Originally Posted by
lucille
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...
Do your elbows stick out when you reach for the brakes? (from rotating your hands) That is one of the signs that the reach is too long.
There is no standard size to hoods. Campy hoods for instance are distinctly different from Shimano hoods.
I vaguely recall some feminine bars which supposedly decrease the reach for the brakes by changing the shape of the bar/tubing.
If you can get decent leverage on the brakes then it just might take more practice and a brake adjustment. Technique-wise, remember that the
front brake does almost all of the work but people often under utilize it.