Quote:
Originally Posted by nostatic
Flat bars on the road have some disadvantages. Road bars are shaped like they are for a reason - they provide a number of different hand and body positions depending on terrain, speed, etc. If you get some nice wide road bars (maybe 46cm given your height) and a frame/stem combo that puts them high enough, you might be surprised at how much you like them. Often the reason people don't like road bars is that they are way too low, whereas flat bars usually have a rise stem putting the seat/bar differential less.
That said, I have put many miles on my mtn bike with flat bars and bar ends. I can't live without the bar ends though.
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+1 on the bars. If you go with flat (MTB style) then definitely get the bar ends. They give you more hand positions (comfort) and allow you to pull harder with your upper body (power) for steep climbs. I ride lots of road miles on my MTB and spend 75% of the time on the bar ends. That said I would never put a flat bar on a road bike - the drop style bars have many more hand positions. I liked the wide ones that opened my chest (I have broad shoulders) with a comfortable tape job.
Like me you're on the "heavy" side when talking about cycling so make sure the wheels and brakes are up to par.
Lots of miles are key to any bicycle fitness strategy. Bottom line you have to put miles in the bank. Start at a comfortable (slow) pace that you can ride for 90 minutes or so. Keep a higher pedal cadence - 80-90 RPM min. You don't want to finish the ride completely tanked. A few weeks of this (3-4x week) and you'll start to see improvement.