Trakhak

Assuming that your wife wouldn't be bothered by the suggestion, I suggest looking for a different tandem. It would likely cost much less to sell the drop bar tandem and buy a mountain bike-style tandem than to pay for all the parts and labor to convert the one your wife bought, especially since lots of older people are getting rid of their bikes - and tandems in particular tend to sell for much less than their original cost these days. Keep an eye on Craigslist and Facebook and NextDoor, and be patient.

Ironfish653

Contrary to popular option (among the silver-brazed members of BeikForumz) going to a typical 40cm drop bar is not a natural transition for someone who's spent their riding career on 'flat bars' be they MTBs, hybrids or whatever. Particularly if you're coming off of modern 29er-era MTBs, weighting, body position, and almost every single control input is going to be different than what you're used to.
Choosing a tandem as your first drop bar bike only compounds the difficulty, because now you're also dealing with the increased weight and length of the bike, and the balance/coordination issues of a new tandem team.

A straight -bar MTB tandem like a Cannondale Los Dos might have been a better option, but I know how it is when a good deal shows up.
As mentioned before, converting drops to flats can get involved and expensive, depending on what you're starting with and what you're trying to get to.

THere is a third option (that they don't like to talk about here) : "Gravel/Adventure" bars.
Bars like the Salsa 'Cowchipper', PNW 'Coast'. And Surly 'Truck Stop'; they are wider, flattened-out drop bars designed to give you more leverage (and control) off-road or with a loaded bikepacking rig, but it would apply to your tandem as well.
They use the same controls as your road bike, but can be up to 4"+ wider, and don't reach out as far; plus the shape is flared and swept, so that the angle of your wrist is relaxed, which feels more natural to someone who's used to riding flat bars.

The Salsa 'Cowchipper' is my go-to on my road bikes.

Bogey Speedwell

Yeah not sure you have the proper size bike for your body, or honestly have enough miles under your belt to appreciate that value of drop bars. Or perhaps drop bars aren’t for you. Enjoy what you enjoy riding. Both my wife and I initially got into hybrid bikes and I migrated back to drop bars while she prefers the flat. Ride what makes you feel good!

Chuck M 

Well it does seem she got them a bike he doesn't like. So there's that.

livedarklions

Really cool to find the bike OP was asking about with flat bars on it!

More views of this bike at

https://store.bicycleczar.com/58-52c...p/11160884.htm

Maybe OP can get some ideas of how to adjust it.

rsbob 

Save yourself the hassle and money involved with switching bars, breaks and shifters and sell the bike and get one, like the one pictured above. Buy a bike that fits and feels right to begin with.

Reminds me of when my stepmother surprised my dad a used sports car he didn’t really want or like for his 70th and the thousands of dollars he spent trying to make it right, only to unload it at a loss. If she had asked him to begin with what he had wanted they would have been money ahead.

Lombard

If you're not used to road bikes with drop handlebars, 3" of drop will be very awkward.

Rather than throwing out the baby with the bath water, I would try to get a more upright riding position with your current setup.

First, try tilting your handlebars up slightly more to bring your shifters up a bit. Cost $0.

If that isn't enough, you can buy a more upright stem like this one. Cost $35:

https://www.performancebike.com/ritc...8837?v=1000845

Leisesturm

Agree w/previous post. I would choose a stem extender vs a stem with more rise. They are usually cheaper, and you can select the amount of rise you need, between 1"+, up to a maximum of about 3". Here is an older stem extender with only 2" of the possible 3" engaged. FWIW.

Batasoy 22

I ride MTB, road and everything in between.

It' s a matter of personal preference and where you ride it.

Yes; it's painful to ride a road bike unless you are riding on a perfect tarmac. On tarmac, it's like driving a Porsche 911.

I ride my MTB in the woods, it's a different kind of joy, like driving a 1954 Willys. Obviously, it cannot match a road bike on tarmac. Or, the opposite.

You' re probably looking for a hybrid / touring bike. Flat bars, no suspension, probably a steel frame with a carbon fork. To be honest, the bike that feels like home to me, too.

veganbikes

"We have both kinds of bicycles, Road and Mountain" - The waitress at Bob's Country Bunker in Blues Brothers

Lombard

The stem extender is not advised if you have a carbon steerer.

Gresp15C

Over time you might adapt to the bike, or you might not. I can't ride a drop bar bike -- "my neck don't bend that way no more." I can't ride a mountain bike -- those flat bars are murder on my wrists. I've adapted all of my bikes to have swept bars and a relatively upright riding posture. I'd rather keep riding than force myself into a bike that doesn't fit my body, and aggravate my recurring neck pain issues.

The people I know who like drop bars, including my spouse, are much more flexible than I am, and most of them have been riding drop bars from since they were a lot younger. I can't turn back that clock.

Since every bike I ride is either built up from parts, or adapted to fit me, I prefer to start with a bike that will require me to change fewer components. An upright bar bike is likely to be easier to adapt -- you can probably re-use most of the controls, maybe just have to lengthen the cables once you choose a bar height, or maybe not. For this reason, unless a few adjustments to the existing bike make it fit you, the suggestion to exchange the bike seems apt.

Leisesturm

I think the o.p. has an older Burley Tandem. Unlikely to be a carbon steerer. Someone is prolly at work on a carbon steer tube extender though.

skidder

I tried mountain biking but didn't like it. But those old early 1990s fully-rigid MTBs are great for converting into a beater bike, commuter bike, beach cruiser, workout bike, or touring bike.

Drop bars - like someone said above, my neck doesn't like the drop-bar position anymore so I'm converting over to flat bars. I will say that I believe the drop bar road bikes put you in the best postion to get maximum efficiency/power out of your skeletal/muscular system (just a "hunch" on that, nothing scientific.).

cxwrench

Hopefully you've figured out that no one here can offer any real advice w/o seeing you on the bike. My advice would be to find a local shop that employs someone with a solid knowledge of fitting. Especially with your lack of any visuals every post here is basically a waste of time and space.

Iride01 

There are other bikes besides road bikes and mountain bikes.

Road bikes aren't necessarily the right bike for anyone that wants to ride roads. And mountain bikes aren't necessarily the best bike for the mountains.

Cruisers can be a comfortable bike for leisurely riding with a comfy cushiony seat in a upright sitting position. And then there are also recumbent bikes and trikes.....

genejockey 

Bingo.

Lombard

I have neck and spinal issues and have drop bars on both my road and gravel bikes. However, I never use the drop part of the bars. I only use the hoods and flat front section.

As I said in an earlier post here, a little tweaking can get you more upright to the degree that a flat bar bike would put you. My bars are even with my saddle.

wolfchild

What's the point of having drop bars and not using them ?

Lombard

Because I like road shifters and the bars still give me two hand positions.

Not to mention it's easier to do what I did then to do a full scale conversion to stright bars and shifters.

rsbob 

Road bikes ARE terrible.

When zooming down a fast descent and taking the corners just right, it is terribly fun.

Mountain bikes can be even more terrible!

rydabent

Tell us, what is the difference between a seat and a saddle.

rydabent

Tell us, what is the difference between a seat and a saddle.

base2 

You sit on a seat. You straddle a saddle. Everybody knows that.

Shadco 

Niether are like the Recaro you can fit to a bent.

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