1080ski

ive been riding my brothers road bike alot, and decided to get one of my own, since his bike is very small for me. but anyways, i got a specialized allez elite dubble for 1100 from my lbs. ive been browsing the forums for a while and noticed people using terms such as hoods, drops, ect... for the handel bar positions. just wanted to know what these actually mean. ps, i love my bike so much! its awsome. i might post some pics later if im not too lazy/tierd from riding all day

EDIT: Pics- the shoes i got for like half off too, even though there mtb pics. and its kinda weird but the picture that looks like it was taken at night was taken in brood daylight.

popnfresh

drops are when you are riding with your hands on the low curvy part, the lowest part

riding on the hoods is on the upper part, your hands above the shifters

1080ski

are those the only names? like is the part near the stem called anything?

KevinF

I call that part the tops. As in the other post, the drops are the curved-down part -- i.e., as low as you can get. The hoods are the technically the tops of the brake levers themselves; I've heard the term "curves" used to describe the part between the tops and the hoods.

cooker

The "hood" is short for "brake hood" and is the protrusion that the brake lever emerges from...it may be chrome or another metal, or have a rubbery sheath or tape over it. People may ride with their hands there because they can reach the brakes, although from that position you can't squeeze as tightly as when you're in "the front of the drops" and can get a better grip.
Robert

1080ski

thanks! i now know what people are talking about... im just aching to go for a night ride right now though.

WaitUpForMe

Personally, I prefer bars by Mozart and Brahms.

cooker

ps. Beautiful bike.
R

1080ski

thanks, im very happy with it too, ive been riding all over the place today

cosmo_the_third

There's also riding on the "corners," which is resting your hands on the top corner of the bar, without leaning over onto the lever, and riding on the "tops," which is just the flat part near where the bar attaches to the rest of the bike.

Some visual imagery here: https://sheldonbrown.com/deakins/handlebars.html

Just a bit of commentary now: looking at your bike, the levers seem to have been placed on a little low, so the bars are tilted up a bit more than I would have them on my bike. This might make it less good-feeling to ride in the drops.

But it's your bike, so if it works for you, no reason to mess around with it.

Ride it like you stole it,

1080ski

thanks for your observations. they feel comfy to me, but i'll see if they feel better tilted a bit down tommorow.

coclimber

A related comment about the tilt: the line of the lower, horizontal portion of the drop is pointing to your rear hub; this setup seems like its getting more and more common... this puts you slightly more upright (and more comfortable for many folks) when you are riding on the hoods, so its probably deliberately set up that way by your LBS. You may find that, as you ride more, you'll want a more forward, aerodynamic position while on the hoods, so you could rotate the bars so that the lower, horizontal part of the drops is level.

I also think the bike looks really nice: dig the white bar tape with the white cables and frame accents. Very nice.

TheDTrain

Regarding your random poll, yes, get rid of the visor, or buy one for cheaper without the visor, the visor may break your view.

cooker

The visor does two useful things, same as a baseball hat or other hat with a brim/peak. First it provides a bit of direct shade to your eyes. More important, for me anyway, it shades the sunglasses. Any dust or scuffing on sunglasses creates glare if they are in direct light, but is invisible if they are shaded by a hat or visor.

invisiblah

Bach all the way! Grieg is good also.