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Are Drop bars just an illusion for most?

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Are Drop bars just an illusion for most?

Old 09-15-19, 02:40 PM
  #326  
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Originally Posted by Commutess
I would say that you only need drop bars if you are competing in road races, track, or you ride extremely long rides in areas that frequently have a strong headwind. Other than those reasons there is no reason to have drop bars. Casual riders with drop bars spend 99% of their time on the hoods...
Casual riders need little more than a beach cruiser with a coaster brake, so that’s a poor metric.

If you don’t find drops useful when road riding, then you have never been taught how to use them properly.
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Old 09-15-19, 02:51 PM
  #327  
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I'd get the best of both worlds by adding interruptors/cross levers on a drop bar.
I've found when riding a road setup for urban street commuting, having these cross tops are useful in quick braking decisions. Secondly when I want to keep a constant, not the top speed but in a tolerable posture. These levers allow for much more freedom in body position.
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Old 09-15-19, 03:10 PM
  #328  
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Originally Posted by wolfchild
Flat bars with bar ends or riser bars with bar ends work just fine for 100 miles or more. There is really no limit how far you can ride with flat bars.
Correct.
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Old 09-15-19, 04:51 PM
  #329  
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Let me get this straight. It's not dropped bars vs. flat bars. It's dropped bars vs. flat bars with bar ends. Is that right?

My hands don't fit flatbars with my wrists in their least stressed position. Bar ends look like they offer a single eminently usable position, but my hands fit without stressing my wrists on the ramps, the hoods, and the hooks of the dropped bar.

I'm inclined to agree with those who argue that dropped bars offer important benefits.
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Old 09-15-19, 05:14 PM
  #330  
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Originally Posted by Commutess
I would say that you only need drop bars if you are competing in road races, track, or you ride extremely long rides in areas that frequently have a strong headwind. Other than those reasons there is no reason to have drop bars. Casual riders with drop bars spend 99% of their time on the hoods, which is equivalent to bar ends on a flat bar. In city riding I think that flat/riser bars are much preferable since they offer more control steering the bike.
I LOVE drop-bars. I love them so much that I put them on my MTBs. The drop-bar offers more hand positions, the ability to get aero when the wind picks up, the ability to really honk on the bar when climbing and I've used up all my low gears. Riding on the hoods of a drop-bar gives you very nearly the same upright position as a flat-bar.

Cheers
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Old 09-15-19, 05:33 PM
  #331  
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Originally Posted by Miele Man
The drop-bar offers ... the ability to really honk on the bar when climbing and I've used up all my low gears.
Climbing out of the saddle with hands in the drops -- that's one position I can never figure. Seems much easier to stand and climb with hands on the hoods.

Then again, Pantani seemed to like that climbing position. Maybe his bars were higher than the average pro's setup?

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Old 09-15-19, 08:58 PM
  #332  
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Originally Posted by caloso
I would say that many of us prefer drop bars because we prefer the multiple hand positions.
Originally Posted by Miele Man
The drop-bar offers more hand positions...
Right. You need lots of hand positions when it hurts to stay in any one of them.
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Old 09-15-19, 09:02 PM
  #333  
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Originally Posted by Happy Feet
You can have a very secure grip on them and still easily use the brakes.
Originally Posted by Spoonrobot
Please post a picture of the very secure grip while also using the brakes.
Today I did the Coppi ride in WI that was advertised on the c&v forum.
https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...162293-do.html

63mi with 5000# if climb, which is a lot for this region. As a result, I went down a lot of hills and had plenty of saddle time to think about my hand positions.


Ends up when it's an actual descent that's more than a few degrees, I hit the drops. I think it's to get speed more than for safety though.

Since pictures of hood holding is in this thread, here is a blurry pic of mine while going down a slight descent(which turned into a significant descent and I hit the drops). I dont see how I could lose grip with my hands on the hoods- I have 1 or 2 fingers wrapped under the lever body.
I consciously thought about how I was breaking from the hoods and with 2 fingers I stop fine on long(relative) descents that are 5-12%.

Nothing new was really said right there, but I'm wasting time in a hotel tonight as I'm riding g 60mi of gravel tomorrow before heading home.
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Old 09-16-19, 02:17 AM
  #334  
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Originally Posted by philbob57
Let me get this straight. It's not dropped bars vs. flat bars. It's dropped bars vs. flat bars with bar ends. Is that right?

My hands don't fit flatbars with my wrists in their least stressed position. Bar ends look like they offer a single eminently usable position, but my hands fit without stressing my wrists on the ramps, the hoods, and the hooks of the dropped bar.

I'm inclined to agree with those who argue that dropped bars offer important benefits.
I have flat bars with inboard mounted bar ends, and that offers me 4 distinct hand positions. 3 of those roughly correspond to variations of ramps/hoods. So far I've found these to be sufficient for doing 60-110 mile rides.

That said, I'm not arguing that drop bars would come in handy in headwind situations. (Or on fast descents, of which there are roughly 0 found in my vicinity.)
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Old 09-16-19, 05:49 AM
  #335  
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Originally Posted by mstateglfr
Ends up when it's an actual descent that's more than a few degrees, I hit the drops. I think it's to get speed more than for safety though.
I've noticed the same thing riding in the driftless. Some of those descents can really sneak up on you, so I just automatically hit the hooks when the road starts to drop. I would have very conciously decide to stay on the hoods and probably have to move back there after my body automatically went to the hooks. Maybe it's because I'm old and have been doing it the same way for a long time, but I wouldn't want to be up on the hoods at 45+mph going over a bumpy bridge crossing a creek at the bottom of the valley. Before reading this thread it never really occured to me that some people would actually prefer that hand position on fast descents.
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Old 09-16-19, 06:05 AM
  #336  
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Originally Posted by wolfchild
Flat bars with bar ends or riser bars with bar ends work just fine for 100 miles or more. There is really no limit how far you can ride with flat bars.
Technically speaking, there is also no limit in how far a person can walk. So does that mean people should walk instead of using a flatbar?
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Old 09-16-19, 06:09 AM
  #337  
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Originally Posted by Metieval
Technically speaking, there is also no limit in how far a person can walk. So does that mean people should walk instead of using a flatbar?
I think some people on this site would rather walk than use a flat bar.

Last edited by Kapusta; 09-16-19 at 07:07 AM.
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Old 09-16-19, 06:39 AM
  #338  
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Originally Posted by sjanzeir
Dude, you broke the chain!

In other words, there's no disputing the usefulness of drop bars in competitive cycling. Commutess and many others were debating the usefulness of drop bars for non-competitive cyclists, i.e. the rest of us, the "others", the dullards who so brazenly dare to muddy up the purity of the temple that is Bike Forum. Which is the whole point of this thread, if I recall.
I can't speak for all non-competitive cyclists, but this one has both drop bar and flat bar bikes, and has done 150 mile plus rides on both types. I love riding with both, but I do find the bike easier to control on the hoods rather than holding bar ends because of the location of the brake handles. One thing that hasn't been mentioned, though, is that I find the wider range of postures you get with drop bars is also a comfort factor in long rides for body parts, not just hands.

That being said, I am very comfortable on my FX, but I'm definitely as comfortable on my drop bars.
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Old 09-16-19, 07:23 AM
  #339  
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Originally Posted by Kapusta
I think some people on this site would rather walk than use a flat bar.
we should ask them then.

Who here on this site would rather walk than use a flatbar?

Anyone? Ferris? hello?

p.s. how long do we wait for an answer?
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Old 09-16-19, 07:34 AM
  #340  
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Originally Posted by Metieval
we should ask them then.

Who here on this site would rather walk than use a flatbar?

Anyone? Ferris? hello?

p.s. how long do we wait for an answer?
I'd rather walk than use brifters
Oh wait - I can use flat bars, you say? Oh.
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Old 09-16-19, 07:45 AM
  #341  
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Originally Posted by Metieval
Anyone? Ferris? hello?
I think the quote you are looking for is “Bueller?...... Bueller?........”
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Old 09-16-19, 07:53 AM
  #342  
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Originally Posted by Kapusta
I think the quote you are looking for is “Bueller?...... Bueller?........”
I got it right.
People have been, as of late, misconstruing what I type. So the only way to know if it is on purpose, is to test intelligence levels. Congrats on passing.
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Old 09-16-19, 09:25 AM
  #343  
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So it turns out, there is some merit to what the OP was saying:

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Old 09-16-19, 11:36 AM
  #344  
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Never cared much for drops and the brakes levers always felt out of touch. Give me a swept back bar like my Jones bar and I'm happy. I frequently ride no hands when I'm cruising to give my hands a break. I prefer to be upright where I can look around. Yeah I'm slow with the wind resistance but speed isn't my thing.
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Old 09-16-19, 11:58 AM
  #345  
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Originally Posted by AlmostTrick
Right. You need lots of hand positions when it hurts to stay in any one of them.
Well, this is just me but drop bars are for me the only bar type that does not cause issues along the way. I could ride the hoods indefinitely but the different hand positions offer different muscle recruitment, varying aerodynamics and relief for parts other than the hands.

I have and have had pretty much every bar type and for distance I go back to a drop bar because it's the only one that allows for a completely relaxed upper body position with dropped shoulder blades, dropped elbows and neutral straight wrists. The width of a drop bar factors into this since it's supposed to be similar one's skeletal shoulder width. This in turn means that the arms extend directly forward from the shoulder. With a 60cm wide straight bar the arms leave from the shoulder at an angle which is problematic for keeping the shoulders relaxed.

The other issue with a straight bar is in wrist rotation. It's difficult to get a neutral straight wrist position with a straight bar IF one does not push elbows out in a pronounced fashion or if the bar does not have significant sweep. And with significan't enough sweep we're getting back towards drop bars aren't we?

As to pronounced outward elbows, firstly it's a taxing non relaxed position to maintain and it makes dropping shoulders / shoulder blades difficult.

For mountain biking the wide elbows out position is an asset, but I would not want to hold it for 100 miles, or even 30 to be honest. That's the reason for my mtb I use inner bar ends which narrow the hand position and allow for a straighter elbow drop, but it's honestly not enough. For distance drop bar is king
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Old 09-16-19, 03:40 PM
  #346  
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Originally Posted by Ky_Rider
Never cared much for drops and the brakes levers always felt out of touch. Give me a swept back bar like my Jones bar and I'm happy. I frequently ride no hands when I'm cruising to give my hands a break. I prefer to be upright where I can look around. Yeah I'm slow with the wind resistance but speed isn't my thing.
Very similar experience. I have tried to adapt my riding to drop bars. And like you, i also enjoy more of an upright stance. I love no hands too. I think drop bars and upright riding is a bad combination. I could never reach the brake levers comfortably, even on the hoods. The leverage on the hoods was weaker and braking was harder. And when i was on the drops, i had to bend my wrists to again comfortably reach the brakes. It was never perfect. I even tried a shorter/angled stem, still no luck. I also never liked the narrow (44cm) width of the bars. Now i am on flat bars again. Jones H bar is smiling at me also, but right now it is a little bit out of my budget.
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Old 09-16-19, 04:45 PM
  #347  
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Originally Posted by Metieval
we should ask them then.

Who here on this site would rather walk than use a flatbar?

I would rather walk than use drop bars.
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Old 09-16-19, 08:22 PM
  #348  
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Originally Posted by Kapusta
I think the quote you are looking for is “Bueller?...... Bueller?........”
What? No way was he trying to reference a famous pop culture quote. How dare you correct the obvious attempt! Cant you see he was clearly referencing something else and nailed it as intended?***
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Old 09-16-19, 11:54 PM
  #349  
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Was using just the tops and flats so I did this.

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Old 09-17-19, 09:28 AM
  #350  
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Originally Posted by caloso
I would say that many of us prefer drop bars because we prefer the multiple hand positions.
Drop bars have only one more position than flat-bars with bar-ends, and that is the drops. And the drops can be very uncomfortable for a lot of people. Braking on the hoods, and in the drops both have their challenges. Using flat-bars, you can very easily get on the grips and have full braking using one or two fingers. I think that going up an incline with flat-bars is easier than drop-bars because when you use the bar ends you can really swing the bike back and forth while standing. I also think that bar-ends are an absolute must on flat/riser bars.
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