Barrettscv 

Where is that ignore button, found it!

Salamandrine 

Of course there are, what about this surprises you? There are also standards for how to build a wheel, how to adjust a hub, etc etc, etc. I only posted this thread because a lot of people do not seem to be aware of them.

Well then there's no need to set up your handlebars race style.

rootboy 

I was going to post a pic or two, to show my preferences...but I'll simply refer to Chas's post # 22. Looks good to me.

Salamandrine 

Too funny. Thanks for that. I must be a curmudgeon as I find myself agreeing with most of those rules.

jimmuller 

Understood. My vision is similar in that I like the implicity and elegance of the ramps as a linear extension of the stem.

Fidbloke

I'd agree with you on that. I'm not keen on the 'Droopy' look either, and also find it more comfortable to hold flat ramps, rather than flat drops...

OldsCOOL

I roll the drops downward (bars back) just a tad. Levers are set forward enough to give proper fit when on the hoods.

noglider 

My guidelines comes from training I received from the estimable Gaylen ("Lenny") Preheim from Toga Bike Shop, may he rest in peace. His orientation was towards Italian racing bikes. He noticed that all pictures from Italy of racing bikes showed tips of the brake levers dropping slightly BELOW the plain formed by the bottom of the bar. The drops would range from (1) parallel to the ground through (2) pointing towards the rear axle. This is a good example:

Oldairhead 

"You know, there are rules for this."

For me the primary rule is comfort. I want a riding position that is sustainable for hours in the saddle. I like to take my older bikes on brevets and double centuries so a comfortable riding position is very important. If what you ride is mainly 30 mile club rides which can be a pretty sporty pace then comfort is less important and speed is more so. Rules for what is correct depends entirely on what you are doing!

Having said that, I agree with rootboy that the bikes pictured in post #22 look about right to me, and very similar to how I set my bars and levers.

Also, remember that it is a rule that all rules have exceptions!

dddd

Chas, is the wrist angle you mentioned referring to the straight portion of the drops?

I can see the value in gripping a straighter part of the bar, versus the curved part, while supporting weight. That's why I like Anatomic bends, it's more comfortable on my palms, while setting the bar at it's intended angle, since the drops have that sharp bend a couple of inches from the end.

And so funny about the shoe dimensions. The big reason I don't even consider using vintage pedals is because I could never find wide shoes to make it all work comfortably for me. That and the safety improvement of clipless.

Miele Man

A lot of shops would rtotate the bar so that the end of the bar pointed towards the rear axle. The reason for that was just seasthetics. We'd adjust the bar for the customer to try.

Cheers

VintageRide

One nice feature of the early Phillips handlebars was a very elegant bend that kept the long flats behind the brake levers parallel to the drops. Do you think perhaps they knew something about comfort back then? One can see why they were popular, along with randonneur handlebars, for long distance riding. I have two bikes with the V.O. Grand Cru rando bars, easily the most comfortable type I have used.

Grand Bois

Chas' examples look close to the way I like my bars and levers, although I can't figure out what he means by "parallel to the tops of my forearms".

Reynolds 

It depends a lot on the bar and levers shape IMO.

Scooper

Schwinn instructed dealers to set the drops at a 15° angle when assembling new bikes. The idea is to keep the wrists straight when riding the drops with the elbows slightly bent. This prevents numbness of the hands from poor circulation that occurs when the wrists are angled. Obviously, the 15° drops angle gets changed depending on the riding position, arm length, and other variables to suit the rider.

Chombi

Bar position was always subjective to each rider. Sure there would be a general opinion on what might be correct, but as long as the cyclist does not use the bars and levers totally contrary to the intended purpose design (such as flipping the bars and levers to "hobo" configuration, which can be quite unsafe, IMO), the rider is free to angle their bars any way they want to, off parallel to the ground....,What I noticed is, modern bike riders configure their bar and brifters positions as to emulate what would be a high bullhorn configuration with everything on top at pretty much one level. Lots of C&V riders like to angle up their bars to possibly emulate this more modern approach to riding positions..
I personally still find the three position old school bar configuration with the top being the horizontal portion of the bar, near the stem, mid level on the hoods and low on the drops....

Metacortex

That is basically what Schwinn taught its dealers in the '60s and '70s. Schwinn wanted the bar ends at a 15 degree angle downward and brake lever hoods parallel to the downtube:

mstateglfr 

There it is! That's the scan I was thinking of. Interesting that 15deg is the angle to get the bar ends to point to the rear hub.
That would obviously change depending on stem height though.
Thanks for the pic.

Metacortex

While Schwinn did quote the 15 degree angle in many publications, the angle to match those pictures (where the bar ends point to the rear axle) is more like 30 degrees actual.

Schwinn wanted the stem height to be consistent as well, 1/2" below the top of the Twin-Stik shifters for derailleur models according to the official pubs.

oldbobcat

That's what was cool about Schwinn, even if I don't quite agree with all the details. They cared how their bikes were presented and showed their dealers how to do it.

These days, you can walk into a decent shop and see bars, levers, and saddles sticking in all directions, depending on who built the bike. Or not. Or you can walk into Wal~Mart and see a fork turned backwards.

Personally, I believe that if you're going to use the drops effectively, they should be dead horizontal to turned up a few degrees. And the ends of the levers should at least hit the projected line from the bottom of the drops. Lower is OK for shallow drops.

As for all that curved real estate above the lever, that's for draping your hands over, Roger de Vlaeminck style.


You already know, though, that you don't need my permission to do whatever makes you feel good.

Kactus

I position my bars very similar to Chas. I ride the hoods 95% of the time as I no longer can keep my head tipped back to keep my eyes on the road for lengthy periods. Having the seat set 6" higher than the bars and riding the drops is definitely more suited for younger, more limber people than me.

noglider 

@Kactus, that's fine, but optimizing for the tops has made it impractical to use the drops. It's fine if you don't plan to. My goal for my own bikes is to make the brake levers equally accessible from both the tops and the drops.

Kactus

Like I mentioned, I ride the hoods 95% (+) of the times and am only in the drops in areas where I feel safe with the reduced braking reaction time. I wish I had the flexibility to use the drops more often but I just don't.

Chombi

Yup!, it all kinda fell into place....shaved legs and the limp wrists!...... That's the ticket!

dddd

Bingo.

When I am in the drops, the brake levers are literally at hand, which better allows me to stay relaxed and comfortable.

The "Schwinn" method is great in terms of gripping a straight section of bar at a comfortable angle, but brake lever access doesn't seem to be part of the plan!

Also, when I'm going at the highest speeds that I would over rougher road surfaces, that is no time to have to change one's hand position on the bars, which by itself could cause loss of control in worst-case circumstances.

So I gladly suffer some hand discomfort (from having my hand gripping the curved part) in lieu of surrendering ready brake lever access.

Thanks mstateglfr for clarifying the official position of the ever-conscientious Schwinn. They had their opinion on the matter, which I happen not to follow. But before the advent of the Anatomic handlebar, theirs was one way to maintain a comfortable grip over rough ground, with hands in a low, stability-promoting position.

I have purchased many a used bike with the brake levers positioned way down, for ready access from the straight ends of the bar. It's actually not that bad of a position if you never put hands to hoods, but deprives the rider of the best grip for out-of-saddle honking and somewhat disables the function of safety levers, where present.