Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Track drops on the street ... worst ever?

Thought I would share a useless post with the forum tonight.

Got new grips for my track bars this weekend. I decided to put the bars on my bike today and do my normal ride. It was pretty terrible. The drops are so very very useless with a packed messenger bag on (something I had never really thought about before seeing as how I never had the combo of bags and drops before).

The saddle to bar drop certainly doesn't help. (btw I normally ride bull horns which I love).

So now I think track bars on the street are even crazier then I had imagined. I am just stunned that people ride this set up everyday.

http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/9393/haberbike.jpg

Here is the set up btw. /end post

i like the looks of your bike a lot. I agree about track drops. I can't understand how it is comfortable, but whatever.

track drops on the street is just asking to be as uncomfortable as possible. i rode my friends for 1/2 a mile and i couldnt take it anymore. i only found 1 decent hand position but that still sucked

I tried switching between hands pronated near the stem and supinated on the curves of the drops both at the top of the cure and down a bit. All three were so so but not the best. Moving the hands from the drops to the top curved section seems like it could be dangerous as the most likely progression seems like hand forward on the drops to a supinated hand on the top which means twisting the hand while moving it off the bar. Tonight I switch my bars back :) (on a side note my bullhorns are also lighter which is a nice bonus).

Maybe I will put on some road drops for comparison too... or maybe even my mtb risers :P

i thought about buying track drops until i started reading about how uncomfortable they were.

I loved road drops though, maybe I shouldn't have sold them to pay the bills. I ride bullhorns now.

Nice Bareknuckle, but good god man. You want to ride your bike on the road?..go look at a road bike.

Flip your stem or get one without a ridiculus angle, remove some of those spacers, install some road drops, add hooded brake levers (with brakes[s]), and angle your saddle downward a few degrees from its present position.

Serously, when will you people learn?

when i first got my motobecane it had drops on them, but i hated them so much that i always rode with my hands on top near the stem. i finally got tired of them so i flipped them upside down and cut them in half to make bullhorns. now i love them.

There's someone around here with some track drops on his bike I see almost every day. I've never seen him use the drops though, always has his hands on the top where he refuses to put grips.

I love how drops look but they suck to ride with.Or maybe I just suck at riding with them, either way, really uncomfortable. I switched to bullhorns on my IRO after a week of riding with the drops and felt so much better. I also found it hard to skid with drops. Just me though.

Serously, when will you people learn?

Learn what?

Learn what?

Ride more....then go ride more. You'll eventually understand.

it takes some getting used to... i honestly prefer riding on chopped risers for comfort... yet i still ride my drops cuz i feel like a total ****** with my risers on my bike hahaha it's a preference thing i guess
http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs027.snc1/4283_209382785382_606840382_7141051_2442646_n.jpg
http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs027.snc1/4283_209386515382_606840382_7141110_2889535_n.jpg

my bike came with track bars and i dont find it comfortable at all. i miss my road bars

Nice Bareknuckle, but good god man. You want to ride your bike on the road?..go look at a road bike.

Flip your stem or get one without a ridiculus angle, remove some of those spacers, install some road drops, add hooded brake levers (with brakes[s]), and angle your saddle downward a few degrees from its present position.

Serously, when will you people learn?

My bike was actually fit to be used with my bullhorns. With them on the bike fits great.
http://velospace.org/files/jh1.jpg
I love the angle of my stem. I dislike the look of raised stems and the spacers are there to allow me use that angle of stem so that it still fits well. The amount of spacers I currently have is well within the limit of normality when fitting a bike. I have been riding this particular bike since the beginning of last summer with no problems. The saddle fits great at the angle it currently is and I believe most saddles should be titled a *tiny* bit up to position the rider correctly and to prevent the rider from sliding forward. Anywho.. I still appreciate the input and know you make great posts but hope you don't mind if I don't take your suggestions.

/edit:

I could have also used a different headset configuration to change the amount of spacers needed.
http://img522.imageshack.us/img522/4733/canecreeksolosheadset.jpg
But I preferred the lower profile look purely for ascetics reasons.

Whatever. To each his own I guess. I love my track drops and ride them every day. I can get 3 positions and I've never had too much had discomfort on long rides. I just haven't find road bars or bullhorns that I like more. Sometimes I put on some flat bars but they always seem to come off after a week.

Ride more....then go ride more. You'll eventually understand.

Jesus. You have no idea how much I ride.
If you cant be nice please be quiet.

I can't speak for anyone else, but I use the actual dropped part of the drop bars for climbing, sprinting, and heading upwind. I never had any trouble keeping my backpack on, but if I understand correctly, messenger bags ride a lot higher.

The main advantage of the drops is that it gives you something to pull from when you need more power. I don't see any way to do this on any other types of bars, but I've never tried bullhorns.

As for the rest of my ride, I don't see how riding on the tops is any different than most other kinds, except risers, but I'll be damned if I'm going to ruin a perfectly nice bike with risers.

i got track drops for a little fun, and theyve grown on me a bit. however, road drops and hoods have no peer.

whatever. To each his own i guess. I love my track drops and ride them every day. I can get 3 positions and i've never had too much had discomfort on long rides. I just haven't find road bars or bullhorns that i like more. Sometimes i put on some flat bars but they always seem to come off after a week.

+1

I'll be damned if I'm going to ruin a perfectly nice bike with risers.

Oh crap, my bike is ruined. I wish that you had posted this before I decided on my own that I liked them.

I should add, I guess, that I was riding with full fingered fox gloves on while using this setup. I have no idea about how it would feel without them.

road drops with hoods are the cat's pajamas, but i have 2 road bikes with that setup and wanted something different. local shop had a sale and i bought some nitto b123's. I prefer them to the hoodless road drops i had before, i actually find them pretty nice. the steel takes the little bit of vibration in the road that was left out. paired with cinelli gel tape, with cinelli cork on top makes it very nice to ride.

mind you my commute is only ~2.5 miles each way, but some people are saying discomfort in half a mile... i find that hard to believe, I find them to be very comfortable.

i have some bullhorns and a spare stem, maybe i'll throw those on to see what that feels like. I don't get bullhorns though when a similar position seems to be made with the hoods and road drop combo.

I have Deda pista bars on my GT and they are pretty comfy. I love being in the drops on them but it is kind of suicidal in traffic, so I don't do it too often.

Lupin- I also think that road drops w/ hoods are the comfiest bar combo of all, but I'll tell you why people (or I, at least) run bullhorns: same feeling as drops w/ hoods but cheaper b/c you don't have to buy the hoods. For 20 bucks you can get a set of horns from Ben's that emulates the feeling of hoods w/o having to buy drops AND hooods. Not to mention, IMO, they look pretty cool.

Oh crap, my bike is ruined. I wish that you had posted this before I decided on my own that I liked them.


Sorry. You should understand, though, that when someone expresses distaste for something, especially when that distaste is based on someone's personal sense of aesthetics, it doesn't necessarily mean that person thinks others should feel the same way.

I hate the way risers look. I think it makes a nice, grownup road/track bike look like an overgrown bmx bike. What that means for you and your bike, however, should be more or less unimportant. Don't be so goddamned sensitive.

question: Is there anything wrong w/ using too many headset spacers? i bought a used bike and I think it has 3 15mm spacers, so 45mm spacers total. Is that bad? Will it hurt anything?

Lupin- I also think that road drops w/ hoods are the comfiest bar combo of all, but I'll tell you why people (or I, at least) run bullhorns: same feeling as drops w/ hoods but cheaper b/c you don't have to buy the hoods. For 20 bucks you can get a set of horns from Ben's that emulates the feeling of hoods w/o having to buy drops AND hooods. Not to mention, IMO, they look pretty cool.

alright, i see this. though the nice thing about fixed is you can get away with only one brake (though hella people on campus are riding freewheels with one brake :mad:). so when i crash on my road bike and invariably break my tektro r200a brake levers (great feel, terrible plastic) the broken hood is relegated to fixed hood duty lol.

I also noticed road drops are pricey alone. i got a set of bullhorns for 10 bucks new lol. figured i'd try them out to see what they're like since i luvs my hoods so much.

Lupin- I also think that road drops w/ hoods are the comfiest bar combo of all, but I'll tell you why people (or I, at least) run bullhorns: same feeling as drops w/ hoods but cheaper b/c you don't have to buy the hoods. For 20 bucks you can get a set of horns from Ben's that emulates the feeling of hoods w/o having to buy drops AND hooods. Not to mention, IMO, they look pretty cool.

I like bullhorns for an option. I have a brake lever next to the stem on mine. It's kind of stupid since I don't have my hand near it when I ride. What kind of brake lever do you use and where is it?

I think the lever in the bar end might be functional but not pretty.

I go with the lever in the bar end, but I'm not super-concerned with pretty. I like my bikes to look nice, but it's more of an afterthought (and receives zero consideration on my MTB.)

Road drops with hoods get my vote. Track drops look nice, but that's it. I don't think that I would like bullhorns because I'd be stretched farther forward than when I'm riding on the hoods of my current setup.

Lupin- I also think that road drops w/ hoods are the comfiest bar combo of all, but I'll tell you why people (or I, at least) run bullhorns: same feeling as drops w/ hoods but cheaper b/c you don't have to buy the hoods. For 20 bucks you can get a set of horns from Ben's that emulates the feeling of hoods w/o having to buy drops AND hooods. Not to mention, IMO, they look pretty cool.

bullhorns dont have drops.

track bars suck for long distance street riding.
road bars / bullhorns are always an excellent choice.

when I see someone riding track bars with their hands all scrunched up near the stem
they remind of me girls walking around in stiletto heels.

Does anyone have an overhead photo of a set of track drops? Just curious; I thought they were very similar to or the same as road drops.

Ride more....then go ride more. You'll eventually understand.

You sound like such a dick in this post. I also ride track drops and my bike has similar angles and have been riding it twenty plus miles everyday and I'm incredibly comfortable. I've ridden road bars for awhile and still sometimes do, but still prefer track drops.

To each his own, man.

http://www.businesscycles.com/graphics/tbar-tange_carbon3.jpg

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml04/04220a.jpg

Road drops have a longer flat section near the stem, and more of a shoulder for more hand positions. Track drops just curve down to the drops, with the drops being the only hand position they are designed for.

bullhorns dont have drops.




he never said bullhorns having drop, he said that bullhorns emulate the feeling of having to grip the hoods on road bars. :rolleyes:

i myself just got a set of track drops and i don't like it. although its better then the road drops that came with the kilo...:notamused: next test is bullhorns. :twitchy:


anyone of you tried this type of bar where its flat....pic is of profile Design T2 Wing.


http://bikeisland.com/images/HB1552.jpg

obviously.

and while I find bullhorns respectable, I personally dont use them anymore because I like having 5 hand positions vs 3.

Road drops with hoods get my vote. Track drops look nice, but that's it. I don't think that I would like bullhorns because I'd be stretched farther forward than when I'm riding on the hoods of my current setup.

a bullhorn with no drop is supposed to mimic the feel of the top of road bike bars with hoods. you shouldn't be stretched any futher.

anyone of you tried this type of bar where its flat....pic is of profile Design T2 Wing.


http://bikeisland.com/images/HB1552.jpg

If you look on the last page I have a pic of my bike with the t2 wing. It's the bar I ride most often. For comparison I have road ergo road bars, old metal road bars, mtb risers, and nashbar bullhorns.

I have mine wrapped in cinelli gel cork. They are really really awesome. The position I hold most often is the flat curve. I can place my palm on it to rest them and hold the horns. I also like to wrap all my fingers including my thumb over the curve flat section some times. They have a good amount of stretch to them which feels nice imho. They are the best bars I have ever used.

bullhorns dont have drops.

track bars suck for long distance street riding.
road bars / bullhorns are always an excellent choice.

when I see someone riding track bars with their hands all scrunched up near the stem
they remind of me girls walking around in stiletto heels.


Haha! That is a really good comparison!

my ergo road drops with hoods are ****ing awesome

My 1955 Lenton has some beautiful track bars but with a saddle to bar drop of 0 it is a very comfortable bike for distance and I can stay in the drops for extended periods and only need to take the occasional break.

Like road bars, there is a lot of variance with track bars and I also have some ITM's on my winter bike that are a lot shallower.

The messengers here don't ride track bikes (except for 1) and don't have any stupid saddle to bar drops on their road bikes as it makes carrying a loaded mess' bag really difficult.

Road bars are the preferred set up because if you are going to spend the day on your bike, comfort is a priority.

my girlfriend rides track bars, but they've got a bit flatter of an upper section than most track bars I've seen, so you can get a decently comfortable position on the tops. She's also got little saddle to bar drop.

But it does bug me when I see track drops only being ridden on the tops. I definitely think road drops with hoods are the most comfy setup. I however still prefer bullhorns. I barely use the drops on my road bike.

Does anyone here that uses skidding as a primary stopping technique find it a little more difficult to do so with drops? I had a hell of a time with it

Drops are difficult to master, that is the point. Once learned, they are the superior weapon. I'd start to explain here about cornering force, tracking, leverage, muscle recruitment, but.....hell go to the track forum and tell them how drops suck.
As far as riding them on the street - drops will allow you to charge through rougher pavement with better control, more precise steering, and THE greatest range of positions. More stability for the steepest terrain.
It saddens me some to see so many riders abandon drops for risers - it's like the overall trend is track bikes is going slower and spinnier, as though the perception were that the limits of street riding have crescendoed already. There is so much more progression that can happen with both wheels on the ground and a straight-build track bike. Hopefully we'll see more of this in the years to come. There is so much fun left.

*respectful nods to the road bars/hoods but besides aesthetics there are more reasons to keep the drop bars on your bike for the 100 mile rides.

Wow. BF has certainly changed.

Every point made here for bullhorns, for road drops with hoods and against track drops for the street I made 3 years ago. In the same breath I preached "stop dumpster diving", against the Great Hipster Myth (I made that phrase) of the $100 awesome thrift store conversion, and wondered what was the big deal with NJS. I rallied for clipless pedals, LBSs, and starting with proper fixed gear or track specific frames for projects.



My work here is done.

Wait...I've still got to convince people that good bikes aren't cheap and cheap bikes aren't good.


D*mn, I thought I could get away from this hell I call Brokeforums.

I used to use a track drop with a Nitto Jaguar stem like this.

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b357/Tomo_Ishi/KC280165-1.jpg

This put the handle considerably lower than the saddle. I now understand this is a no-no with any bars. So tried Nitto Technomics (72 degrees) and raised the bar just about 2cm below the saddle.

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b357/Tomo_Ishi/KC280171-1.jpg

This turned the "track roof position" (real close to stem) sweet. I rode several miles here without much problems. But people with road drops are right. Your chest cavity is restricted; becomes uncomfy over long hills. So I changed over to a road drop like this.

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b357/Tomo_Ishi/KC280188-1.jpg

But you know the track drop setup was nice. If I ever move to flatter piece of land, I am swapping over.

question: Is there anything wrong w/ using too many headset spacers? i bought a used bike and I think it has 3 15mm spacers, so 45mm spacers total. Is that bad? Will it hurt anything?


It won't hurt anything, and if you need that many spacers to get your bars in the desired position, that is fine. However, having that many spacers and a flipped down stem (as the bike in the OP) defeats the purpose of the spacers (and looks very amateurish). The OP could flip the stem, remover all the spacers, and end up with the same bar position, resulting is a simpler, lighter, stiffer setup.

You sound like such a dick in this post. I also ride track drops and my bike has similar angles and have been riding it twenty plus miles everyday and I'm incredibly comfortable. I've ridden road bars for awhile and still sometimes do, but still prefer track drops.

To each his own, man.

Thats because I was being a dick.

obviously.

and while I find bullhorns respectable, I personally dont use them anymore because I like having 5 hand positions vs 3.

That is correct. A lot of people fail to understand this because their bars are positioned incorrectly and/or their sense of comfort/function is compromised by a misguided sense of bike aesthetics.