The only nice thing about buying local is the warranty/service that comes with the new bike. Many shops offer free one year of adjustments, and unless you are intimately familiar with the bike you just bought, its nice to take advantage of them.

Booyah, this right here is the shi-it! Do what it says.

Maybe what he doesn't know and what he meant was that most recreation riders don't stay on the drops for long. And then flexibility might change with age. Coupled with health issues, it might be that older riders really don't use the drops that much but rather stay on the hoods and just lean over or choose another position. Staying in the drops for long periods of time may feel uncomfortable.

thats mewouldnt ride with any other bar, but very rarely ride "in thedrops"

You might, if you do buy the daughter a road bike, ask here for a few "tricks of the trade" in order to be able to keep up with her when you ride.

I didn't mean to insinuate that everyone should ride with 9 cm of handlebar drop, because we all have issues. But getting the weight off the shoulders and straightening the back (bend from the hips) can benefit anyone. A straighter back leads to a straighter neck, which means less strain and pain.

Case in point: I test-rode a Trek 7100 that I'd just built up, to see how comfortable a comfort bike could be. Even with the handlebar a few inches higher than the saddle, I was leaning on my wrists. The steep seat and head angles of the 7000 series comfort bikes make proper weight distribution extremely difficult.

When I turn 90 I'll order mine with a 300 mm setback seat post. Or get a Navigator.

On my Cross Check, which, my mtb aside, is my least aggressive bike, I left the steering tube long. I can raise my bars up nearly level to the seat (for when I am like 100) or I can lower them down to full race position and do this simply by repositioning my spacer stack relative to the bars. Another advantage, on this multipurpose type bike (Surly CC, LHT etc) is that a second stem can be mounted for lights, bags etc.

Of course, you might not want to leave the steering tube that long on a road racer/performance bike but you could leave an extra inch or half inch so you can adjust up and down for long rides, casual or serious group rides. That is one thing I do like about the new bikes with the 1&1/8 steering tubes.

I talked to my local bike shop several times before buying a bike, I'm 54, never been told I didn't want a drop bar road bike,, I shopped on Craigslist and found my Specialized Allez 56cm bike. I love it, I have 6 rides on it, the 5th was my first half century and Monday night with the club we rode a 29.22 mile ride in 1:35, which was 18.3 mph average, that was killer for me.
I found my Allez with tri bars on it, (160.00) a Cat Eye wireless computer, (100.00 or so) and Speed play pedals, (200.00) along with a 40-50.00 tool kit bag. all for 500.00.
It's a 2010. So I'm not saying DON'T buy a new one from your LBS,,, but there are great deals out there on gently used bikes from private owners.
But if your going to buy a new one, I'd spend a few extra dollars to go with the LBS so they may give you better support after the sale.
I actually took this ad into that dealer, and talked to them. They said they thought it was an EXCELLENT deal,,, which made me even more excited about it.

The young bike shop salesman might have overstated his position about older folks not riding in the drops (not very frequently). And the OP might have over reacted to the overstatement. With age comes wisdom. Or something like that.

Don't go cheap. Do some more research, and buy the best you can on your budget. Better to go good value used than cheap new.

I'm 68 and currently ride a flat bar Cannondale Bad Boy because I don't have time for serious road miles, and really love it for zipping around town. But, I recently sold my Felt 80, and have promised myself another road bike for my 70th birthday, about when i hope to wrap up my current house construction and retire for real.

Go with drops. Age doesn't have a thing to do with it. In fact, it may help you feel better because you can use a wider range of positions to deal with pace and terrain. i get the same snotty crap from our nearby LBS, so i use one 12 miles away where both owners and the kids in the shop treat me well, and have helped me with more the a few rebuilds as I've bought and traded up. And.... I never bought a bike from them - just referred everyone who has ever asked to them.

Kimotee, it may have escaped your notice that the post you are responding to is a year old?

I'll be 51 in October. After 13 yrs off of the road bike (I road hybrid and MTB the last 4 yrs) I just bought this 6 wks ago. I'm lovin it. Note the 14 degree high-rise stem due to occasional neck/back issues of this 50 yr old I think I'm getting used to the road position again so, I might even go to a slightly lower stem (10 degrees). No funny faces from my LBS but those guys know I ride consistently all year and that I used to race road bikes back in the 80s/90s. I get a funny face from those guys when I talk to them about racing with downtube shifters (before click shifters) and toe clips & straps

I think there is no such thing as a old thread to an oldster.

It may be a geo-cultural thing, around here they are plenty of guys in their 60s riding 'racing' bikes, modern and vintage. Healthy drops between the saddles and bars. Many are wearing skin tight racing kits as well, and that may be where you might wish to draw the line...most old bodies ain't looking very svelte in skin tight clothes, yo.

Word!

I started riding again about a year and no less than 3 different shops told me essentially that I was trying to foolishly recreate my youth in wanting a racing bike and that all older guys who bought them realized soon that they really wanted a hybrid. I bought a CL hybrid and rode it for about two weeks before I bought a bike with drop bars. It was like night and day. The spark and love of riding returned with the second bike and I promptly gave the hybrid away.

I'm 56. LBS owner (also 56) is encouraging me to go to a bike with drops for my commuter. I actually like the trekking bar better but he still tries.

My hybrid has gotten no love from me since I bought my road bike 6 wks ago. My MTB got me for 1 ride since arrival of the new family member. No surprise, but I'm lovin again the feel and speed of a racing road bike, even the road apparel (or road "kit" as people say nowadays), even shaving my legs again I'm sure I'll be back on the hybrid for winter road riding.

And if you really want to get some weird responses from bike shops, start talking aero bars.

Old farts and drop bars...

I seldom really get strange looks when I show up on a road bike, unless I'm on my FG. It seems that most of our LBS employees think FG is a fad that only college aged kids ride, and when they find out that I'm on a 25-30 mile road ride on the FG they just scratch their heads. That's nothing though compared to when I show up on my 13" framed Fisher Opie freeride/urban assault bike with a 550mm compound seat post that can be dropped right down on top of the rear tire for hopping around on stairs, picnic tables/benchs, and fountains, and with huge 203mm/185mm disk brakes. Or my even when I am riding my Monocog SS 29er after a muddy trail ride down by the White River. I've actually had LBS empolyees ask if those are my son's bike and I laugh as I tell them I don't have any kids.

I also have a Salsa Campion aluminum "racing" frame built up with a full Shimano 105 group with 39/53t x 11-26t gearing, and a Cannondale Synapse Carbon Fiber Road bike with a more relaxed geometry built up with an Ulterga compact crankset and mostly SRAM drivetrain with 34/50t x 11-28t gearing, and I ride the Salsa twice as often as the Cannondale because I love the more aggressive geometry. The LBS guys just kind of "grib and nod" when I show up on the Cannondale as if to say "that's the right bike for you old man", but I think the Salsa kind of surprises them.

I don't even give it a second thought though because there are only two or three of these guys who I would even let put air in my tires, let alone adjust my derailleurs. And interestingly, I have met several other people (mostly women) at these shops who later quit taking the bikes to the LBS for service and instead bring their bike over to my house where I show them how to maintain their bikes themselves, and then we sit down to a nice dinner or BBQ. I guess I only really use the LBS as an emergency source for tubes and cables, or I pickup Powerbars and Gelpak when I'm in mid-ride.

The really nice thing about drop bars is that no matter how old you are, as long as you have good pedaling technique and a good position, people can't tell how old you are from a distance. Good riders on drop bars all look like they're in their 20's or 30's, until you get close enough to see the grey hair.

But you lose this effect if the bars are set too high. "Too high" is level with the saddle (unless you are really short). There's a good reason why in a classic frame the head tube and seat tube end at the same height, and in the older stems with expander bolts, you could only raise the stem a short distance, well below what you could set the saddle height to. The other measurements being optimized, this gives you a comfortable position "on the tops," where you should be spending most of your time. Beginners think that you need to be in the drops most of the time, so they try to make the "down" position more comfortable by raising the bars. No, you are SUPPOSED to be somewhat uncomfortable in the drops! You're only in them for hard efforts that require a more aero position, such as pulling into the wind, or bridging a gap, or sprinting. For most recreational purposes, you should be on the tops. For climbing out of the saddle, you should be on the brake hoods.

So why get drop bars at all, if you're not going to be in the drops? I think most guys who have raced are just used to them. And you always have the option of getting into the drops when you need to make a hard effort. And you look younger from a distance. (Man, if you want to look old, just get on a hybrid, sit up, and pedal real slow!)

Having the bars set properly and staying out of the drops also sends the "experienced cyclist" message to others, especially ridng in an unfamiliar group. One good way to weed out the noobs is to avoid riding behind those who ride:

1) constantly in the drops, and
2) in the big ring/small cog most of the time.

After a while, you should be able to tell who's a good rider after just a glance at their riding position and technique.

By the same token, unless you are a track sprinter, avoid setting the bars too low!

Luis

+1!!

To the OP....... Keep all your options open......buying used, LBS and even on-line.

If you're concerned that a drop bar bike may prove to uncomfortable, spending less upfront is a good place to start. Also, start test riding as many different road bikes as you can. The less expensive frames are usually aluminum and steel, ride these bikes as well as carbon just to compare.

My story......after 30+ years (I'm 56), I purchased a steel drop bar road bike last year. I've ridden over 3500 miles on the bike so far and couldn't be happier. I really like having the different hand positions drop bars allow; the hoods, bar tops and in the drops. The various positions helps relieve fatigue on long rides and aids in riding into the wind.

I also commute to work 29 miles round trip. The commuting bike is an old steel MTB with a flat bar. Even with bar ends, my hand positions are more limited, where I'm forced to ride more upright. I really miss the road bike on the commutes and know I could ride up to 4 mph faster. My next bike will be a drop bar road bike for commuting.

For me;

asphalt = drop bars
dirt = flat bars (although, I'm drooling over a Salsa Veya 29'r drop bar for gravel/dirt roads, so this is not even a given)

you need a new bike shop

I'm 65 and have never ridden with drops for 60 years. My wrists have never hurt and I have never failed to find a comfortable riding position. Dropped handlebars may be just right for some but are not necessarily the be-all and end-all of choices for all cyclists of any age.

Maybe, just maybe ,the bike store personnel were looking out for the OP's benefit because they understood that some cyclists request drop bars or road bikes no matter how inappropriate or uncomfortable, because the customer wants to emulate the "Kool Kids."

Couldn't agree more. What you summed up in a few sentences would take a couple chapters in a book.

Drop bars for us . . .
He: 80; she 77 years young.
Tell the employee that you've got jerseys that are older than him!!!