Thinking of giving up drop bars...
#51
Calamari Marionette Ph.D
Most of my bikes have upright bars. I don't understand why folks say they only have one hand position. If you tape the bars you have cusion anywhere on the bars. Plus most of the cooler uprights are some variation of a North road bar which has several places to put your hands. I did enjoy drop bars for years but I can ride just as far on upright bars as I ever did on drop bars.
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Sheldon Brown says it perfectly about drop bars, IMO:
"The main advantage of drop handlebars is that they offer several different hand positions. For longer rides, the ability to change positions is very desirable. Riding for a long time in any one position tends to be uncomfortable.People who think they don't like drop handlebars are often actually objecting to the position of the bars on the drop-bar bikes they have tried.Bikes with drop bars often have the bars mounted rather low and far forward, so that the rider has to lean forward quite a lot to reach the bars, especially the lower "drop " position. If these people tried a bike where the drop bars were placed higher, and closer to the saddle, they might find they really liked them."
But upright bars are something else. My guess is that, if you have a long enough ride into a headwind, you will start to miss the drop bars.
"The main advantage of drop handlebars is that they offer several different hand positions. For longer rides, the ability to change positions is very desirable. Riding for a long time in any one position tends to be uncomfortable.People who think they don't like drop handlebars are often actually objecting to the position of the bars on the drop-bar bikes they have tried.Bikes with drop bars often have the bars mounted rather low and far forward, so that the rider has to lean forward quite a lot to reach the bars, especially the lower "drop " position. If these people tried a bike where the drop bars were placed higher, and closer to the saddle, they might find they really liked them."
But upright bars are something else. My guess is that, if you have a long enough ride into a headwind, you will start to miss the drop bars.
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Exactly. I have three very usable positions. The grips for full upright scenic turtle pace, The hooks are 100mms in front of the grips for buzzing along at a quicker pace and out of the saddle climbing, and the flats by the stem for headwinds. The flats are actually quite a bit lower than the saddle, so it's a pretty versatile.
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#54
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The only issue I have with the OPs first post is the "almost 30" and feelings old part. Why do most bikers think that is old especially? Just the fact that we can even ride bikes means almost by default we're healthier and more limber than most in whatever our age groups may be. I'm currently 30 and if I can stay immature for 20 more years then people will consider me "youthful".
#55
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The only issue I have with the OPs first post is the "almost 30" and feelings old part. Why do most bikers think that is old especially? Just the fact that we can even ride bikes means almost by default we're healthier and more limber than most in whatever our age groups may be. I'm currently 30 and if I can stay immature for 20 more years then people will consider me "youthful".
-Gregory
(Edit - I've also suffered from chronic back issues since childhood and sometimes find myself extra fatigued by discomfort on longer rides, and was pleasantly surprised by the change of scenery when I went to the upright handlebars. It prompted the thoughts that led to my original post.)
Last edited by Kilroy1988; 05-06-18 at 08:02 PM.
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I can understand that. I actually have cruiser bars flipped upside down to give me the leverage sprinting and climbing with a lower angle then I can sit up somewhat straighter with my wrists at a comfortable angle. I'd post pics but I don't want to set up a photo bucket right now.
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#59
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Switched my old Bridgestone over to a riser bar when i added the tag-a-long, the old 38cm drops just didn't have the leverage for low-speed handling with the rig and herself on board.
I'm an old XC guy, so straight bars are no big deal to me. It's nice having bar with just grips and brake levers on it; a refreshing change from the 'full battle rattle' of my commuter and the techy cockpit on my road bike.
Also been looking at changing up the bars on the road bike, too. I'm taking a look at gravel-style bars, with the shallow, flared drops and canted levers; they seem like they'd fit the way my hands and wrists want to line up on the bars than a conventional drop bar.
I'm an old XC guy, so straight bars are no big deal to me. It's nice having bar with just grips and brake levers on it; a refreshing change from the 'full battle rattle' of my commuter and the techy cockpit on my road bike.
Also been looking at changing up the bars on the road bike, too. I'm taking a look at gravel-style bars, with the shallow, flared drops and canted levers; they seem like they'd fit the way my hands and wrists want to line up on the bars than a conventional drop bar.
#60
Calamari Marionette Ph.D
Nope. Better.
Husky Industrial Bicycles part number 351-200. Steel. Not heavy, like Wald bars. Nice and stiff. In stock trim they are much more swept back and 27 inches wide. I cut them down to position my hands in line with the steering axis, which brings them to 24 inches wide. For me, that's perfect. The finish isn't pretty, but I wrap all my bars anyway.
They just increased the price to a whopping $15.50.
Husky Bicycles: Bicycles
Husky Industrial Bicycles part number 351-200. Steel. Not heavy, like Wald bars. Nice and stiff. In stock trim they are much more swept back and 27 inches wide. I cut them down to position my hands in line with the steering axis, which brings them to 24 inches wide. For me, that's perfect. The finish isn't pretty, but I wrap all my bars anyway.
They just increased the price to a whopping $15.50.
Husky Bicycles: Bicycles
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I will be the voice of unreason.
Drop bars for life.
Not comfy? try a different stem. Different frame geometry.
Drop bars offer more comfort options than any kind of flat bars by far. You can make yourself more or less upright as you choose.
Also, its fun to have more than one kind of bike.
Drop bars for life.
Not comfy? try a different stem. Different frame geometry.
Drop bars offer more comfort options than any kind of flat bars by far. You can make yourself more or less upright as you choose.
Also, its fun to have more than one kind of bike.
Cheers
Tony
#62
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Has not been my experience. While I agree that drop bars offer three different hand positions, I have found as I age that two of those three are unusably uncomfortable. The hand position that's left, on the bar (as opposed to hoods or drops) leaves the hands uncomfortably close to each other impairing handling, and that bar space is so limited that it limits hand positions more than any flat bar I've seen.
Last edited by Headpost; 05-08-18 at 08:10 AM.
#63
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Personally, I had the realization that I prefer some kind of alternative bar for touring that is more upright and that drops are silly. My first tour overseas taught me that drop bars for touring is more of a North American thing.
I have a bike with about 2.5" of saddle to bar drop and nitto noodles with a slightly shorter reach for commuting and training and general use, my other bike has modern compact bars and about 5" of saddle to bar drop. Both are comfortable for their intended use. Brifters are a must, old narrow bars and levers do not work for me. I need a nice flat section and a reasonably sized hood to rest on.
Being comfortable is all about taking care of your body. I don't just bike and I do more mountain biking than anything. I also ski, run, hike, swim occasionally, and go through fits and starts with basic core strength exercises and yoga etc... if all I did was road bike I'd be very uncomfortable. Overall fitness is the most significant component of on the bike comfort and the one most people talk about the least. As your fitness changes your bike fit will evolve. The fitter you are the more comfortable you'll be with a longer and lower position.
I have a bike with about 2.5" of saddle to bar drop and nitto noodles with a slightly shorter reach for commuting and training and general use, my other bike has modern compact bars and about 5" of saddle to bar drop. Both are comfortable for their intended use. Brifters are a must, old narrow bars and levers do not work for me. I need a nice flat section and a reasonably sized hood to rest on.
Being comfortable is all about taking care of your body. I don't just bike and I do more mountain biking than anything. I also ski, run, hike, swim occasionally, and go through fits and starts with basic core strength exercises and yoga etc... if all I did was road bike I'd be very uncomfortable. Overall fitness is the most significant component of on the bike comfort and the one most people talk about the least. As your fitness changes your bike fit will evolve. The fitter you are the more comfortable you'll be with a longer and lower position.
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#64
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Nope. Better.
Husky Industrial Bicycles part number 351-200. Steel. Not heavy, like Wald bars. Nice and stiff. In stock trim they are much more swept back and 27 inches wide. I cut them down to position my hands in line with the steering axis, which brings them to 24 inches wide. For me, that's perfect. The finish isn't pretty, but I wrap all my bars anyway.
They just increased the price to a whopping $15.50.
Husky Bicycles: Bicycles
Husky Industrial Bicycles part number 351-200. Steel. Not heavy, like Wald bars. Nice and stiff. In stock trim they are much more swept back and 27 inches wide. I cut them down to position my hands in line with the steering axis, which brings them to 24 inches wide. For me, that's perfect. The finish isn't pretty, but I wrap all my bars anyway.
They just increased the price to a whopping $15.50.
Husky Bicycles: Bicycles
#65
Calamari Marionette Ph.D
You are welcome. To be clear, I love Wald handlebar quality. A wee bit heavy, but they are strong, stiff, and their chrome plating is excellent. They just don't make a bar with the same bend and wide bottom section.
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Nope. Better.
Husky Industrial Bicycles part number 351-200. Steel. Not heavy, like Wald bars. Nice and stiff. In stock trim they are much more swept back and 27 inches wide. I cut them down to position my hands in line with the steering axis, which brings them to 24 inches wide. For me, that's perfect. The finish isn't pretty, but I wrap all my bars anyway.
They just increased the price to a whopping $15.50.
Husky Bicycles: Bicycles
Husky Industrial Bicycles part number 351-200. Steel. Not heavy, like Wald bars. Nice and stiff. In stock trim they are much more swept back and 27 inches wide. I cut them down to position my hands in line with the steering axis, which brings them to 24 inches wide. For me, that's perfect. The finish isn't pretty, but I wrap all my bars anyway.
They just increased the price to a whopping $15.50.
Husky Bicycles: Bicycles
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#67
Calamari Marionette Ph.D
They are 7/8 inch outside diameter. I've never owned bar end shifters so I can't give you a definitive answer. Sorry.
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I typed out two different well thought out messages here about why drop bars are bad for anyone who isn't an athlete, but then I pressed the extremely prominent button that says "restore auto-saved content", because I'm tired and it sticks out very well when I'm looking for the post button.
The occasional little yellow "auto saved" notifications lie, by the way. It just blanks the post entirely. I hate this new forum software as much as I hate drop bars.
The occasional little yellow "auto saved" notifications lie, by the way. It just blanks the post entirely. I hate this new forum software as much as I hate drop bars.
#69
What??? Only 2 wheels?
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FWIW, I am not an athlete, just a 69y.o. cyclist who has been at it for a well over half a century. Lately I've been riding about 8000 miles a year. I love drop bars, don't like any of the upright bikes I've ridden lately. But I am decidedly not an athlete. That makes me an exception to your generalization.
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They do offer many different hand positions. I used to get numb hands after 10 or more miles with drop bars. These reversed chop and flop bars don't do that. I've got my other road bike set up this way, and will modify our Burley Tandem pilot bars like this also.
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FWIW, I am not an athlete, just a 69y.o. cyclist who has been at it for a well over half a century. Lately I've been riding about 8000 miles a year. I love drop bars, don't like any of the upright bikes I've ridden lately. But I am decidedly not an athlete. That makes me an exception to your generalization.
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As a part time LBS wrench I do get to test ride all sorts of bar types. I get a lot of comparisons to think about. Obsolete classic narrow drop bars work very well for me. BUT we're all different. OP must do what works for for him for, only, that reason.
#74
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I contemplated not responding to this lest it become an off-topic mono-thematic dialog rather than a polylogue. But then I decided to reply anyway. It is on-topic, after all.
I wrote my first reply as a hint that generalizations are often based on or merely state assumptions that aren't true. The statement that all drop bars are bad except for athletes is one such example. Were there only a few of us who disagree with that statement then one could say, okay, there may be a few exceptions to the rule. But in this case there are lots of us, and the strongest legitimate version of that statement should be "For some who aren't athletes drop bars may be bad."
This follow-up reply is in the same vein but also on-topic. Nose-to-the-wheel would seem to be an assumption, a generalization about how all drop bars are set up and how riders are positioned when using them. FWIW, on some of my bikes the bar is at the same height as the saddle. On the bikes with shorter TT + stem reach combination the bar is noticeably lower, though I didn't make note of that when setting them up. I ride about 90% of the time with my hands on the hoods or the bends just behind the hoods. My back is probably inclined at about 45deg; my arms with straight or nearly-straight elbows are about 45deg also, forming the "French fit" which I find comfortable. On the shorter-reach bikes with lower bars my arms are more vertical and I feel like my body is a bit more over the front wheel. But that position is still quite comfy. I am not comfortable riding the drops themselves and I do it only when riding into a stiff wind. I can get my body almost as low by holding the hoods and bending my elbows. (With an upright bar I can do that only by either sticking my elbows out sideways or turning my wrists outward at an odd angle.) The discomfort of having my abdomen scrunched up when I'm on the drops negates much of the improvement in wind drag, and that's the main reason I don't ride that way very much.
But as for having my nose-to-the-wheel, figuratively of course, no, that is an invalid assumption. Prowler doesn't have his bikes that way either.
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Last edited by jimmuller; 05-09-18 at 07:58 AM.
#75
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Well my problem with them is simple enough. On an ordinary bike with ordinary handlebars, anyone can just put the saddle at the right height and ride, right? It's easy.
But on a drop handlebar bike, it's not easy. People talk constantly about finding the right "fit". What is fit? it's the precise location of the handlebars so that you don't do yourself a mischief. How do you determine correct fit? If you're a dentist you pay someone to take your measurements and strap you to a contraption and then give you a printout. If you're not, you ride the bike for ten seconds, hurt your neck, make an adjustment, ride the bike for ten more seconds, hurt your lower back, adjust again, hurt between your shoulders, over and over again until you find the least bad position. If you're particularly lucky, you'll eventually find a position that's still unpleasant but tolerable. If you're not, you'll buy several stems on ebay and repeat the process with each of them.
Then you still have to ride every day for a couple of months so that you can build up core strength, which will let you support your torso in this horrible leaned over position without having to put weight on your arms. Then it finally approaches comfortable.
Some people may be lucky in that their body is already fit enough to tolerate the position, and they might be doubly lucky and find the right "fit" first try. Those people are witches.
But on a drop handlebar bike, it's not easy. People talk constantly about finding the right "fit". What is fit? it's the precise location of the handlebars so that you don't do yourself a mischief. How do you determine correct fit? If you're a dentist you pay someone to take your measurements and strap you to a contraption and then give you a printout. If you're not, you ride the bike for ten seconds, hurt your neck, make an adjustment, ride the bike for ten more seconds, hurt your lower back, adjust again, hurt between your shoulders, over and over again until you find the least bad position. If you're particularly lucky, you'll eventually find a position that's still unpleasant but tolerable. If you're not, you'll buy several stems on ebay and repeat the process with each of them.
Then you still have to ride every day for a couple of months so that you can build up core strength, which will let you support your torso in this horrible leaned over position without having to put weight on your arms. Then it finally approaches comfortable.
Some people may be lucky in that their body is already fit enough to tolerate the position, and they might be doubly lucky and find the right "fit" first try. Those people are witches.