more so when the owner takes a wrench to it themselves and makes it a little different, a little personal, or a lot. 

Oh yeah there are ton's of bikes out here in Vegas I wouldn't be caught riding.  Wally-World geared bikes, I have to agree are more like space ships.  Although, I must admit WW got me back into it and I can't believe how much.  Hell when I was a kid and lived back East (pre-auto license) I never thought to keep it clean, lubed, oiled, aligned, etc...  It practically lived on my front lawn even when it rained.  My bikes might have had kick stands but I don't recall using them ever.  If my memory serves me right when it snowed was the only time I brought it in. 

Now I'm checking every little nook and cranny, regular tune-ups, reading what ever I can get my hands on.  Asking what's the best grease, best oil etc...  When I see the stuff the homeless are riding I realize I don't have to be that critical.  I am an artist so the perfectionist comes out in me often.  I want to ride my bike not enter it in a show.  I must admit though I top off the tires daily pre-ride.  So there is the reason for the Handlebar question.  Stay tuned probably got more to come.
 

Thanks again HC! 

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Ride it like you stole it!

It´s great that we can trade robust opinoins! Each to their own - but I know what works for me, and that all my bikes work perfectly for the kind of cycling I do on them. I also know what is fixie fashion and without purpose or substance in the real world.

No fashion, no showing off. The riding does the talking. Ride well, and no argument or justification is ever necessary.

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"Gears are like eyes or testicles. Having more than one is an unnecessary luxury." Elvis A. Presley