First Road Bike, Drop Bar Setup advice needed
 

Hello,
I have just purchased my first Road bike. All prior bikes being mtb/commuter. Guess I'll visit this section of the forum more often in the future.

Been making some adjustments, and had some questions about drop bar setup.

I find that in order to get strong braking power I need to grab the brakes from the hooks(forward of drops). However this position also means my wrists must bend upwards -not comfortable
almost seems like, you'd normally keep your hands farther back in the drops when riding and move to hooks only for braking. is that correct? having braking position being different from riding position bugs me...

the above problem i can slightly alleviate, by rotating the bars downwards so wrist angle at hooks is less, or by moving the brake levers downwards. In either case, i find that this conflicts with the hoods/ramps position, causing me to be too far forwards and hands slipping down, when riding from the hoods.

I'm considering, that I might just put the brake levers really low so i can reach them from midway between hooks/drops w/o moving hands. then abandon the hoods position altogether. If i need an upright position I'll just ride the tops/flats with a crosstop brake lever.
Or is that sort of setup inherently wrong and will just get me laughed at for my inexperience? almost seems like something you'd do with track bars, since they don't get ridden from hoods anyway...


further information; the bars in question are somewhat between anatomic and deep drop style (based on web terminology and photo comparisions) bike is a Trek 1100 from early 90s

It should really be a smooth transition from the bars to the hoods. It kind of sounds like you need a shorter stem, so that your hands reach the hood better.

Here is a similar bike, with probably the same brake levers, showing the correct position:
http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/u...g?t=1317931485

When I have it setup in the 'correct' way as in picture, both the hoods and drops positions are comfortable; so I'm not concerned about the stem being the wrong length.
My main issue is that from the hoods braking power sucks since you can't grab the levers with a tight fist, similarly from the drops you can't reach the brake lever without scooting hands forward into the hooks (forward curved area); which is not where you keep them for long durations...
is there no solution to strong brake lever grip from all positions on a drop bar? or is that an inherent limiation of the design?
How about brake levers that are very long and follow the curve of the bars all the way around the bottom instead of just out in front?

or is my line of thinking just totally wrong? maybe its a mtb holdover to want super strong braking ability without having to move your hands?

Of course it is easier to apply more braking force at the end of the lever. That is why it is called "leverage". If the position of the shifters on the bar is uncomfortable you should really take off the bar tape and spend some time playing around with the position of the bar and shifters independently until you are comfortable in both braking positions. It is a highly likely that the bars are not ideal for you but you need to spend some time to get used to riding a road bike as the position takes some time to get used to. Once you have things set up in a way you think is going to work, go for a short spin with your wrenches handy to make adjustments. Riding a couple miles without bar tape is perfectly fine. If you decide that you don't like the shape or need a different width of bars you should be able to find some cheap used ones pretty easy. Don't give up too easy and you should figure out if it is you or the bike that needs adjustments.

When I switched from a hybrid to a road bike, I noticed that the brakes required more effort to actuate due to the leverage.

If you're comfortable on the hoods and in the drops, I'd say don't mess with your position. New brake pads on new rims take a little while to break in, for one thing. Another thing to check is whether the brakes are adjusted correctly. On a dry, clear road, you should be able to lock up the rear wheel, and just barely almost lock up the front.

My guess is that the bike's okay, you just need to get used to riding in the different positions and using the brakes from them. Sounds like a reason to ride your new bike more. :)