Anything particularly unsafe about flat bars???
11-08-21, 12:50 PM
#76
Newbie
If you were looking to join a biking group as a social club, keep looking. Her club is not for you if her attitude is any indication of the membership.
11-08-21, 01:42 PM
#77
Newbie
What a complete nonsense this is about safety
I asked a bike shop here in Waterloo Region Canada about a straight bar bike on a group ride and they said it was a no go. They also said it was because a lot of riders of straight bar bikes didn't have the skills needed to ride in a group. Perhaps this lady was of the same opinion?
Cheers
Cheers
I can ride a similar position on my flat bars (with horns) compared to my drops, only that a very low position on the flats becomes a bit more tiring after a while compared to the drops.
And again, do not judge anybody by their bike, size, shape, gender or colour.
It's pure snobbism and parochial thinking.
In therms of safety, there is NO difference,
In terms of bike handling, I might actually have more control on the flat bars as they are a bit wider (48cm versus 44 for the drops) but that has simply something to do with skills training.
Stay off this lady and her group and enjoy your rides as you do without submitting to group pressure.
Have fun.
11-08-21, 01:50 PM
#78
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I think the troll whose appearance started this side-discussion is a) not in the least interesting and b) the subject of a lot of people wondering why he hasn't been permanently banned already. People have actually left the Forum over what this guy gets away with, one of whom was a really good poster.
You know of people that actually left the forum(as opposed to not actually)over what someone not in the least interesting had to say?
How could someone so seemingly banal cause anyone to actually leave a forum?
Either way it’s nice to know that someone is playing pretend moderator and keeping a close eye on all of the hurt feelings inflicted by the uninteresting
11-08-21, 01:58 PM
#79
Junior Member
Interesting question...tho, I might have asked the lady why she had that opinion (was it really her's or was it something the club put out there). Anyway, interesting responses, have read them all. I agree w/the majority (ignoring the troll attempt to sidetrack the thread) - bovine scat therory! I read & watched from those who thought drop bars were safer, seems that the concern was about falls & injuries and jostling within the pack for position. Sure made me be glad I ride solo, even with a group. I don't care who's up front...I ride like I run (when I could run) - no faster than I can speak (lovely idea from a 60s book "the Zen of Running"). I don't ride as a social gathering, I ride cuz I like to ride. It reminds me of something I heard from a bikerider who happened to ride a Harley: "It ain't what you ride, it's just that you ride." So Enjoy the Ride! Leave the ignorant to their own compost pile.
In 60+years of cycling, I've met far too many of those called "elitist" here (I use the term "cobheads") - those who cycle & must have the latest gear, the latest fad, measure their worth in grams of weight & stylecolor of clothing). I kinda sorta think that the bicycle shops, who create riding groups, look at their bottom line - profit. If the group wants to exclude flat bars, then the shop will support that. Makes me wonder if those elitist/cobheads would allow recumbents....
Gotta admit, since my Bridgestone MB2 has flat bars w/bar-end extensions, that are the same width as my shoulders...I measured my shoulder width - 18" or 45.72cm.
Anyway, any bike is safe as the rider...(one reason I ride solo)
In 60+years of cycling, I've met far too many of those called "elitist" here (I use the term "cobheads") - those who cycle & must have the latest gear, the latest fad, measure their worth in grams of weight & stylecolor of clothing). I kinda sorta think that the bicycle shops, who create riding groups, look at their bottom line - profit. If the group wants to exclude flat bars, then the shop will support that. Makes me wonder if those elitist/cobheads would allow recumbents....
Gotta admit, since my Bridgestone MB2 has flat bars w/bar-end extensions, that are the same width as my shoulders...I measured my shoulder width - 18" or 45.72cm.
Anyway, any bike is safe as the rider...(one reason I ride solo)
11-08-21, 02:07 PM
#80
Junior Member
I was on a wine tour last night and got talking to another older couple that lives in the area and are into cycling. She rides in a local club and was telling me about it, there's 4 levels and she rides with level 4 (the slowest). I know you can't really tell someones ability looking at them but she's early 60's, 5'3" or so, and didn't appear to be particularly athletic, where I'm 46, 6'0", and though not the strongest rider not in bad shape either. I was thinking if I rode in her group with the level 4's that it sounded great to get out for a not too intense social ride with a group, so I said I'd look into it.
I built my bike myself to best fit the type of riding I do, it probably falls in the hybrid category, maybe flat bar gravel bike(ish). It's still a decent bike though. When it came up that I rode a flat bar her response was "Oh, we ride road bikes. You wouldn't be able to keep up. Besides they wouldn't let you ride anyway, flat bars are too unsafe, you need to have drop bars". I never got a chance to ask her what that meant before the tour was over.
Now I'm fairly confident that if she can keep up with the group then I'd be able to too, road bike or not. However, what could she possibly mean that flat bars are too unsafe?
I built my bike myself to best fit the type of riding I do, it probably falls in the hybrid category, maybe flat bar gravel bike(ish). It's still a decent bike though. When it came up that I rode a flat bar her response was "Oh, we ride road bikes. You wouldn't be able to keep up. Besides they wouldn't let you ride anyway, flat bars are too unsafe, you need to have drop bars". I never got a chance to ask her what that meant before the tour was over.
Now I'm fairly confident that if she can keep up with the group then I'd be able to too, road bike or not. However, what could she possibly mean that flat bars are too unsafe?
11-08-21, 02:18 PM
#81
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That said, most D group rides probably aren't going to ride too tightly; maybe it was a gatekeeping blowoff or maybe it's a parroted rule handed down from the A and B rides. Whatever, move on - you're probably not missing out on much.
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11-08-21, 02:37 PM
#82
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Last summer I was feeling quite spry and self-assured so I signed up for a 4-day, 230 mile ride. There were ~400 cyclists. Over the first 3 days I was unable to pass anybody. One woman, who I met over breakfast on the first day, was 73 years old and had undergone a partial right lung removal 9 months earlier; she blew me away every day.
11-08-21, 02:43 PM
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11-08-21, 02:46 PM
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11-08-21, 02:47 PM
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11-08-21, 02:59 PM
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I rode this bike for years in the fast group with the local bike club. And when I say fast group...average speed for a 50 mile ride was 22-23 mph. I had no problems keeping up.
https://www.giant-bicycles.com/us/fastroad-advanced-1
https://www.giant-bicycles.com/us/fastroad-advanced-1
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11-08-21, 03:01 PM
#87
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11-08-21, 03:25 PM
#88
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The charitable explanation is an inexperienced rider misunderstanding bullhorn bars (triathlon base bars) versus flat bars. Since bullhorns and aero bars are banned in mass start racing it would be logical for a club to also ban them from group rides. By this interpretation flat bars, riser bars, and traditional touring bars would be OK and MTB bar ends would be a grey area.
11-08-21, 03:32 PM
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11-08-21, 03:36 PM
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11-08-21, 05:07 PM
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11-08-21, 06:25 PM
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The thing is that drop bars are not any faster than flat bars. Majority of people who use drop bars have their hands on the hoods which is very similar to having your hands on the flat bars. There is no aero differences between the two. You only gain some aero advantage when riding in the drops, and that is very rare because majority of these " fake pros " don't even have enough mobility to ride in the drops.
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11-09-21, 05:29 AM
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OK. Honestly, people say such ridiculous things about safety that it's impossible to know when someone's joking. A guy posted a few weeks ago that taking a left turn from a center turn lane was unsafe because you had to cross traffic lanes to get to the turn lane. I'm still trying to figure out how he thought it was possible to take a left turn anywhere without crossing traffic lanes.
ETA--and no, he wasn't posting from a "drive on the left side of the road" country.
Last edited by livedarklions; 11-09-21 at 08:05 AM.
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11-09-21, 05:36 AM
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The charitable explanation is an inexperienced rider misunderstanding bullhorn bars (triathlon base bars) versus flat bars. Since bullhorns and aero bars are banned in mass start racing it would be logical for a club to also ban them from group rides. By this interpretation flat bars, riser bars, and traditional touring bars would be OK and MTB bar ends would be a grey area.
Frankly I wouldn't expect someone who doesn't ride road bikes to have the experience riding road bikes in a group and I really don't want some guy in front with a MTB squeezing the brakes and causing everyone to pile up or pulling some other stunt.
Last edited by Branko D; 11-09-21 at 05:41 AM.
11-09-21, 07:59 AM
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OBVIOUSLY someone who doesn't ride road bikes doesn't have experience riding road bike in a group---he has no experience riding road bikes. Nothing to do with bars or brakes or whatever.
Of course a lot of people ride many disciplines ... cyclocross, MTB, and road---and have plenty of experience in riding around other riders and on all kinds of crazy terrain. Peter Sagan raced in the Olympic MTB race ... pretty sure he can handle himself in a road peloton, too, eh? And I cannot recall the name of the guys who were cyclocross champion several times and also raced road (Wout van Aert, Mathieu van der Poel, Zdeněk Štybar .... ) A lot of guys came from MTB to road after they got tired of getting beat up on MTB course or wanted more money or fame .....
So a guy who rides an MTB isn't necessarily "squeezing the brakes" (because it is bad to brake in the peloton ... if the guy in front of you brakes, Hit Him!) and frankly if a guy (or girl) showed up at a group ride on an MTB and kept up, s/he would get All of my respect .... and if s/he Couldn't keep up .... then it wouldn't be an issue, would it? The people off the back aren't holding up the people up front.
Further, the OP in this thread guy showed up with a flat bar Road Bike ....
The whole issue was whether Flat Bars Are More Dangerous Than Drop bars on a group ride. Your post completely missed every point.
As to the original point .... if the issue is bar width, shouldn't there be a maximum bar width then? For safety? I like 42 but I have 44s on one bike ... but that really big guy next tom, he must be six-foot six and weight 300 pounds ... and he as 46-cm bars. He Is A Menace. I need him banned ... for safety. Oh, wait ... it is up to me not to hit other riders no matter how wide, tall, short, slim, whatever? And up to other riders not to hit me? And riders can collide even if they are skinny and have narrow bars? Watching any of the flat stages of any Grand Tour will demonstrate that. Those guys are skinny, have drop bars, and wipe each other out in prodigious numbers. On the other hand, when is the last time you saw the whole field go down at a mountain-bike race?
Hmmmm .... at this point it is all about page count anyway, right. Let's keep this monstrosity alive!
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11-09-21, 08:38 AM
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As to the original point .... if the issue is bar width, shouldn't there be a maximum bar width then? For safety? I like 42 but I have 44s on one bike ... but that really big guy next tom, he must be six-foot six and weight 300 pounds ... and he as 46-cm bars. He Is A Menace. I need him banned ... for safety.
My flat bar road bike that I rode on group rides with 20+ people had 600mm wide bars. Nobody died or got hurt.
11-09-21, 08:50 AM
#100
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