Stability and control, handlebars.
 

So I recently bought Nitto B125AA drops. They are beautiful, I taped them up, and they are great to ride with. I fit my bike, everything is great, except I feel like with risers I had before had a lot more stability and control overall AND I feel I could also stop/skid a lot faster (I ride brakeless with velcro straps, don't lecture me).

Would anyone be willing to give me their opinion on this matter? Maybe I need to raise my seat a lot higher (I think I fit nicely currently but I notice the seat beating super high with a lot of drop riders)? Maybe I need to start riding clipless pedals? I know in general track drops have much less room for your hands and only one position (basically two), so I realize it is smaller.

All I know is when I ride my old risers or when I used to ride with my old bullhorns I could stop better, hold myself better, and I just had great control. The only time I have great control now is when I'm actually in the drops which even then, I don't have stopping power like I did with the risers. Do you think I would have better control with road drops maybe?

I'm just looking for opinions on those questions and also on what handlebars have the best control, in your opinion.

Thank you.

yes

ahahahah to which question?

And that's not always a good thing.

I won't lecture about riding brakeless, but I would about track drops on the street. Use em for racing, or not at all. I switched to compact drops as soon as I got my bike.

ha I know, everyone gets on me about it. Any brand in particular? A lot of people say Soma Hwy One's or 3TErganova's. I may consider bullhorns as well, I used to ride with them a long time ago.

i run older nitto b111 drops, i enjoy em picked them up on the cheap. look on craigslist and find a cheap set of road drops. If you like them good, if you like them but want higher quality spend the money afterwards.

When you're in the drops, your body utilizes different muscles to stop & go than then you're sitting more upright as with risers.

Get some shallower drops that you can ride in tops and hooks of, and report back.

I like my Ergonovas.

Chelseaandannoy,

I'd like to mention that you are a 2-part system on the bike.

Part 1: Butt vs Pedals.

This is essential. This is your foundation of your bike fit. 99% of the time, this will be the same no matter what handlebars you use. Work on setting the proper relationship between your butt (saddle height, fore/aft) and your pedals. Lock it down then move to Part 2.


Part 2: Butt vs Handlebars

Now that your butt is in a comfortable and powerful position, figure out how low you want your back to be.

ALL handlebars do one thing...they set where your hands (and ultimately, your back) will be when you ride.

Figure out how low...or not-low...you want to be and use the right bars to get your hands in that spot.

The type of bar doesn't matter that much. What matters is how high/low you set them. For example:
- You can get some super deep track drops and use a 4cm of headset spacers and a +24 degree stem and have your hands super high. I've seen this done.
- You can have some shallow bullhorns and have a -24 degree stem and have your hands super low.

http://i.imgur.com/OlHH5.jpg


I hope this helps.

So after opening this one to ask:
I haz questions about drops
phew that was alot, so I take it from reading that thread we shouldn't get track drops....

No! wait I want to ask one more time, learning hurts:
Can haz 'nother?

Screw it I dont care what people think, im gonna get some track drops.....


...And now lets fast forward to a large helping of "wait what happened"

Also...

The low-bar look is just that...a look. It looks great in photos, but is terrible for casual riding.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-j55ciDsCvs...00/496-ZED.jpg

It's really only viable for those who are in that position for less than 5 minutes at a time...seriously. Even professional track sprinters cannot sit in that position for more than a few minutes before becoming uncomfortable. Why would someone setup their commuter bike this way?!! Looks, that's why. For the looks.

Have you ever sat in a real race car at an auto show or something? Did you notice how uncomfortable the seat was? It's very hard, very upright, and allows for no movement (even a cm) in any direction? That's because if you are driving a race car and pulling Gs in a crazy hard turn and your butt moves, then your feet on the gas/brake pedals move. This is not a good thing. So, they lock you in super tight. Now imagine driving around town in such a seat in a regular car. It would get really uncomfortable really quickly. That's what it's like riding a bike setup in a deep-drop racing position. Why would you do that?

Hahaha!! I hadn't noticed that.

Apparently, the OP likes learning the hard way.

Well for the vendors that will happen to be a good thing ;) at least folks gave him good answers in all 3 threads.

The other factor that hasn't been mentioned is that the farther your hands are from the stem the more mechanical advantage you have in turning. Risers generally put your hands farther away from the fulcrum (i.e. the stem) as opposed to riding 38mm track drops, especially if you are riding the tarck way with your hands up on top near the stem. Of course, I'm stupid so I might have that wrong.

A wait what happened would be me selling my drops, in which I am not. I am using them for trail riding/long distance where I don't need brakes and can get more power, so no, you aren't right. Thanks for your opinion <3

Thank you, I shall do that.

Dude 100%, I noticed that when I first started riding a bike more seriously a few years ago. That's why I always loved risers/bullhorns.

I don't think you get more power by having lower drops. You get more aerodynamics. For example, you would want deeper drops if you were going into the wind but not if you were climbing up a hill. Somebody with more knowledge than me, please confirm or disconfirm.

So you are dedicating your newly purchased track drops to "trail riding and long distance"? that is even better :D

So it begs one to wonder why you didnt buy those first? Regardless you are learning a lot, huh?

Seriously.

You didn't listen to us after two threads. I'm not sure I want to help


yep. just watch and enjoy :popcorn:

Well I didn't buy those first because I felt the need for change away from risers/bullhorns. I actually am considering bullhorns again but I don't know if I should/want to go with bullhorns with a drop or not, such as the fyxation rodeo pursuit and such.

Personally, I don't care for bullhorns with drop in them. I rode with the Nashbar pursuit bars for a few months, but they weren't particularly comfortable. I rode the MASH bullhorns(no drop) for another couple months, and liked those a lot more, but ultimately, I found compact road drops(with or without brake hoods) to be the most comfortable and versatile for road rides.

They look cool though, so if that's priority #1, go with some with lots of drop.

The ones with drop aren't as comfortable near the stem. So naturally, that's what I expect you'll get.

:lol:

Not necessarily deeper drops, but I like having drops when climbing in general. Not even a question when going into wind.

Sexy. My only issue with it is that, even though the rear wheel is slammed forward, there is a significant gap between the seat tube cutout and rear wheel. I thought that was not supposed to happen. Anyhow, I'm pretty sure that is among the sexiest track bikes I've ever had the opportunity of gazing upon.