Bars for climbing (discussion)
02-13-08 | 07:40 PM
#26
Senior Member
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 134
Likes: 0
From: Toronto, Canada
Bikes: small Alpha Mercury with flatbar
ohhh okay I gotcha. I guess the other option is running road bars with really shallow drop like you see on most junker roadie bikes. But those look like crap IMO...
02-13-08 | 07:49 PM
#27
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 246
Likes: 0
My whole commute back from school is uphill and I've used track drops, bullhorns with drop, bullhorns without drop, and road drops. Personally, I love bullhorns with drop since they seem to have the most variety of hand positions resulting in a compromise between speed and comfort. I don't see why many people ride drops- probably aesthetics since with a negative rise stem they hurt for prolonged casual rides.
02-13-08 | 11:42 PM
#28
moving target
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 2,952
Likes: 156
From: birmingham, al
Bikes: looks like a specialized crux now
my fixed gear has bullhorns and i love them, i ride it with drops and a shorter stem some times for sprints it seems like i can get going a lot faster over a short burst. but i cant climb with them one there, and i live in a hilly area so they are counter effective. and i cant get the leverage to stop as readily
you see pics all the time but reference.
normal setup
i have really been debating throwing a vuka aero bar setup on there
you see pics all the time but reference.
normal setup
i have really been debating throwing a vuka aero bar setup on there
02-13-08 | 11:48 PM
#29
Guest
Posts: n/a
You don't need cross levers; road levers/shifters actually work quite nicely.
here's an old picture of my y-foil (from over a year ago, maybe two).
As you can see, i've used hoods on the underside of the bullhorns which works QUITE nicely.
i've since changed the bars/saddle/everything, but still use the same positioning for the brakes:
here's an old picture of my y-foil (from over a year ago, maybe two).
As you can see, i've used hoods on the underside of the bullhorns which works QUITE nicely.
i've since changed the bars/saddle/everything, but still use the same positioning for the brakes:
Man I totally forgot when trek was huge into Y frames. All their FS MTB, and road frames were Ys. Crazy times.
02-14-08 | 07:49 AM
#31
Fear the banana
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 719
Likes: 0
From: New York City (Uptown)
Bikes: 1950s EG Bates track & 1960s Frejus track
You don't need cross levers; road levers/shifters actually work quite nicely.
here's an old picture of my y-foil (from over a year ago, maybe two).
As you can see, i've used hoods on the underside of the bullhorns which works QUITE nicely.
i've since changed the bars/saddle/everything, but still use the same positioning for the brakes:
here's an old picture of my y-foil (from over a year ago, maybe two).
As you can see, i've used hoods on the underside of the bullhorns which works QUITE nicely.
i've since changed the bars/saddle/everything, but still use the same positioning for the brakes:
Man I had that same bike. I had HED wheels on mine.. Fun times..
02-14-08 | 08:16 AM
#32
steel lover
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 1,316
Likes: 0
From: Houston
Bikes: Bianchi Alloro, Miyata 710, Fuji Espree Fixie convert
For me, when climbing I like the hoods or bull-horns. It leaves my arms in an "untwisted" position, and a firm grip on the bars. The drops are for aero, long-sprinting, and decents.... none of which last all that long. At one point, I did ride them exclusively, but not any more.... it's mainly hoods.
That's why I put bull-horns on my FG... I wanted the "hood" position while only running 1 brake.... and without fake hoods, or unused levers.
That's why I put bull-horns on my FG... I wanted the "hood" position while only running 1 brake.... and without fake hoods, or unused levers.
02-14-08 | 10:55 AM
#33
Elemental Child
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 232
Likes: 0
From: Minnesoter
Bikes: 1989 Schwinn World workhorse, 1979 Trek Summer Bike, 1995 Schwinn Moab that never gets ridden
I'm doing the same thing to my 82 Trek. I think it'll be super-cool. The drops never feel right to me.
02-14-08 | 10:58 AM
#34
Elemental Child
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 232
Likes: 0
From: Minnesoter
Bikes: 1989 Schwinn World workhorse, 1979 Trek Summer Bike, 1995 Schwinn Moab that never gets ridden
02-14-08 | 11:18 AM
#36
Thread Starter
partly metal, partly real
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,597
Likes: 0
From: Philadelphia.
Bikes: Hummer H2
02-14-08 | 11:21 AM
#37
Senior Member
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 114
Likes: 0
Most roadies have a stem that is too low...then they ride all the time on the hoods, often with locked elbows. Use a higher stem, ride in the drops and bend your elbows to get low. Shallow hard climbs then are fine in the drops. Hoods for the steep stuff and rest periods. (Too-low stems is a modern fad...going on about 30 years.)
Here's what I don't get about drops....how can you ride them with the same stem you ride your other bars with? When you have bullhorns, the flats and the drops are pretty close together (drop distance) but drops have more...well, drop. I'm assuming people want to be comfortable riding both on the flats and in the drops, so...wouldn't that mean that if you have a good flat position, you have drops that are too low? And if you have a rise stem, your flats are too high and your drops are good (and you look like a ****** with a positive rise stem and drops). How do you guys reconcile having a good drop position with having a good position on the flats? Alike so:
The green line is the "ideal" line. Where your hands are most comfortable, and you have good power transfer and not too much back pain. This is where you'd put your bar if it was flat, and you were a hipster (joking!) If that line is at the top of your drops, then the bottom is obviously going to be really far away from ideal. If that line is in the MIDDLE of your drops, then the drops and the flats are both a little bit away from ideal, but they're each less far from ideal than your drops would be if you had a flat stem (do I make sense?)
Anyway, how do people feel about stems and drops and body position?
EDIT: sorry for the crappy pic, and...the fact that it's sideways.
EDIT2: w@nker is a cussword now?
The green line is the "ideal" line. Where your hands are most comfortable, and you have good power transfer and not too much back pain. This is where you'd put your bar if it was flat, and you were a hipster (joking!) If that line is at the top of your drops, then the bottom is obviously going to be really far away from ideal. If that line is in the MIDDLE of your drops, then the drops and the flats are both a little bit away from ideal, but they're each less far from ideal than your drops would be if you had a flat stem (do I make sense?)
Anyway, how do people feel about stems and drops and body position?
EDIT: sorry for the crappy pic, and...the fact that it's sideways.
EDIT2: w@nker is a cussword now?
02-14-08 | 11:43 AM
#39
hateful little monkey
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 5,274
Likes: 0
From: oakland, ca
Most roadies have a stem that is too low...then they ride all the time on the hoods, often with locked elbows. Use a higher stem, ride in the drops and bend your elbows to get low. Shallow hard climbs then are fine in the drops. Hoods for the steep stuff and rest periods. (Too-low stems is a modern fad...going on about 30 years.)
Looks great in photographs, though!
02-14-08 | 06:19 PM
#41
Senior Member
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 134
Likes: 0
From: Toronto, Canada
Bikes: small Alpha Mercury with flatbar
Most roadies have a stem that is too low...then they ride all the time on the hoods, often with locked elbows. Use a higher stem, ride in the drops and bend your elbows to get low. Shallow hard climbs then are fine in the drops. Hoods for the steep stuff and rest periods. (Too-low stems is a modern fad...going on about 30 years.)
