My wife just purchased a used Bianchi Volpe. Her regular bike has been a 1985 Bridgestone T-700, which I converted to more of a cruiser, with Dove bars, cork grips, Brooks saddle... when I first got it and built it up. She wants the Volpe to be a bit sportier, something she won't get dropped on when we go on weekend road rides with friends. But she's discovering she just may not be a drop bar kind of rider - she doesn't like the position, it bothers her palms and thumbs, and she finds modern brifters just too uncomfortable for small hands.

I assume this is a common issue for smaller riders - especially women.

So I'm thinking about switching out the bars to something more upright, with a more comfortable grip - my thought is something like the On-One Mary bar with either mountain shifters (the Volpe is set up with 3x9 with a long cage RD and 11-32 cassette) or bar ends (will the Mary take bar-ends?)

But any ideas others have would be welcome, especially if you have faced similar experiences. And pictures would be good too.

The mary bar sure looks wide.... I'm assuming your wife doesnt have 60cm wide shouders....

I've found myself to be not a drop bar person myself. just could never make the hand positions work out. Not too tall myself...

I reccomend either the Soma Sparrow, or Soma Lauterwasser.
Both will accept bar ends. also both have 22mm grip area so they can accept either flat or road levers. (in different locations)

the sparrows are more angular and look better with flat levers placed on the swept back portion, I use them on my more upright utility comuter.

the lauterwassers are curvy and capture some of the visual style of road bars, but are really more like mustache bars than real drops. i use road levers on these, mounted on the frontmost curve(you dont use the hoods on this bar). they're on my faster commuter/cross bike.


Anyhow, both i have found to be really great. migth lean a little towards the lauterwassers since you can reuse your existing levers (assuing these are tiagra grade or higher and can shift from the drops position?)

Problems with drop bar comfort often have to do with fit and setup of the bike. For speed there's a benefit to drop bars that you don't get with a lot of others: a more aero position and a position that engages more of your muscles. For distance there's a benefit as well: a variety of hand positions. But to realize these you have to be positioned right, as well as have bars that aren't themselves a problem.

If the budget allows it, I'd say go to a shop that will perform a bike fitting (and has a person who is trained and experienced in it, perhaps an owner with grey hair and the musculature of a long-time rider, and who actively trains the newbie mechanics), and see if they will critique her position and make recommendations. Even better would be to measure her and give you a set of contact point measurements you can use to get her in the best position for that bike. You'll need to make changes as time goes, but it gets you a baseline that should be better than what she has. And good fitting is not a matter of drop vs. lauterwasser, or Brooks vs. Selle Italia.

I echo what roadfan says. My wife is small as well. After some measuring, ALOT of searching & a little fitting time, I put her on a 49 cm roadbike w/drops & sti system and a good quality seat and appropriate bar that she likes. She has no problems what so ever. Keep in mind the adjustment it is / takes going to a road bike.

I can think of two things to do about it: Moustache bar, and a bike fit. The former, because it has many of the advantages of the dropbar without risking to cause pain in divers places. The latter, because balance is crucial if you ride anything remotely like a road racer.

I'd suggest a Tandem..

the pace she is comfortable keeping up, may not be as fast as the others keep.
so combining the efforts of both of you will have a better outcome.

A valid, if pricy, solution.

Mrs. Grouch and I have been riding tandems together since 1976. The classic tandem team is partners who aren't closely matched physically but who want to be together. That's hard to do with single bikes. At some point, regardless of your best intentions, you'll find yourself at the top of a hill and she'll be nowhere in sight. With a tandem you always arrive at the lunch stop together.

I imagine a more upright position and a swept back will work against her when she's trying to keep up with the group. The aerodynamics are worse, for one thing. And sitting upright with swept back bars may require a different seat, longer and lower stem, and other changes. The bike was designed for drop bars, not for a swept back bar that puts the hands considerably further back and higher.

Try to get the drop bar to work. Check bike fit. See what hand position works best for her. If the hoods are too stretched out and the drops too low, then maybe a shorter stem with more rise. Also padded gloves if she's having trouble with the pressure on her palms.

It does take time to adjust to a road bike.

My wife is tiny and found her riding style suited bullhorn style bars, not for everyone but she really likes them.

"" "" But she's discovering she just may not be a drop bar kind of rider - she doesn't like the position, it bothers her palms and thumbs, and she finds modern brifters just too uncomfortable for small hands."" ""

Does mean any place on the bars? or does she not like riding in the 'drops'? I seldom ride in the drops unless I am headed down hill. I think a fitting is in order to be sure the fit is right and remember other than the saddle/knee/crank relation few fit rules are hard and fast. She does not have to bent over and stretched out like a pro racer in a time trial. I get lots of ribbing over in the C&V section for my tall stems but they make riding more comfortable for me.

As mentioned maybe the pace is not comfortable for he. maybe she needs to ride more and the group take it easy on her now and then. Being constantly dropped by a group, especially friends, can be very discouraging.

True, perhaps Group pace needs to be more hers, a lead from the back, trip..
AYH requires that, for their, hostel to hostel, bike tours. leader rides sweep.

The frame may just be too long, for a woman's body proportion..

Dove /northroad handlebar is a step in the right direction..
for too much top tube.

+1 try to make the drop bars work first; they're ubiquitous for very good reason. It's usually just a question of getting them in the right place.

And +1 it takes a little time to both find the right position, and get used to it.