Newspaper_Nick

Another problem with using dropbars in an upright riding position is that because of the shorter reach, your hands usually go to the brifters diagonally from above and you can not really reach the brake levers with your fingers when you get down to the drops. Braking from the hoods was kinda ok (never felt great), but in order to brake from the drops, i either had to bend my wrists to a very uncomfortable position or bend my elbows and get my forearms parallel to the ground to reach the levers with my fingers. Another reason why it is so unnecessary to use dropbars as an upright rider.

I have realized that in this thread, i get a lot of objections to my claims. I think one of the main reasons for this is most people, when they think upright, think something like this (BTW, this photo is a great example of what i just complained about):

But in reality, when i say "riding upright", i mean something like this (To be honest with you, even this is not upright enough for me. But please pay attention to the fact that this dude can not use the brake levers if he ever wanted to use the drops):

Phamilton

Happy endings really depend on who is doing the bending over. That said, I ride the bike with drop bars and my wife rides the flat bar hybrid.

Phamilton

My experience has been that drop bars are pretty useless once they’re much higher than the saddle. At that point there’s so little weight on the hands and front end it makes the handling wonky. But drop bars are my preference. For upright posture riding I prefer a northroads type bar over a flat bar. I’ve never really liked flat bars, they put the wrist in an unnatural position. I’ve only ever gotten wrist pain from flat bars.

Rajflyboy

It’s easier to hook up with the drop bars! Girls are more impressed. I wasn’t getting to the knockin boots part yet.

Newspaper_Nick

Very good choice. A wider, relaxed and natural hold for the wrists. I think this can also be called a flat bar. Just a different kind of horizontal variation.

terrymorse 

Please notice that the dude has rotated his bars upwards to get a higher hand position, and it's that rotation that has made braking from the drops difficult.

That's not the way to get a higher hand position with drop bars.

Newspaper_Nick

You don't get it. Even if the bars were set straight, he still wouldn't be able to use the levers comfortably without bending over. Been there, done that.

DrIsotope

Lack of flexibility is not a bragging point. If you want to ride in an upright position, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. But what might come as a surprise is that there are many of us who ride in the drops, with often significant saddle-to-bar drop, voluntarily-- and can do so for extended periods of time. I am not a professional, I am not a contortionist (or a bird,) I'm 30lbs overweight and have arthritis in my spine... but can still ride in the drops (or on aero bars) for as long as I feel like. A very popular internet fallacy is "because I can't means no one else can."

jadocs

Just to add, riding in the drops is not just changing your hand position. Hips are supposed to be rotated to engage more of your glutes (your biggest muscle). I've seen so many people just change hand positions with no hip rotation and their arms are locked straight down with their upper body in the exact same position as it was riding on the hoods...because their bike was set up to ride in the hoods (basically their limit in terms of flexibility). It's no wonder it is uncomfortable in the drops and there is no additional power.

cyccommute 

Given the comments from various posters in this thread about the ability to brake from the hoods, your comment is rather ironic.

Metieval

that's a lot twisted from what was actually said. but I understand your need to twist it to fit your narrative.

cyccommute 

Says someone doing their own twisting.

Metieval

yet not a single person posted that they can't brake from the hoods, therefore no one can.

I'd like to know what various comments you are thinking about then.

terrymorse 

Hmm. Let's recap.

YOU: Here's a photo of a bike with poorly adjusted drop bars, note that the rider can't brake from the drops.

ME: Of course he can't, the bars are poorly adjusted.

YOU: You don't get it, drops make you bend over, and I don't want to bend over.

ME: <sigh>

Newspaper_Nick

Seems right

cyccommute 

Perhaps not in those exact words but the implication is clear



There are many others. The implication is quite clear..."because I can't means no one else can." Or, perhaps, “because I don’t like it, no one else should do it.”

kingston 

When I become so inflexible that I have to rotate my bars 45° to reach the hoods, I'll just switch to north road bars too. Shouldn't be too long. I'm not getting any younger.

DrIsotope

First goes the flexibility, then comes the wizard beard, then the recumbent is inevitable.

PepeM

Metieval

the implications you quoted are 'one way is better ' , not an implication of don't like, or can't.

Like I said you are twisting stuff, and by a LOT!

Metieval

hey!!! is that cyccommute

terrymorse 

The counter to that is... "because I'm comfortable using what experts consider poor technique, I don't agree with the experts."

kingston 

Funny. I bought a used recumbent earlier this season to prepare myself for the inevitable future, but I'll probably wait until I retire to grow out the wizard beard.

livedarklions

You left out "self-appointed" twice. Hope that helps.

Phamilton

Been working on fitting drop bars to my recumbent, wondering if anybody has any recommendations for a particular bar good for that purpose. Thanks.