Mxu

I'm probably going to buy a road bike soon (a '90 Specialized Sirrus for around $150, oh yeah, can anyone tell me if this is a good deal?)

Anyway, I know older road bikes have those brake levers on the horizontal (not curved) portion of the bars, but does this one? It looks like newer road bikes dont have this extra set of brake levers. Does this mean you have to ride in the drops all the time to be able to brake? Scary thought!

bluecd

you can brake from either the drops or on top of the brake hoods.

merlinextraligh

most road bikes do not have levers on the top. (The old levers, like on a Schwinn Varsity, for use on the top didn't brake very well and really created a fals sense of security.) If you're riding with your hands on the top of the bars, you're going to have to move to the hoods or the drops to brake. Thus, you don't ride on the tops when drafting or when traffic conditions may reqire a panic stop.
If you really are concerned about not being able to brake from the top, you can get a second set of in line levers that allow you to brake from the top. They cost $30 or so, and can be added to any bike.

Sooner Rider

Although your bike may be a good fit for you, expect initial numbness and/or pain in your hands, wrists, forearms, elbows and shoulders. Change hand positions frequently. It gets better the more miles you ride.

cooker

Road bikes aren't well designed for emergency braking. Like most riders, I ride with hands on the tops (close to stem), corners (farther away from stem) or brake hoods most of the time. Riding in the drops is uncomfortable for me and limits forward visibility, so I only do it for short stretches or in heavy headwinds.

You can squeeze the brakes from the hoods, but not very hard, and of course if you're on the tops or corners, you have to move your hands to the brakes, and that takes a second or two, so it's not great for situations that might require fast braking.

When I'm in heavy traffic I tend to keep my right hand on the right hood, and my left hand in the drops, as a kind of compromise. As soon as traffic eases up I move both hands up top.

Those extra horizontal brake levers are handy for gently stopping or slowing, but no good for urgent stopping, and as mentioned by another poster can actually be dangerous if you rely on them instead of grabbing the real brakes.

Robert

garysol1 

I ride 80% of the time on the corners and the rest on the hoods. From either spot it is a quick grab to the levers. Don't let it scare you. Its no biggie

Inverted

You'll get adjusted really fast. At first, it scared me to not always have one hand on the break, but you'll get used to it and quickly realize how easy it is to move to the breaks from any possition.

puddin' legs

cooker, I have a feeling that you're a candidate for either a brake tuneup or upgrade. There is no reason at all that road bike brakes should not be good for emergency braking on the hoods or in the drops. You really should have this checked out, or see if you can have someone help you with fit issues. Something isn't right.

Applehead57

That is a quality bike, the price seems a little high for its age, though.
If it is in perfect shape, then should be a safe buy.

cooker

You get a much better grip in the drops. From the hoods, you can't squeeze as hard. I think the problem is not my brakes, which are fine, but perhaps that I'm 220 lb, so I need a lot of stopping power.

R

Eatadonut

+1. I can stop at pretty ridiculous rates on my roadie from the hoods. I try not to brake from the drops because I haven't gotten the modulation just right, and I've almost thrown myself over several times. I'm working on that, just not in traffic

MichaelW

The Sirrus is a road bike (well, a light touring style) with flat bars, not drops. The Sequioa is their general purpose drop bar equivelent bike.
Some modern cyclo-cross and touring bikes come with small additional brake levers on the tops. These are much better than the old "suicide" levers and are as effective as the std levers.

I find that braking from the hoods is effective but it depends on the style and shape of your levers bars and hands. I use the one hand in the drops technique, esp round fast corners, and use the drops on descents. My bars are set for comfort rather than efficiency and are closer and higher than typical for a race bike.

cooker

I think the other issue is the risk of nose-diving over the bar during a panic stop. If you're braking in the drops you are lower, and better able to brace your body from being thrown forward as you brake, so both you and the bike are less likely to take a flyer over the bars. On the hoods, when I brake hard, I feel my hand is less securely gripping the bike, and my body wants to hurtle forward more, and also my higher centre of gravity increases the chance of rear wheel lift off.