mstateglfr 

1- braking while your hands are on bar-ends has its challenges. I mention this since you cite how braking with drops can be a challenge.
2- I cant imagine being able to swing a bike laterally back and forth more on flat bars than with drops. But regardless of if I could, the real question is- should I? Should I throw the bike back and forth while standing on a climb?

billyymc

Last weekend I did a ride with lots of gravel, including a couple steep gravel descents where the grade was about minus 18%. Can't imagine coming down that on the hoods. Just one of the many times I prefer to be in the drops.

This is a weird thread. Use what works for you. If that's drops, cool. If not, also cool.

caloso

???
1) tops
2) ramps
3) hoods
4) deep into the hooks ("Belgian style")
5) returns
*6) IAB (experienced users only)

downhillmaster

Anyone that cannot understand the usefulness of drop bars is a fool.
The only things more foolish are all the flat bar riders I see on the road all hunched over trying to get more aero when they hit a patch of wind or a stretch of downhill.
You knuckleheads all know who you are

pickettt

I’ve been watching this thread for a long time, and this is the only post I’m on board with.

Miele Man

Chuckle, chuckle.

Bar-ends on a flat-bar are there to mimic that position of the hoods on a drop-bar. The hoods on a drop -bar came BEFORE bar-ends on a flat-bar or indeed even before flat-bars.

So bar-ends are a must on a flat-bar in order to mimic the same position that you can easily get on a drop-bar and with a drop -bar the brake levers are still within easy reach of fingers when riding on the hoods. Not so when riding on bar-ends on a flat-bar. People put bar-ends on flat-bars because they want an alternate hand position just like there is on a drop-bar.

You ca easily swing a bike back and forth under you when riding on the hoods plus the hoods are easier to grip when hands are sweaty.

Having full braking with one or two fingers on a flat-bar depends GREATLY on the type of brake and how well set up that brake is.

With a drop-bar you can get a very good aerodynamic tuck by riding with hands on either the hook or bottom of the bar. Very hard to do that on a flat-bar even with bar-ends.

Cheers

ThermionicScott 

If there is a point to this thread, it's to showcase misunderstanding/mischaracterization of other people's handlebar choices. BF never disappoints in that regard.

burnthesheep

If the brake is out of touch in the drops, you need to adjust the brake lever reach. If you can't get them close enough for bottoming out the brake on the bars, you need to fix your cables/pads/wheel true so you're not running a huge pad/rim gap.

IMO, if going downhill in the drops (or hoods) folks would benefit from making sure they have the outer foot down and the inner foot up. Weight on the outer foot. Weight on the inner hand.

If you must brake more mid turn, apply it steadily. You'll drift outside, but that's better than grabbing a handful mid-turn. Look where you want to go next, not 10 feet in front.

Also, the drops may be a safer option for going over really rough road sections. You have your hand all the way around the drops, not so much on the hoods.

Just me talking. Carry on.

badger1

This. And in this thread, it's cutting both ways.

However, there is an upside here: sixteen pages!!

Kapusta

The only thing bar ends and hoods have in common is that they face forwards (and a lot of bar ends don't even do that). The actual riding position of them is totally different. Bar ends on a flat bar are much farther apart, and much further back relative to where riding in the hoods puts your hands.

sjanzeir

It's a universal issue around BF that too many members - especially the small but influential I've-been-the-coolest-dude-that's-ever-hopped-onto-a-saddle-for-50-years crowd - have been allowed to let their god complex run rampant.

AlmostTrick

I like drop bars because they make me more aero.

ThermionicScott 

Careful, bud. I kept my post non-specific because everybody (hint, hint, that includes you) is prone to it.

sjanzeir

And I never excluded myself. It just hasn't been 50 years yet

terrymorse 

I count 4 positions on drop bars. Two that have access to braking and shifting:



EDIT: Make that 5 positions, forgot to list the hoods.

Flat bars with bar ends? I count two positions, one with access to braking and shifting.

terrymorse 

I find the opposite: increased braking in a turn reduces the turn radius, and getting off the brakes in a turn increases the radius. Unless I adjust the steering (and lean angle) to compensate.

indyfabz

Please address me by my user name.

sjanzeir

Sure. Take a number.

indyfabz

Taking numbers is for plebes.

sjanzeir

The flat-bar-grabbing, square-taper-spinning, loose-bearing-rolling plebes that you look look down your carbon stem upon can take names when there aren't any numbers left to go around.

HTupolev

I'd count a lot more than that. Tops, upper bends, ramps, hoods, hooks, drops, phantoms, sphinx, no-hands...

AlmostTrick

Which matters none to all the cyclists who find every one of those positions uncomfortable or not at all useful.

indyfabz

Carbon stems are for those with death wishes. Try not to drool.

sjanzeir

Over what? I've already made my peace as to what I am (un)willing to put up with, and it didn't take 50 years.

indyfabz

Over my (literally) one-of-a-kind, singularly beautiful, super fly, ti ride.