Witterings

That wasn't what I meant at all and wasn't what I said .... anyone doing a daily commute I'd put in the serous cyclist category ... in fact anyone that rides regularly .... they're far more likely to be forum members than as I said "your jump on a bike twice a year at weekends rider"

subgrade

Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to imply that was what you said, just pointed out that this attitude seems to be fairly common.

GamblerGORD53

I never made it around the block trying drops on a friend's 1973 Peugeot bike. Yuck.
There was NO such thing as flat bars until the MTB craze. But I do remember what was called spreads, they were about 20d angled back with no rise. Very few of them were used. Plenty monkey of bars in the 1960s.

The ONLY comfortable bar for me is the 70d sweptback comfort bars. Plenty of hand AND back positions. Many of those used to be 35 - 45d, especially on girls bikes. I have done half my miles and both tours with them. I had NO back aches the last tour, after I raised the bar up an inch from the first trip.
It's impossible to get away from off and on numbness, or bum numbness either. For whatever reason, I had both hands on 99.99% of the time. A lot of the time also, I have just my right hand forward on the bend.
These are NOT FLAT BARS. Pffft.
I don't know how I allowed myself to SUFFER so many miles with a broom handle bar and sponge grips on my 1990 Raleigh.

The Czech guy Jan who won the RAAM 5 times in a row, with drops of course, said his hands would be still be numb DAYS after the race was over. 20 hour days likely.

livedarklions

Because of the reach for the brake problem, the way I use my bar ends on the FX# is either t use the bar ends on long straight parts of the ride where REALLY fast braking isn't likely (I can scoot my hand over pretty quick), or it's to give my hands relief one hand at a time, always keeping one hand in immediate contact with the braking position.

I think one of the advantages in flat bars that doesn't get mentioned is price--for new bikes, I find that the 3 digit priced flat bar bikes generally have better components than you could find on almost any comparably priced drop bar bike.

Kapusta

Bill in VA

This!! Plus I find the stretch the drops put on my back relieves my lower back pain. I think some of the newer drops might be even better with the wider flare . My bike fit is for the seat and handle bars to be at approximately the same height and is definitely NOT a compact frame fit, but a more traditional French fit...

livedarklions

Same with my boys! I can't convince them otherwise. I'm not sure they'll even try.

Lemond1985

I probably thought the same thing, at one time. Glad I found out otherwise. I could never go back to flat bars again.

Kapusta

Witterings

Really funny you posted this comment ... a while back I started a thread .. Why are gravel bikes more expensive than other bikes of similar spec .... or something along those lines ... I got absolutely shot down in flames with people seemingly splitting hairs on specs so I just gave up as I didn't want an argument with people that very obviously did.

From memory I think quoted something like a Specialized Hardrock Comp I bought for £380 in an end of year discount and whilst not an "amazing" bike was a decent enough entry level that could be bought for £450 without discount and yet the staring price for gravel bikes that seemed half decent was around the £800 + level and if you broke it down the main difference was drop bars and slightly better gearing (if you consider Claris for a road bike that much higher spec than X5 on a MTB) but didn't justify nearly double the cost.

Witterings

What bar ends are they ... do you have a name / link at all????

I spent ages trying to find something that shape and couldn't .... I thought in the end maybe manufacturers may not make them as they may be an injury risk .... if you hit something and went over the handle bars, instinct would be to hang onto the bike and would your forward rolling motion whilst hanging onto the bars may snap your wrists as you went over.

Sorry REALLY not trying to be a profit of gloom with them and whilst I thought they were the ideal style bars / hand positions and would try them it'd always be something in the back of my mind to asses what I though the risk actually was.

livedarklions

Google image search:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/ergotec-Tou...=fsclp_pl_dp_4

Sapperc

Wattsup

+1. The Jones H bar gives me all sorts of hand positions. I regularly do 30-40 mile rides with them...all out. That's about as long as I want to be sitting on a bike.

devianb

My only experience with drop bars was when I was a teenager when I borrowed my mom's road bike. Even then I never used the drop portion. Up until 2013 I had used flat or riser bars. Once I started doing rides longer than a few hours and over 50 miles I was desperately looking for alternative hand positions.

I tried clip on aero bars, which were great for the those long straight stretches, but I could not maintain that aero position for too long. Then I tried bar ends in addition and that changed everything. Loved it! Made climbing hills actually enjoyable. I did away with the bar ends and aero bars in favor of bullhorns for simplicity. I use bullhorns exclusively on all four of my bicycles. Each one has a different style though. May have to give drop bars another try again in the future.

Gresp15C

I'm firmly in the camp of... Neither.

Drop bars were always uncomfortable for me, and I have limited flexibility in my neck. I prefer a higher bar and less reach, but...

Flat bars pound the hell out of my wrists. You can see people riding flat bars, with their hands in all sorts of weird positions, such as cupped over the ends of the bars, trying to get some relief.

Swept bars... heaven. A little bit of wrist rotation is night and day for me, plus the sweep moves my hands further back. I like a cozy cockpit. I've got swept bars on all my bikes, and can ride for miles and miles without needing to change hand positions. As noted, bullhorns work in a similar way, if you prefer a more stretched out riding posture, and some of the more "interesting" bar shapes are certainly worth considering.

Granted, my setup comes with a predictable aerodynamic cost, but the alternative for me would be not riding at all.

The minority of people who have perfectly flexible bodies can choose the bar that is optimal for aerodynamics, speed, control, and so forth. The rest of us have a different set of tradeoffs that we have to manage.

MarcusT

Hello, I usually won't post too much info unless asked.
They are Ergotec 50010001 and from past threads it seems they can be difficult to find, but Amazon was my source.
I can understand the worry about going over, but with 2,000km, no problems thus far.
The angle of the front grips can be adjusted, so I put a little upward sweep. Where drop bars lower grips have you bend over more, these elongate the back for some stretching during long trips. I had butterfly bars before, and I find these more comfortable.
and in high winds, I can go down on my forearms for a more aero position

Cheers

subgrade

That problem is easily solved by installing bar ends inboard of grips. There are bar ends that have been designed specifically for this purpose, like the ones pictured (SQLab Innerbarends), but in fact most bar ends can be installed this way. The distance between them then is about equal the width of a regular drop bar, and the position is very close to riding on the hoods. If the bar ends are longer, they can offer up to 4 different hand positions, all with different forward lean.

pstolz

pstolz

Gresp15C

Just one word of caution. If you're doing real mountain biking, too much sweep can be a bad thing. Granted I'm not an experienced MTB'er, but some friends talked me into going out on some easy MTB trails. The bike, when bucking front to back, would try to pull the grips out of my hands. I had to hang on really tight. So, while I know some MTB'ers who prefer swept bars, they tend to be more gently swept than what you'd see on an old fashioned roadster.

In my case, doing mostly pavement and rails-trails, the swept bars are just fine.

I've also played around with shorter and taller stems.

DarKris

Drops are fun

wipekitty

Drop bars...all day long (literally).

I use flat bars on my winter bike. I think it helps with control, slightly - but more than anything, I've found that it's easier to keep my hands warm in extreme cold with flat bars as opposed to drop bars. Were I to live in a more temperate climate (I'm currently on the border of WI/MN), I'd set up a winter bike with drop bars.

I've also played with bullhorns/TT bars. I find them more comfortable than flat bars but less comfortable than drop bars. I like the aesthetic on SS/FG bikes used for shorter distances where hand positions are less of an issue.

WarrenR

+2

Just ordered my second flat bar bike and another Trekking bar to go with it

drbarney1

Excelsior! I especially esteem the chrome spoke style of the steering wheel. I can't fine one with metal flake green, unfortunately.