There is a direct line that starts with the early mountain bikes pioneered in the ’70s and runs through the rigid XC rigs of the 80s straight to today’s gravel bikes. Many of the same geometry principles still hold, but now we benefit from better tyres, bigger wheels and disc brakes. Flat-bar gravel bikes, in particular, carry forward the distinctly American cycling tradition—though they can be polarising.
Why not just ride a mountain bike? Won’t your hands hurt on long rides? Isn’t it less aero? Why are you riding a hybrid? Fair enough, maybe, probably, because it’s fun. Flat bar gravel bikes occupy a niche within a niche, which is quite a lot of niches. But, they really are fun to ride. Will a flat bar gravel bike replace your drop bar bike? Perhaps, perhaps not. It depends where you ride.
Flat bar gravel bikes offer one major selling point over their curly-configured counterparts: control. Wide bars and a short stem make precision line choices—like on a mountain bike—much easier. For some riders, the more upright position is also more comfortable. For touring and bikepacking, this setup can make handling a bike weighted down with supplies more manageable. And since these are often slower-paced rides, the aerodynamic penalty created by the upright position doesn’t pose a significant problem.
What to know, should you find yourself becoming flat-bar-curious
Interested in experimenting with flat bars? There are some things you should know. Converting a drop bar bike to flat bars isn’t as straightforward as simply changing your handlebars. In most cases, you’ll also need to swap out shifters, brakes and callipers at a minimum. It’s likely you’ll need to change stems as well.
These substitutions are not cheap. In fact, I would recommend against converting a drop bar bike, if possible. A better approach is to start fresh. Ideally you’d want a longer frame (increased reach) than you would for a regular gravel build. This is because flat bars work best with a shorter stem, so in order to maintain a comfortable position and account for the different cockpit dimensions, the top tube will need to be correspondingly longer.
There is one scenario in which a drop-to-flat conversion does make sense, however: if you have a bike that’s too large for you. Assuming the bike otherwise fits your needs, this is a great way to adapt it to work for you.
My flat bar gravel bike experience
After racing some gravel and cyclocross events last year on a singlespeed (again: niche within a niche) I decided it might be fun to test out a flat bar setup this gravel season. My usual race bike is designed for drop bars, however, so I decided to try something different. After looking at several options, I landed on the BlackHeart Allroad AL, which is a no-nonsense, affordable aluminium bike with somewhat ambiguous geometry that would be flexible enough for some experimentation.
I opted for a size up, to add a little bit more length to the frame, but finding the right position on the bike wasn’t as straightforward as I expected. I wanted to maintain my usual saddle position while shortening the reach slightly compared to my regular hand position on the brake hoods.
I got close through exhaustive experimentation with stem length, but it was very much based on feel instead of what the tape measure said. There is no easy plug-and-play setup translation from a drop bar position, and using an XC position isn’t quite right either.
Bar width is another curveball to navigate: I started out with 760 mm XC racing bars, which were much too wide—though the level of control with that much leverage was remarkable—before finding a happy middle ground closer to 720 mm. I highly encourage you to test-ride your bars thoroughly before cutting them.
I built up my BlackHeart as a singlespeed, with the option to easily convert it to 1x drivetrain by slapping on a cassette, shifter and rear derailleur, but I had so much fun on the singlespeed that I have no plans to add gears. Wide bars offer great leverage while pushing a big gear, and it feels much more secure leaning the bike over in sharp corners and being able to dig the tyre into the ground with your upper body.
A flat bar gravel bike also makes a great commuter. Gears are recommended, however.
If building up a bike from scratch doesn’t sound like your cup of tea, there are some good pre-built alternatives available. For entry-level options, two good ones are the Surly Preamble—a more road-focused design—or the Marin DSX, which is very much a mountain biker’s gravel bike. For performance, the Specialized Diverge Expert E5 EVO is the best option out there: the geometry is progressive and it comes with a dropper post.
Don’t knock 'em till you’ve tried one
A flat bar gravel bike isn’t for everyone. But if you find yourself regularly riding on terrain that doesn’t warrant suspension or modern mountain bike geometry, then a flat bar gravel bike might be the right tool for the job.
Personally I am a big fan of hardtail XC bikes, and often feel that a hardtail is a better gravel bike for anything other than smooth gravel roads. For longer rides, or significant road transfers, however, the steep seat tube angle and slack head tube angle just isn’t a good fit. Furthermore, it’s hard to carry bikepacking bags on an XC bike—there just isn’t enough space in the front triangle. And that's where the flat bar gravel bike fits the niche.
Stick with me here: in the giant imaginary Venn Diagram of bikes, there’s a very nice little carved out portion just for flat bar gravel bikes. It’s somewhere between touring bikes, gravel bikes, mountain bikes and commuter bikes, and sure, there’s some overlap, but that’s OK. As I learned, flat bar gravel bikes might be a little silly, but don’t knock ‘em till you’ve tried one
