Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - bullhorn vs drop

I've begun to think that bullhorns might serve me better than my drops during city commuting. It seems that they would offer a compromise between an aerodynamic position and being able to better see what's going on around you. Thoughts?

I prefer bullhorns for the extra leverage when climbing out of the saddle, but that's just my preference.

Why don't you just put some on to try 'em out. If you don't like them, sell them on eBay and put your drops back on.

You can get syntace bullhors for $12.50 at chucksbikes.com. That's a pretty cheap experiment.

Might cost ya a bit more if you're running a brake as you'll need a TT lever or a cross lever. Those can be had reasonably cheaply as well though. Perhaps even from members of this very forum (Where better to find a spare brake-lever than a bunch of people who run, at most, one brake?).

-Trevor

try them out, I think it all depends on what makes you comfortable. For me, the farther forward my hands are, the tighter my shoulders get. I switched from bullhorns to shallow drops on my commuter for just that reason.

I feel more comfortable skidding with bullhorns.

he doesn't have a brake on his bike.

he doesn't have a brake on his bike.

I will by week's end ;)

probably good...like everyone else said in that thread, it could be a good way to **** up a nice bike...i'd play it safe.

yeah i've come to the conclusion that it could be a lifesaver. maybe i'm a hypocrite, though, because i don't ride with a helmet.

just grab life by the (bull)horns...

Bullhorns for climbing steep hills out of the saddle. If I had long, uninterrupted flats I would be riding drops in a heartbeat.

For city commuting - sprint and stop - I would have moustache handlebars, or something a little more uprigh and narrow.

I've begun to think that bullhorns might serve me better than my drops during city commuting. It seems that they would offer a compromise between an aerodynamic position and being able to better see what's going on around you. Thoughts?

I'm a recent riser bar convert and I don't see myself changing them out any time soon. For city riding they can't be beat. I've tried both drops and bullhorns and now risers. I gotta say that I do like the risers way more than the others. I had a blast riding around the city the other day. My back and my neck loved me for it.

i like my drops better than my syntaces, but that could change. see, i was using my hand brake/tt lever a lot on my syntaces, and it was too far away for my comfort. since switching to drops (september), i've weaned myself off the hand brake (even though it's there). might like the 'horns better now...

just think about where you like your hands. when you're riding your drops, imagine where your 'horns will be, where your hands will be. then, get a set of syntaces from chucksbikes.com, try em out, and you're only out like fifteen bucks if you don't like em...

I'm one of those guys with an extra TT lever. I believe it's a Profile Design lever--black. I just needed the one. BTW, I prefer bull over the drop, helped me skid and a little more comfortable in town. PM or e-mail me if you are interested in the lever, I'd be glad to ship it out to you.

It's a bullhorn (http://www.bullhornmegaphone.com/) that can help you more.

Chuckfox: How much are you looking for the tt lever? Not trying the cherry pick the piece, but if OP doesn't want it, I may.

OP: Bullhorns for me. Much more comfortable to be able to stretch further forward than on drop bars. I think they look nicer as well...so that's a secondary plus.

I love Bullhorns.... tried risers for one day and well... look in the trade forum :D

I prefer bullhorns atm, but just got my drops in the mail yesterday.

I prefer bullhorns as I was never really riding in the drops of my standard road bars.

If the bike is used only for rides of less than 15 miles, risers would be fine too. If you ride longer distances the multiple hand positions are great but for riding 2 miles up the block you really don't have to have that level of versitility.

You can always go super cheap by chopping and flipping some ramshorns, but that doesn't always get a great bullhorn in the end.

If you get bullhorns that are long enough (a bit more like pursuit bars) then you can lay out almost as low as you would in your drops.

wow, you resurrected a 4 year old thread, doubt he still has that lever laying around still.

I really like drops with hoods. I can ride on the hoods and get a position kinda approximate to bullhorns, and I still retain the option of riding on the drops too, which especially kicks ass for sprinting.

i feel more comfortable skidding with bullhorns.



+1

I prefer bullhorns, and use the syntace bars from chuck's. Lots of hand positions. Great for climbing and sprinting.

wow, you resurrected a 4 year old thread, doubt he still has that lever laying around still.

Ohh no all these people are zombies now, RUN!

hahah ok, i was just confused at first, I had to do a double take on the dates. It was a good one, acted as if the 4 years had never lapsed.

Haha. I didn't even look at the post dates although I didn't do the resurrecting, so it's a passable offense.

I gave up on bullhorns and went to drops with both hoods, though I only run a front brake. I get all available positions plus the ability to brake from the hoods and drops.

I know, I know, drops with hoods just don't look as cool, but I also run mudguards, so I figured why not?

Well, you have to give props to one resurrecting the post for using the search function!!!

Personally, I like bullhorns - look & versatility.

Why don't you have a set of both? They aren't so expensible and you will eventually get to the point where you can swap depending on your moods.

... I usually feel like drops lately. Mine's a 370mm track drop, what's yours, Jaco?

T

Never used the drops of my drops so i went with bullhorns. They can look sexier too.

you'll need a TT lever or a cross lever.

Any chance I could just take the brake lever off of my old broken Huffy mtb? Or is that essentially a death wish?

Aren't those probably dried out plastic? Wouldn't trust 'em; hit up performance bike and get forte cross levers. $15/pair. Metal.

Aren't those probably dried out plastic? Wouldn't trust 'em; hit up performance bike and get forte cross levers. $15/pair. Metal.

Yeah, I'm thinking that the plastic might create more of a hazard than forgoing brakes altogether. Anybody wanna go halfsies? Running two brakes would make hipsters glare menacingly at me :( haha

I just found some mavic bullhorns online!

Drop bars => Bullhorns => risers

Remove one hand position at a time, each inferior to the prior.

I use drop bars on my road bike, but put bullhorns on my fixed gear only because I liked the look. I'll never use risers. They're ********.

When I go touring this summer I'll be using drop bars with clip on aero bars.

For SF city riding, bullhorns are where it's at. Lots of hand positions for comfort, and you get a nice upright comfy position with your hands at the base, or you can stretch out on the horns. I constantly get out of the saddle to climb and the horns are great for that. Risers only give you the one hand position. I had track drops for awhile but rarely used them - I was on the tops most of the time (no brake hoods either). On my road bike, however, I have drop bars; combined with the brake hoods they are great.

cliffs notes: bullhorns or road drops with brake hoods ftw

IMO, although drops look great, track drops at least,but they're only functional if I want to be in an aerodynamic position. The only time that being aerodynamic is really useful is when hauling balls downhill...which I only do for very short stints of time on my fixed gear, but when I'm on my geared bike, which I can't remember when that was, I'll do it for as long as possible.

Thus, the bars are all purely functional, and especially specific to each rider. Just waste money and try them all out and satisfy your curiosity the real way... um, you being whoever this thread has been directed towards, since it's been raised from the dead...

I would, but there is only one left...trust no one is where I stand until I get them. I post pics when I get my grubby hands on them ;)