robbyrocks12345

I have noticed that riding my Trek fx 7.3 over 40 miles hurts my hands and my wrists. So I was thinking that I could replace them with some drop bars like something made for a real racing bike. I know that I would have to buy different gears or have them postined weird and the same for my brakes. What are your thoughts on this?, Has anyone did this before?

no1mad 

Short answer is yes, plenty of people have converted to drop bars. Can get pricey in a hurry if you don't already have any parts and especially if you enlist the labor of the LBS to do it for you.

That being said, what exactly about your current set-up is causing you wrist pain? Is it the lack of hand positions or maybe you are leaning too far forward and putting too much weight on your hands/wrists. You could look into getting different grips, adding bar-ends if you don't already have them- saw Cane Creek had a model that simulated the hoods of a drop bar, or get change out to a trekking bar (several in this category, with Nashbar's being a popular choice).

Guitarrick

You could try moving your seat forward/down a bit so you're a little more upright, it'll take some pressure off of your hands and wrists.

khutch

Drop bars are larger in diameter than flat bars so your shifters and brake levers will not fit on them. You can get V-brake compatible drop bar brake levers with hoods to ride on and they are not terribly expensive. Shifters are harder, you may be able to get bar end shifters compatible with your derailleurs or you may be able to put your present shifters on an accessory mount. Like many people I find flat bars too uncomfortable for long rides and totally devoid of a wind cheating position as well. I was considering drop bars as an option of last resort (only because of the difficulty of making the switch on a bike with mountain bike standard components). First I tried Origin 8 drop bar ends and I did not like them (some have). Then I tried the Nashbar " butterfly" trekking bar and that worked fairly well (many agree with this).

Over the winter I noticed that Jeff Jones was making an affordable aluminum version of his "loop H bar" a design I wanted to try for a while now but could not justify the price for the titanium version. I've used it over the winter on a trainer and rollers and this weekend I got out on the road for 27 and 15 mile rides. Provisionally I am going to say that I like the Jones bar the best. Perhaps not a huge margin over the much cheaper butterfly from Nashbar (and others) and since the Nashbar goes for $20 or under on sale while the Jones bar is $120 the Nashbar obviously has a much better bang for buck. So far I am glad to have the Jones bar though and it does mount my bar end rear view mirror very nicely where the butterfly needs an add on device of some kind to mount one.

There are other ways to deal with hand/wrist pain and numbness. You've gotten some suggestions already and I am sure you will get more. Nothing wrong with them but ultimately the experience of most of us is that flat bars won't cut it for long distances so I think you will want to change bars eventually even if the other ideas do help a lot.

Ken

amymorina

Hybrids generally have longer top tubes than road bikes as well. So you will have to invest in a a shorter stem with the right angle.

DavidLee

I have a set of Nashbar trekking bars on my 7.5 FX & love them. They give me a 3 different grips while riding. Wide like I'm holding a steering wheel which I love for climbing. Close in like traditional bars with the shift & brake levers & stretched out on the tops that I like to use when going down hills.

With this bar I was able to keep my stock brake & shift levers. Keep in mind that your reach while using the bars at the shift/brake position will be closer than your normal set-up, you may want a longer stem if you like your current amount of reach. I actually like the more upright position & as I said I can stretch out on the top if I want.

Sixty Fiver

One more vote for trekking bars... used drops on my hybrid for years and then switched to trekking bars.

The position I have them set at makes the rear much like my hardtail mtb and the forward position puts my hands where my hoods were on the drop bars... they are very versatile and offer great stability for more technical riding and the wide hand position is great for standing up on the pedals.

Very nice for when I load the bike up and hit the road and as I loan the bike out a fair bit the controls are more user friendly than the drop bars and bar end shifters.

qmsdc15

Titec makes a less expensive version, Titec Jones H-Bar.

You can't be aero or go fast with flat bars.

giantcfr1

The Flying Washing Machine.

khutch

Yes, they do and they are worth consideration. I was intending to try them some day myself before I saw the Jones aluminum version. In fact Titec makes two Jones licensed bars, the H bar and the J Bar. They are the same general geometry, the H version has a 1 inch stem clamp diameter and it is made with a bit of rise. The J version uses a 31.8 mm stem clamp and it is flat like the bars that Jones sells. Both, however, are patterned on the original Jones bar which leaves little room for both shifters and brake levers. Many reviewers have noted this and declared them unusable for anything buy single speed bikes. Jeff Jones is a single speed, rigid frame MTB apostle. But he is not opposed to making money off the rest of us so he has modified his design. The crossbar of the H now sweeps forward to leave plenty of room for brakes and shifters. He closed the front of the H too in his latest "loop H bar" which of course is now an A not an H. This gives you more room for your hands on the front of the bar and you can now mount a light right in the center too. So, I prefer the Jones bar to the Titec and now that Jones is offering an aluminum version for direct sale I have to wonder if he will license the new design to Titec at all.

The range of hand positions you get with any of the Jones bars is similar to what you get from a butterfly bar. The geometry is different though and I happen to like the Jones approach better. Personal choice, everyone should satisfy themself and not worry about what the rest of us think. We express our opinions to illuminate the range of options, not to force any particular option on anyone.

Built for speed, not for comfort....

Ken

Bschaubert

I actually just added arrow bars to my road bike and to my FX and it really does the trick I was having the exact same problem as you with my wrist and hands I actually get about 2 miles an hour faster when I'm tucked also .

dabac

This is contrary to general recommendation.
Saddle further forward makes it harder to use the push against the pedals to counter the weight of the torso, putting more weight on the hands/arms instead of less.
Want to carry less weight on your arms - move saddle back, and get a shorter stem.

practical

I've converted from drop bars to flat bars on a couple of bikes exactly for the same reason you have - hand comfort. I find flat bars more comfortable and more stable than drop bars. But if you want to convert your bike, you can. Of course you'll need new brake levers and shifters. The other problem you may run across is that pull on your drop bar brake levers may not be enough for your hybrid rim brakes so you may lose a lot of brake performance. This means you may have to change brakes as well. A professional may tell you for sure.

coominya

I'm not surprised, it's fitted with mountain bike style bars, very wide bars that curve back. All these generic hybrids have them now it seems. A real fashion thing I suspect.

I swapped mine out for a shorter straight bar and have no more problems. My other bike, a Talon MTB, has those same bars and it's fine to ride, but as it gets ridden offroad I am out of the saddle a lot more and don't ride it for nearly the same length of time. You fit a cheap short straight bar and try that, it's a hell of lot easier and less expensive than converting to drops.

Snuts

I replaced my flat bars on my hybrid before my trek last summer. I rode for the most part upright on the city bars, occasionally on the aerobars (2450km). Yes I was doing 47kph, while operating my camera. 19 days straight I was real comfortable on that bike.
I now have trekking bars on the same bike waiting for next years trek. The city bars are on my current commuter. Which started out as a drop bar bike.

Hope this helps,

-Snuts-

coominya

That's alright, no one said you can't operate a camera at speed, but GPS's, that's another issue, they have warnings all over them lol