Anyone put brake hoods on their track drops? I rarely ride with my hands near the stem and don't like having to readjust my position to get to my small e-brake.

get bull horns?

This is why god invented road bars. WHICH track drops are you using? Even if you put hoods on track drops - they most likely won't be comfortable because of how most drops curve around and down.

Or that

if its an e brake, you shouldnt be using it enough to make a difference should you? If its really a problem, bullhorns seem like a good solution.

Stock bars on the 05 Pista

You are missing the point. No, I do not use it often. But in emergencies, this requires me to sit up, move my hands, and then hit the brake---it is especially disconcerting when one is not travelling in a straight line, as it makes steering more difficult in an emergency situation

didnt miss the point, just seems like a lot of work to make an occasional situation more comfortable. Like relocating the e-brake on your car so you dont have to move your arm as much to use it. If it really bothers you, i dont see why you couldnt put hoods on a set of track drops, or use bullhorns, either seem to be acceptable solutions.

On the contrary, the odd times you will be using it nearly guarantees that it needs to be in a better spot. Not worse. The brake is supposed to keep you from getting pwned on the road

thank you

Its not a matter of comfort. My point is I rarely ride by the stem and am either in the drops or on the curved portion of the bar. In an emergency, I would like my brake to be accessible as soon as possible and without having to change my center of gravity.

I would like to keep my current bars, as I find I climb better with them and they offer me more hand positions than bullhorns.

than I wouldnt worry in the least about putting hoods on em.

+1

Get over your hipster tendencies, and throw some road bars on. My Pista has Ritchey WCS 44 cm bars, and Cane Creek levers. It's the "cat's meow" for long rides!

Good road bars are just as stiff as those track bars. Also, have you bothered to consider how monstrously heavy stock pista bars are? They must be made of plumbing pipe!!!!

I am not cool, but I am comfortable, and therefore faster. Acceptable tradeoff...

Cheers~

doesnt seem like hipster tendencies, but rather not wanting to buy new bars. As I said before, I would try em out, if you end up not liking the hoods on the track drops THEN is the time to look into new bars to make them comfy.

Maybe he hasn't changed his bars because he doesn't want to spend the money on them?

Maybe he doesn't care about weight?

The first thing that ever comes out of anyone's mouth here is "hipster this" or "hipster that". Not everyone that rides fixed is a hipster.

(Maybe you should get over your spandex roadie tendencies and stop giving a **** about weight?! See, I can do it, too.)

This has been stated a million times before, but this handlebar/brake setup sounds like the lamest jankiest version of road drops with hoods that I've ever heard of.

If you already own the hoods than I understand if you are in dire economic straits and can't afford to buy anything, but that's it.

Honestly though, if you don't have the $$$ to spend on a new handlebar setup used alum drops and hoods can be found at your nearest bike co-op/LBS that you patronize for super cheap (like 10 bucks tops?).

Otherwise my recommendation is to buy some nitto b115 classic road bars and cane creek/similar brake hoods. Super-duper comfy. You get the positions of good flat bars (chopped slightly), drops and bullhorns.
Just remove that lever on the rear brake on the hoods to retain a minimalist look, kind of.

Hey don't get too caught up here; The primary argument here is about handlebar functionality and comfert, not necessarily weight.

BTW Ryanday there is nothing wrong with running used cheap ass steel road drops!
I make sure to snatch most pairs of used steel drops that I see at my local bike co-op.
Sometimes I use these bars on my brakeless track that I sport around town everyday because I appreciate the xtra stiffness they provide along with positions of a road bar.

I usually have a friend hold on one end as I pull the other end really hard for a min or two!
Gives more room for my forearms from the top of the bar when I'm haulin ass.
Make great chopped bullhorns too if you feel like it for a little while.

Never ever on the road bike though [sunglasses smiley].

what's all this about brakes for emergency situations?.... I think 's too late when it comes down to that...if I had a brake and if I used it, it would be when I was tired, and didn't feel like braking with my legs, not for emergencies

i've been using my brake lately just because i'm too ****ing tired to backpedal. i haven't had time to just have fun on my bike because i'm always late for something...

"Hipster tendancies"? Jeez--all I did was ask an honest question about brake hoods. I was simply considering getting a cheap set of hoods and levers. There is nothing wrong with the bars I have on my bike--i have no need to purchase a new set. I don't need more hand positions. I was simply trying to find a brake setup for convenient than what I have and did not want to do the guppy look. The bike in question I use for commuting, so I have no need to be "fast." My hand positions are quite comfortable as is, and I only worry about being "cool" when I am trying not to perspire on my way into the office.

My question was more one of mechanics. Never having owned a bike from brake hoods or installed them, I did not know when the curvature of track drops would be to extreme to mount them or whether other peopel had encountered any problems trying to do so.

your preconceptions are quite astounding. I hardly think a 30 yrd old with a "yuppy" job that rides home from work wearing a green Ansi vest qualifies as being a "hipster."

But I appreciate your concern over my comfort and self-image.

Haha, rebuke 4tw. Just do it. A pair of aero levers is like what $15-$20.

Jeez, everyone has got a temper here! All in good fun! Just giving my honest recommendation!

I rode my Pista with the stock bars for over a year. They are perfectly fine, just the curve isn't good for mounting hoods due to the curvature. If you went to your LBS it should be easy enough to find some levers that work OK with the curvature. When I decided to fit a brake to the stock bars, I put a cross lever on them, it matches the curvature very well.

And enough of the spandex-clad weight weenie accusations. I ride a commuter to work in jeans, and it weighs 30+ lbs with a rack and panniers. Not everyone fits into a box....

Cheers~

That was a joke about the previous assumptions made.

what about a tt lever? would that be jackass?

Top tube or time trial?

Either way, they are both bad ideas in this situation.