Advantages of Lower Handlebars
 

Over the years I've raised my handlebars to help with neck pain. Now, probably due to my shoulder-squeeze exercises, neck pain has disappeared, and I'm moving them back down, bit by bit. I figure:

1. I'll be slightly more efficient
2. I'll be taking weight off the saddle
3. The bike won't look so kooky anymore.

For the first time in years, the handlebars are lower than the saddle:

http://i.imgur.com/69osvKP.jpg

I realize the efficiency gains are small. Are all of those gains due to wind resistance, or is there an advantage to the body positioning?

I'm no bike guru, but I generate more power rotated than more upright. I've noticed diminishing returns after my bars are more than 2" below the saddle or so. As an old guy, 1-2" drop seems a good compromise. Riding on aero bars this year I'd say I lose a little in power, but the upper body is so relaxed and back stretch so sweet it's more than a fair tradeoff.

I don't have a neck pain problem (knock on wood), and I am certainly not that experienced nor an expert on biking or aerodynamics. My observation or most riders our age is that they tend to ride (faster than me) in an upright position with their hands on the tops (brake hoods/whatever they are called) of the handlebars. I much prefer riding with my hands on the lower handlebar for a couple of reasons. My butt feels much better when I am down on the handle bars. It seems that more of my weight is on the pedals than on the seat. My speed seems to increase about 1 mph when I am down, which I think is related to wind resistance. Finally, I think there is a mental component, in that I feel faster when I am lower on the handlebars.

By the way, I really like that bike rack / work area shown in your photograph.

Lower front position engages the glutes.

You generate more power when you "rotate" forward. Look at tri-bikes. They do lower your wind resistance. But the main difference in position on a tri-bike is that your position is basically rotated forward around the bottom bracket compared to a diamond frame.

For me, I describe my tri-bike as 3 mph faster and 5 mph less comfortable.

I've always set up my bikes to be purpose specific. This means different drops from seat to bars for each purpose. For example, my go fast ride for less than six hours at a time bike has the bars a good 2.75 to 3 inches lower than the seat. Conversely, my daily commuter, keep your head up to ride in HEAVY traffic bike has the bars about an inch higher than the seat. Sometimes more power, less wind resistance, and working different muscle groups isn't what I seek in a set up. With that said, glad the neck pain is gone for you. BTW, I've been using your exercise on very long rides and it seems to help. Thanks.

I just cant get by the aero factor when looking for advantages of riding in the drops. All other reasons are secondary in nature.

What is a tri-bike?

This spring I lowered my bars about 1.5cm after feeling like a snail on the bike. Sure enough, my next ride was much better as I was able to produce more power. Doesn't seem like much, but it really made a difference.

Hi,

Its a bike optimised to use front aerobars, for time trialling and triathalons. Aero bars
are banned for normal road races, so road bikes are optimised for the normal drops.

rgds, sreten.

Aero and the glutes.

thanks

"Kooky" is a subjective value. Free speed, however, never goes out of style.

Agree with the lowering of the stem and bars, as I have gotten more fit and flexibility has returned, I have removed spacers from my front end/stem. I use a single spacer, I believe 15mm, and the stem is flipped into the down angle. it was a big issue for me at first. I have 2 levels of my lower lumbar spine fused and have hardware in the area to support things, when I got my bike I had all the spacers it came with in place and the stem rotated to the up angle. As I felt better and gained flexibility in my back I first flipped the stem then I began slowly removing spacers from the stack, nothing drastic at all. My bars are now a bit below the seat and I am completely comfortable in the drops or on the hoods. I need to measure the drop from the seat, the stem is a 100mm C3 Cannondale and I use their 44 width bars in the anatomical bend, the fit of my bike feels very dialed in now, I will only look into a slight reduction in the remaining stack height in the near future.

Good thread Al, thanks for posting this one.

Bill

Schwalbe on resistance, scroll down for the graph.
http://www.schwalbetires.com/tech_in...ing_resistance

Bought a new MTB 3 weeks ago. It came with a 100mm, +7 degree stem.
Had a 90mm, 0 degree stem here and it brought the bars to just below the seat. Much better for pedal power and my old lower back.
I will be ordering a 50mm, -6 degree stem. This bike has 27" wide bars and they open my chest for easier breathing.

A simple stem app. someone here @ BF posted.
http://alex.phred.org/stemchart/

This is probably the high water mark of my handlebar raising (former bike):

http://i.imgur.com/LFvpt4F.jpg

And this is where I stand now:

http://i.imgur.com/OBqkx9b.jpg

I'm going to keep the handlebars at that height for a while. I can go down another 10 mm by removing the spacer, but if I want to go lower, I'd need to buy some more hardware.

Or if I combine them:

http://i.imgur.com/VVUMR4P.jpg