Originally Posted by
lucille
OK, I had a chance to move the handlebars up quite a bit, and they feel much better, it's also easier to reach for the shifters.
Attachment 150721
But I'm still not comfortable moving my hands under the bar to reach for the breaks. It feels really awkward and like I won't have enough time to break. And are all hoods standard size? I feel like my hand is too small to comfortable reach for breaks (no, I don't have freakishly small hands ;-)
I'm thinking it's just that I'm not familiar with using drops(I've only ever used flat bars) and hope it I will get used to them. I'm going for a longer ride this weekend, hopefully I won't end up getting totally frustrated and walking my bike...
You should be able to brake by grabbing the levers from the hoods....you shouldn't have to move your hands much....I typically ride with my thumbs hooked over the hoods and my fingers loose down on each side of the levers...braking just takes a small hand movement.
If I am bombing downhill fast I'll move to the drops and be in a position to brake harder.