Old 08-23-17 | 03:39 AM
  #10  
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rhm
multimodal commuter
 
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 19,810
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From: NJ, NYC, LI

Bikes: 1940s Fothergill, 1959 Allegro Special, 1963? Claud Butler Olympic Sprint, Lambert 'Clubman', 1974 Fuji "the Ace", 1976 Holdsworth 650b conversion rando bike, 1983 Trek 720 tourer, 1984 Counterpoint Opus II, 1993 Basso Gap, 2010 Downtube 8h, and...

If you've been riding with a drop bar since 1968, the shift to an upright posture is going to be a bit of a shock. I tried it and failed, and I've only been riding drop bars since 1978!

Try this. Assuming you can ride no hands for a little while (or with the bike set up on a stationary trainer) take your hands off the grips and hold them just over the grips. Your abdominal muscles will have to take up the slack. Now straighten your back a little and watch where your hands go. Depending on how straight you want your back, your handlebar grips are going to have to come up and back.

I wouldn't worry about the seat. You've been riding long enough to know where you want the seat relative to the pedals; it's the hand placement that's unfamiliar to you. Once you get that* you'll know if the seat has to move as well.

*but like I said, I couldn't make this switch. My upright/flat bar bikes are set up almost the same as my drop bar bikes, and my posture is never very upright.
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