Ygthkb

I really like the Kona Sutra from both a price and specification point of view. As I have only ridden flat bar bicycles I am not sure if I can used to the drop bar. In case I cannot, I would like to convert the bicycle to Velo Orange's Crazy Bar. I know for sure, I will like that.

What do I have to know when I purchase a Kona Sutra? I know that drop bar bike frames are shorter and that I need be careful about the brake and shifter pull ratios (i.e. MTB vs. Road bike components). The second is not a problem in case of the Sutra, but I am a little bit afraid of purchasing a bigger size bike just because of a potential conversion.

Is there anything else you need to watch for?

Converting between drop and flat bars is generally a huge amount of hassle. As you say, there are all kinds of incompatibility issues around brakes and shifters, and the geometry of the frame is designed with particular bars in mind, because changing the bars makes a big difference to riding position. There's no point spending £1400 on a bike and then spending a couple of hundred more to turn it into some weird Frankenbike that will ride worse than a hybrid costing a quarter of the price.

I wouldn't advise spending anything like that much money on a bike that you're not sure you'll be able to ride comfortably. Decathlon will sell you an entry-level road bike for £250; Halfords will sell you one for £180. You can probably get an old, second-hand one for £50 – and then sell it again for the same price. Even if you get an old bike with down-tube shifters, you can still evaluate the riding position. Or hire a bike for a weekend or a week. Do you know somebody who can lend you one?

Once you know what you want, you can consider more expensive options.

This is just a generally bad idea. There are plenty of flat bar bikes with similar specs (700c wheels, 40mm tires, disc brakes, 9 speed mountain drivetrain) available. Swapping out the bars shifters and brake levers is expensive, time consuming, you have to work out the compatibility problems - and you don't know if you'll even like the end result. It's a much better idea to test ride bikes that you think you might like, then when you purchase you know what you are getting.

You have other options as well if you get on with the bike but not so well with the bars.

I bought a new primary bike a couple of years ago - it was a steel tourer with similar specs to the Sutra, and I'd only spent a couple of hours total on drop bars before. I believe fit on a gravel/adventure road bike to be closer to a touring fit than a race fit - easier to get right, and based on a slightly higher stack (I'd think of the Sutra as a gravel-tourer, while mine is more of a tourer with rough-road capability, due to its longer wheelbase and slightly thinner tyres). That more relaxed fit makes the transition from flat bars easier.

I took it for a reasonably long test ride (~1 hour, >20km including two blocks of 6km in the drops), mainly testing for fit and confidence, as I was used to a high vantage point on my hybrid (I'm tall). The test ride is crucial.

I had a plan B for if I didn't get on very well with drop bars: interruptor levers. They allow you to brake from the bar tops and are easily retrofitted. I never bought them and after the first few days had no desire to. Riding on the hoods is easy, as it's mean to be. Good bar tape and good gel gloves (even cheap ones) will deal with any hand comfort issues.