I have a great-looking old school mountain bike (see signature), which I have enjoyed riding extensively both on the road and off, but my first love is still a road bike with a somewhat relaxed old school or touring geometry and with 28mm or perhaps even 1-1/4" (32mm) tires. With wind and a 30% chance of rain, I did today's 30-mile/50km group ride on my lowly old Peugeot UO-8 and had a great time. (The Bianchi is quicker and nimbler, but also somewhat twitchier in a crosswind.)
I really like the variety of hand positions a good set of drop bars affords the rider. Putting extensions on the ends of my mountain bike's bars helped immensely, but it's still not the same. I typically set my bars about 5cm below the top of my saddle, as I have for many years.
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"Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." --Theodore Roosevelt
Capo: 1959 Modell Campagnolo, S/N 40324; 1960 Sieger (2), S/N 42624, 42597
Carlton: 1962 Franco Suisse, S/N K7911
Peugeot: 1970 UO-8, S/N 0010468
Bianchi: 1982 Campione d'Italia, S/N 1.M9914
Schwinn: 1988 Project KOM-10, S/N F804069
Last edited by John E; 08-22-09 at 01:19 PM.