View Poll Results: With my road bars, I commute in this position
hands on bar tops
18
17.48%
hands on brake hoods
36
34.95%
hands on drop bars
15
14.56%
hands on aero bars
2
1.94%
hands on bar tops, > 50% of time
13
12.62%
hands on brake hoods, > 50% of time
43
41.75%
hands on drop bars, > 50% of time
10
9.71%
hands on aero bars, > 50% of time
1
0.97%
hands in mouth, chewing finger nails
5
4.85%
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 103. You may not vote on this poll
Where do you ride on your road bars?
03-03-06, 10:03 AM
#1
Rides again
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Where do you ride on your road bars?
Curious what positions you are riding in during your commute when you have road bars.
03-03-06, 10:10 AM
#2
Cycle Dallas
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I have a strait bar, drops and aeros. I mix it up quite a bit, but most of my time is in the drops.
03-03-06, 10:14 AM
#3
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Mostly on the hoods for me. I tend to be shifting and braking a fair bit on my commute.
If I'm not on the hoods, I'm either in the drops or just behind the hoods.
If I'm not on the hoods, I'm either in the drops or just behind the hoods.
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03-03-06, 10:28 AM
#5
52-week commuter
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Mostly in the drops. I learned to ride a bike in the 70's and back then there were no hoods, we rode on the drops. Also, for reasons I don't understand the hoods on my current bike don't provide a comfortable riding position.
03-03-06, 11:00 AM
#6
or tarckeemoon, depending
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50% tops, 40% hoods, 10% drops. My shifters are downtube, so I tend to ride the tops a lot more because it puts me closer to them. I use the drops for stretching, descending, and keeping out of the wind.
03-03-06, 11:02 AM
#7
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When I'm climbing it's usually the tops, in traffic, tight areas and general riding on the hoods, downhills and long fast flat sections in the drops.
03-03-06, 11:04 AM
#8
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Depends on my mood...
03-03-06, 11:06 AM
#9
Senior Member
I really only use my 1 bike with drops on days that I want to really fly...so its mostly the drops for me...hoods for climbing though.
03-03-06, 01:27 PM
#10
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I usually ride my bike on the saddle, but I put my hands on the hoods ( 
)
)
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Sunrise saturday,
I was biking the backroads,
lost in the moment.
Sunrise saturday,
I was biking the backroads,
lost in the moment.
03-04-06, 01:12 AM
#12
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Depends how late for work I am. I don't know how much of an advantage the drops are when I have a rack/pack full of junk for work... but if I'm pushing the time envelope then I'm madly hammering away on the pedals and on the drops.
For days when I DON'T have to report to work at 6 am, it's a more relaxed ride in on the hoods.
For days when I DON'T have to report to work at 6 am, it's a more relaxed ride in on the hoods.
03-04-06, 02:07 AM
#13
don't pedal backwards...
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I don't like drops, and my brand new moustache bars just arrived this afternoon. No miles on them yet, but just from sitting on the bike and riding it across the kitchen and hallway, I think I will be very happy with them. I see four distinct positions: on the outer "handles" (like cruiser bars), up on the forwardmost part of the curves, palms-up on the angles, and right in tight against the stem. This last position would have been screwed up by my computer, but I mounted it to my brake lever with a heavily modified scrap of copper pipe and leftover bar tape.
03-04-06, 05:51 AM
#14
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Originally Posted by Steev
When I'm climbing it's usually the tops, in traffic, tight areas and general riding on the hoods, downhills and long fast flat sections in the drops.
03-04-06, 06:11 AM
#15
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50% drops, 50% tops. Never hoods. My bike isn't even set up to allow that position (without serious gymnastics, at least). My brake handles are set up to allow easy and comfortable access from the drops. If I had placed them higher up, I wouldn't even be able to reach the brake levers from the drops. They'd be too far out.
Besides, I don't feel comfortable not having any forward "stop" in my grip.
Besides, I don't feel comfortable not having any forward "stop" in my grip.
03-04-06, 08:25 PM
#16
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CdCf summarizes my opinion about the hoods, especially when riding on very bumpy roads. I ride about 90% of the time on the drops, using the top only to stretch my back or when I have a strong tailwind.
My bars are about level with my saddle, so the drops are easy to reach. As a bonus, bar-end shifters are "right there".
My bars are about level with my saddle, so the drops are easy to reach. As a bonus, bar-end shifters are "right there".
03-04-06, 09:37 PM
#17
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I usually keep my hands on the corners(the 90 degree bend) of the top. I tilted the bars up some to make the part of the bar between the corners and brake hoods more flat(level). That seems to give me a comfortable angle for my wrists and fairly easy access to the brakes and bar end shifters.
03-04-06, 09:49 PM
#18
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Ok, I need to be schooled on the bar parts names. I know what the top bar and drop bars are. But what is a hood?
03-04-06, 11:28 PM
#19
Prefers Cicero
The hoods (brakehoods) are the protrusions the brake levers are attached to. A lot of riders keep their hands up there in traffic because they can get a reasonably good grip on the brakes from there and it's more comfortable than riding in the drops.
03-05-06, 01:17 AM
#20
Senior Member
I've started using an interesting position on my roadie. When I am working against a wind, or just want to go at a brisk pace for a bit of a distance, I lean over with my hands on the very ends of the hoods until my forearms are parallel to the tops of the bars. This is a sort of aero bar-like position which actually works pretty well
03-05-06, 07:36 AM
#22
nashcommguy
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Use a mtb most of the time, but I've got an old Fuji del ray set up for commuting, too. Change of pace. Spend most of the time on the hoods in traffic. Would like to get a set of aeros as there are places in my commute where they'd be very useful. The 'mustache bars' mentioned above look very interesting, also. Love this site. Only been a member a short time and have learned a ton.
03-05-06, 12:43 PM
#23
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on the ramps (not a poll choice, unfortunately).
03-07-06, 05:22 PM
#24
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I'm on the hoods about half the time and the corners the other half. I've been thinking about switching to moustache bars because I never use the drops and could use a little more reach. OTOH, a taller, longer stem would also solve the problem.