Hi everyone,
Was just wondering if anyone tried to replace the handlebars on their e-bike (pedelec/mid-drive) with a drop handlebars? If yes, could you please share with us how you did. Do you guys think it is possible and is it recommended?
Looking through your posting history, I saw you were looking at a couple of Treks. Did you buy one? Converting is possible, but it can be expensive; dual control levers are not cheap, especially ones for hydraulic brakes.
I think the reason for the upright posture of most e-bikes is that that's the safest posture for urban/suburban commuting and errand-running and recreational type riding. The lowered forward lean posture of drop handlebars compromises vision. The goal of those handlebars is to make the rider more aerodynamic, which isn't a need for e-bike riders.
Looking through your posting history, I saw you were looking at a couple of Treks. Did you buy one? Converting is possible, but it can be expensive; dual control levers are not cheap, especially ones for hydraulic brakes.
Shimano does not make 10-speed hydraulic road levers, so you would have to convert to 11-speed, meaning dual control levers, new rear derailleur, cassette, and chain. Also, Shimano does not make a left lever that is hydraulic brake only, so you would have a shifter there that would be non-functional. SRAM does make road levers with a single shifter (used on the Trek CrossRip+) but I do not know if those levers would work with Shimano's disc calipers, so if you went with SRAM, it would be levers, derailleur, chain, cassette, and disc calipers.
BTW, I want to convert my Haibike, but because of the expense, I changed my bars to the Origin8 Strongbow, which gives me a few more hand positions. It's not quite as satisfying as a drop bar, but it's pretty good, and it is inexpensive at $60-80. You might also look at trekking/butterfly bars.