canklecat

I'm gradually working my way toward a road bike with drops as my second bike. But it'll take some work. Chronic neck and back pain from injuries will always limit me, particularly a splintered C2 vertebrae.

I've lowered the quill stem and handlebar on my comfort hybrid as low as I can tolerate, and still occasionally have neck spasms toward the end of long rides and for the next day. That's with the bars about an inch or two above saddle height.

I'm leaning toward a road bike rather than flat bar hybrid for the varied positions offered by drops. If the stem for the drops can be elevated enough to allow both an above-saddle grip on the hoods and below-saddle grip on the drops for riding into the wind, I can probably manage it.

All my experience is with quill stems, which are quick and easy to adjust. No idea about threadless, or whether I can raise and lower the stem easily while riding without messing with spacers. That's one reason I'm mostly considering older model road bikes, something in the low to mid-20s lb weight. It'll still be much lighter than my comfort hybrid, which weighs between 35-40 lbs depending on how I've loaded it down.

dougmon 

That's what I told my wife! And she just looked at me funny and went back to reading her book.

Thanks, I will let you all know. I am asking these questions far in advance of purchase (my 60th birthday is the end of this year), so the purchase won't be for a while, but I'll definitely post when I get it.

The two people at work who have given me the advice are basing it on their own experience. They both raced in their teens and twenties, and both ended up with neck problems. I think what they're telling me is more a "what can happen" thing rather than "what will happen."

My research indicates that an endurance style is a good possibility. I've also been told to look at randonneur style bikes, though I don't quite get the difference between those and endurance bikes. Speed? Luggage capacity?

The lowest I'm willing to go is 700x38, and the guy at my LBS (who I trust) says that those tires probably won't make much of a difference in speed. Also, these are my everyday commuter tires, and they make the crappy streets (a lot of combination chip seal / slurry seal roads) pretty bearable.

Thanks, everyone, for the feedback. I'll let you all know when my new drop bar bike gets here.

MRT2

I ride a 700 x 32 tire and have for years. It seems to give me a reasonably comfortable ride and still much lighter than 700 x 50.

BlazingPedals

Even as a bent rider who converted due to comfort issues, I'd say the idea of injuring your neck from using drop bars is totally wrong. And while it's true that you can go fast without drop bars, it's also true that going fast with flat/riser bars requires a lot more power.

dachshund

I say go look at road bikes! I'm actually doing the opposite, I'm looking for a good hybrid so I can do errands without having to leave my nice road bike locked up. But yeah, good for you! Go for it!

On my road bike I've used the drop part of the handlebars maybe ... twice. I don't find it a comfortable position. But I use the brake hoods to rest my hands on most of the time. I'll be mindful of this in my shopping, I guess I should get bar ends. Anyway, a road bike should be lighter, and thinner tires are easier to push. The shift paddles are integrated with the brakes, which I find more natural.

After four months I think you should be getting into shape enough to want more: that's enough time. When you start doing group rides, you might want to let people know you're new to it. There's a whole protocol for announcing stops, obstacles on the road, car traffic, etc. If the group does pacelines at all, they should let you know that. A group that's been together a while may not think to go over those things unless they know you're new. Not a huge deal, just at thought.

Have fun!

jon c. 

I started about 5 years ago and the general advice was that I should buy a hybrid because I wouldn't find drop bars comfortable. For me, the reality was completely the opposite as I found a road bike much more comfortable.

Gerryattrick

My road bike has been out of action for a week now and I've been for a few 25 mile roads on my flat bar bike. I've had no problems with the hand positions or my neck.

You can find a comfortable position on any bike providing the fit is right and you just relax in the riding position.

The perfect solution is a road bike and a hybrid - go for it. (and while you're at it consider a moustache bar bike as n+2, very civilised for a trip to the shops)

Mountain Mitch

Well clearly what they meant was 'don't ride drop bars in your teens or twenties'. Since you are posting in this forum I assume that is no longer a worry!

dougmon 

Nope, not a worry. In fact, since it's far from being a worry, I think I'm going to get a bike with drops; maybe a road bike, but more likely a cross.

asmac

Perhaps also check out drop bars such as Salsa Woodchippers etc. which are quite flared and let you spread out a bit. I'm no authority (at all) but have seen them about.
Road Handlebars | Part & Accessories | Salsa Cycles

sevenmag

I can only speak from my own experiences. I have some hip issues and oddly enough, having drop bars is a big help to me. Being able to get in and out of the drops gives me different positions that relieve pain when I'm riding. It's nothing serious, just aches from arthritis and being able move around on the bars helps me. I actually feel better in the drops than I do upright.

Wildwood 

So the cross bike could be a good choice, but doesn't it overlap the uses of the hybrid.

You gotta go ride a few. Maybe a cross but if the pure road bike feels better = that's the ticket.
I suggest if you have never ridden a drop bar set-up, rent one for a day or a weekend, to learn what you don't know. For one, there are many types of drop bars that can feel dramatically different.

Then you have to address that saddle situation, a road position being different from hybrid position will likely dictate a new shape of saddle.

dougmon 

The cross bike certainly can overlap the uses of the hybrid, but not necessarily. Depends on the bike, I think.

My thought is that a pure racing style road bike might be too much for me in terms of speed and handling; but that's at this point, where I have effectively five months of cycling experience. Maybe six more months down the line I'll feel differently. If I go for a road bike, it'll probably be more an endurance style (not that I really know the difference at this point.)

In any case, I'll be checking out both cross and road bikes to see which suits me better.

dougmon 

Went out and test-rode a few rode bikes today. Also rode a Surly Straggler, which I liked, but it's too much like my Kona to think about it.

My favorite road bike was the Salsa Colossal. A nice ride. I didn't think it could be stable _and_ fast, but it was. The only problem was that my heel kept hitting the chainstay; this might happen on all road bikes, but I hope not. The Colossal, while great, was a little pricey for me ($2KUS). But so far it's the top contender.

Champlaincycler

I've 2 bikes, one of which is a Salsa Casserole. I believe they're out of production but they've something similar in their lineup. Supposedly, its a favorite of randanneur riders, those crazy people who go 200 miles plus, so its built for comfort. For me its a great all around bike, can take up to 38 mm tires, can put a rack with bag on it etc. I always take it when we travel/camp as its good for dirt and for roads. Way heavier than my road bike, but so what. Its a lot like the Surly Long Haul Trucker (a bit lighter). Not a Cross bike, more like a Touring ride. Something along those lines could be what your looking for, and it would be worth keeping even if ,in a few years, you buy a roadie

dougmon 

The Casseroll is really nice looking. I think I can get almost the same ride by putting slightly thinner tires on my Kona. I'm going to try it one of these days.

Also, I think the Marrakesh is the current Salsa model in this vein; it also is very nice looking. After riding a Salsa yesterday, I'm pretty convinced that they are serious contenders in many categories. I don't know this for sure, of course; I'll have to ride many more to figure it out. It'll be a hardship, but it's just one of many in the difficult life of a cyclist.

I'm also looking at a similar Kona, the Sutra LTD. It's a different ride from my Big Rove, but I don't know if it's different enough.

I'll just have to keep test-riding. My life is just so hard...

big john

I have big feet and I toe-out a lot. My right heel hits the center of the crankarm and it hits the chainstay on some frames.
I have a Seven which has relatively short stays and they are large diameter. I whack the right stay with my heel so much it is destroying the shoe, even with 1" pedal extenders.
I also have a Gunnar Sport which has small diameter, longer stays and I don't hit them at all on that bike.

big john

You have to mess with the spacers to change the stem height. You can also flip the stem, (angle up, angle down), or you could buy an adjustable stem, but these look like a Rube Goldberg solution to me.
Most threadless forks are made with a 300mm steer tube and people cut them to fit the frame. I use uncut steerers on all my road bikes since 2001 and I run the stem at the top of the steerer, (no spacers above the stem).

LuckySailor

I say go for it! In my later 20's I bought a Centurian with dropped bars. I had a neckache after most every ride, bethought that was the way it's gonna be, so I lived with it. When I moved to Winnipeg, where the roads are worse than a third world country backroad, I gave up cycling all together for 3 years, and sold the bike sadly. When I finally got back into cycling, first was a mountain bike for about 10 years. Then I wanted to do a cross Canada tour, and felt I needed a touring bike and to me that meant dropped bars. I bought a Trek 520, trained for a year, and rode the country last summer. Never one ride with neck pain. It all comes down to choosing the right bike. Maybe your body can't handle a more compact bike, but you won't know until you take one out a couple times for 30-40 mile test rides.OTOH, you may find out you don't like the compact geometry of a real road bike or the harder, stiffer ride.

eastbay71

One thing I learned from years of auto racing was to never listen to those guys that "used to race". They are pretty much universally full of horse manure.

One thing to be aware of is the different styles of drop bars. New bikes are coming with compact drops with a shorter drop than traditional bars. My AWOL has compacts and I was blown away by how comfortable they were compared to my vintage bikes with traditional drop bars with a greater drop. Randonneur bars like the Nitto Randonneur rise slightly from the center of the tops to the ramp portion but still have a pretty standard ramp and hook section. The randonneurs are pretty comfortable and you can set them up with the brakes in a normal position at the end of the ramps so the bar flows right into the hoods of the brake levers. There are also the bars like the Salsa Woodchipper that have flared drops. I've used On One Midge bars and Origin8 Gary bars (both are flared) and had difficulty setting them up in a way that the drops were really useful. The ramps end up in weird places on the flared bars. I havent found a set of ergo bars that I liked and you don't see them very often on new bikes anymore.

peterws

No reason not to have two bikes. Get the drop handled bike and if or when the time comes, try straights with bar ends. You use the same brake levers, and youre ready to use em in an emergency. Ive been in a few emergency braking situations.

dougmon 

One of the bikes I rode a few days ago had interrupter levers, which could be a good idea. Or a pain in the butt. I won't know which until I get a bike that has them and ride with them for a bit.

Viking55803

I'll only ride drop bars, but since getting back to cycling in a serious way after my quadruple bypass 3+ years ago, I find that the more I ride the more stretched out I want to be. My seat is back as far is it can go, so that means a longer stem. I recently purchased a Ritchey adjustable stem. It's actually a beautiful piece of work and once you have the stem length worked out you can adjust the angle up or down to find your ideal riding position. Once that happens, you can always go back to a regular stem but for $50 the Ritchey adjustable road stem is an inexpensive way to experiment with this critical piece of cycling geometry.

Champlaincycler

I think you're honing in on a style you like. More than a few companies make nice bikes. I'd start to focus on a bike shop that's nearby and that you trust will be sympathetic to any issues or concerns. Talk to others about the shop. If they have something in your price range close to the style you like then consider it. Bikes are like cars in that you won't know if you really love it untill you drive it for a few months, you have to take a risk. I'm in a rural area and my last bike was bought 45 miles away from a shop that's not the most professional and simple fixes/need parts can hold me up for weeks. If you can find a LBS nearby that's honorable its worth a lot.

peterws

Watch out with the adjuxtable stem. Has to be real tight, if you hit a bump with any force, your wrists may alter shape and you could damage the tarmac wi yer face. . .