Originally Posted by
Nightshade
I read complaints about hand pain/problems and wonder did these people just crawl out from under a rock on the moon?
I also wonder if these people are so in love with drops that they would rather drink urine than look at a more upright posture?
The answer is so obvious I can't believe I have to tell a grown person what it is........
JUNK the drops and the racing saddle to replace them with north roads bars and Brooks made for upright riding.
The world is full of racer boys so they won't miss you.
Drops are actually not the problem, it's the distance between the saddle, and the normal riding position on drops. See racers, typically want the bars quite a bit below the saddle, you can see racing bikes that are set up with the bars practically at the level of the top bearing in the headset and the saddle set as high as it will go. The idea is the flat back, or the position where the shoulders are lower then the hips. This pushes a lot of weight forward. If you look at a properly set up touring bike, the bars are even with, or above the saddle, this pushes the riders weight back, so that more of the weight is on the saddle and pedals, rather then on the bars.
This is one area where older may be better, modern bikes with threadless headsets the steerer is extended through the top of the head tube, then cut off at the required height, then the stem attached, the problem is that bike shops will usually cut the steerer off at the lowest possible point, meaning the only way to fix the problem is either an extender or properly replace the steerer, some steerers can be replaced, some can't. If buying a new bike, you want fitted, ask the shop to leave the steerer as long as possible and to fit spacers under it, makes the most sense. Older quill style stems can be replaced with longer stems, and there are a few longer ones out there, Nitto made some really long ones, I think they still do.