Chrome Molly

I like the MAP bar, and photos of that Kvale really have me thinking about what to do with the Mercian frame that's staring back at me. We are getting warmer, now I need to think about it beyond the right handlebars and stem.

gomango

I've toyed with the same ideas.

I still have that nice Gazelle frameset sitting in the basement.

I suppose I should build it or sell it.....

An upright might be a fun way to go though.

sail

Due to an old neck injury compounded by age (can't look up or turn head much) this year I retired the Raleigh Pro and got a Trek FX 7.4, shortened the stem and added bar ends inside the grips.

I couldn't be happier and now ride in comfort. Daily ride is about 20 miles and averages a bit over 16mph, I'm no racer, just an old guy who likes to ride bike.

Good luck.

gomango

My thoughts keep coming back to this thread.....

Bruce Gordon has some interesting ideas about upright bikes on his blog.

Bruce Gordon Cycles - The Unofficial Official Blog

Here's an example of a city bike he built for himself.

mobilemail

Let's face it, the handlebar position has nothing to do with fitness, just comfort and aerodynamics. And if you aren't comfortable, you won't ride. So ride whatever you are comfortable on, and don't look back. Speaking for myself, nearly all of my rides over 35 miles are done on a recumbent or recumbent trike. If I'm traveling for work, the bike that goes with me usually has flat bars. And whether flat or drop, the bars are about 1-1/2 inches higher than I was comfortable with in my younger years. They feel good there, and the rides are fine.

On a somewhat related note, my wife found me a "time capsule" 1996 Cannondale M400 that is going to be my "adventure bike". I'm going to add some trekking handlebars and 1.75 tires, and adventure away!

jr59

I have seen this bike. The blog does not do it justice! It's SUPPER trick.

gomango

Yes, what a bike!

I know this thread is about an upright seating position, but check out these titanium baskets.

Velognome 

Aero wire baskets?

Bandera

Looks like they are mounted backwards to avoid heel strike or carry a useful load: fashion over function.

Good thing Wald is still in business.....

-Bandera

Needles

I have a messed up shoulder from an old motorcycle wreck. I just can't stand being on the drops for more than a minute or so, max. It's just too much weight on the shoulder. I tried moustache bars on my road bike, but they have a forward loop that makes the reach longer, and actually make the problem worse. I just got a buckhorn bar that I'm going to experiment with. Basically, I'm going to mount it backwards, to give me a flat bar middle section, with a mild drop at the rear. It LOOKS promising.

gomango

Yep, it's always good to mount a 5 pound rack on your bike.

Last time I used those on a daily basis I was a paperboy.

FWIW Read his blog. He built it for his bike, not ours. It was intended for a jacket, bottle of wine and some light snacks.

Fun design over market decisions.

Bandera

Like I said: fashion over function.
Personally I'd like my Titanium baskets to hold a six of Shiner Bock and some pork chops at least.

As always, suit yourself.

-Bandera

tyrion

This is unintuitive to me. The more aft I move my seat, the more forward lean, the more weight is put on my hands.

What am I missing here?

gugie 

The obvious (to me at least) reason a drop bar riding position is faster is aerodynamics. Upright, your frontal area is much larger. In addition, your upper body is exposed more, which is a less aerodynamic position than when leaned over. Riding upright means using more energy to cover the same distance.

That said, I was in the same position about 4 years ago. A bulging disc in my neck made it painful to bend my head back. I wanted to start commuting, and purchased an upright 3-speed bicycle. Later on, I built up a Raleigh International as a "gentleman's tourer".



I think the longest ride I did in this configuration was 55 miles. That's a pretty good distance, I think.

sunnyone

That's quite a bit of rise on those handlebars. I'd like to try them on a Nishiki Mixte I'm setting up. What kind are they?

gugie 

The bars on the bike from my last post are Nitto Bosco bars. Velo Orange and others make similar types. They allow you to use a standard height stem and still get a good amount of rise in your handlebar position.

BTW, to communicate which post you're referring to, use the "Reply with Quote" button at the bottom of the post you're commenting on. You can edit out any portion of it to keep it simple and clean.

davester

Originally Posted by davester
The solution for me was to move the saddle back until I had barely any weight resting on my hands. I then obtained a shorter stem to compensate for the saddle move. That did the trick.



The amount of forward lean you're talking about is due to the position of the handlebars, not the saddle. The purpose of moving the seat fore-aft is to get the position relative to the cranks correct and adjust your center of gravity. This and saddle height are always the first things to adjust in setting up a bike, regardless of the amount of forward lean caused by handlebar position. When you slide the saddle backwards, your body assumes more of a sitting rather than standing position relative to the cranks and your center of gravity therefore moves backwards placing more weight on your saddle and less weight on your hands. After you get your center of gravity in the right place you can adjusting stem length/handlebar position to get a comfortable angle of lean for your upper torso. Handlebar position always comes last when you're setting up a bike.

Here's a link that perhaps explains this better. How to Fit a Bicycle

RobbieTunes

If it's any encouragement, Pete, I once met a happy, cute girl while she was riding her Trek FX 7.2. This was at the 55-mile mark or so on a metric. It was probably her 5th or 6th metric on it, and she did 10 full centuries on it the same year. She averaged close to 18 mph. I tried pushing her to a road bike, but she said she couldn't afford it. Her brother rode an '89 Ironman and a pretty Zunow. Finally, I come across a bike once owned by a pro who raced for Centurion, a comp'd '86 Facet. I spruce it up and trade it for the FX 7.2 which by this time had a completely worn out bottom bracket.

She rode the Facet on routine 100-mile training rides, with the fast folks in the area, and visited a bike shop that let her test a Madone for 2 weeks. She bought it, still rides the Facet, and was sponsored this past year on the RAAM. I don't think she pays for her bikes any more, but she loves that old Facet.

Don't discount the usefulness of a hybrid to keep you in the mode.

noglider 

The Trek FX is less upright than a lot of bikes. My wife has one. It's a damned good design.

R3tired

i too have been thinking about this. as i get older (59 today), some days i just don't want to be all bent over a race bike. something a little more relaxed would be nice. just finished this today. i've been staring at this frame for a year. NOS Bianchi Reparto EL-OS, Athena 11 group with Veloce 10sp Ergo Flat Bar levers, 10sp Centaur cassette, SOMA stem which is 40mm taller than a normal quill, Nitto bars, HED C2 rims on Record hubs. 20.5 pounds as pictured. should be fast and comfy. i think i might even have room for fenders. not a great pic but...

Velognome 

Small Bikini fairings used on motorcycles make a huge difference. I wonder if front bag with an simple aero design might work. I don't know if the retaliative slower speeds achieved on a bicycle would reduce the effect or not?

gugie 

Such a thing does exist.

Jan Heine believes a handlebar bag, any handlebar bag can act as a fairing to some degree

My senior project in college was building an Human Powered Vehicle (HPV) for a nationwide competition. I learned a bit about aerodynamics, enough to believe that Jan may be right.

Paramount1973 

I use short reach/short drop handlebars with upright riser stems. I like the flats of my bars to be about 2" higher than my seat and most of my bikes now have cyclocross interrupter brake levers so I can brake from either the hoods or the bar flats. I never brake from the drops. My handlebars are rotated back a bit as well to elevate the hoods. This has pretty much eliminated shoulder/neck pain. I'd just use flat bars or trekking bars but I need more hand positions, and I am partial to bar end shifters.

Novara X-R, drop bar conversion with 8-speed Ultegra bar end shifters. by galoot_loves_tools, on Flickr
P4120228 by galoot_loves_tools, on Flickr

bikemig 

Really interesting thread; if I were looking for a more upright position to ride long distance, I'd check out the velo orange crazy bar, the jones h loop bar, and trekking bars.

Paramount1973 

In my own experience, if you have the saddle too far forwards, your upper body is not supported by your legs but by your arms. On a couple of bikes, I moved the seat back a bit and, counter-intuitively, found less weight on my arms. I find that when I am really pedaling hard, the force of my legs actually will lift my upper body up and decrease the weight on the handlebars.