Garfield Cat

The Fred Flintstone bike:

https://steelturman.typepad.com/photo...ne_bicycle.png

Garfield Cat

The beginner rider is much different than the others. It takes time to allow a consumer to determine which way he or she will use the bike. Some will go towards that "need for speed" and others will view a bike just to go from point A to point B. Very much like cars.

The gravel bike just might catch more attention, especially with the owners of road bikes who really don't want a hybrid and who might not want to master the skills to do mountain type riding, nor feel that they need to.

An adult consumer may not ever had a road bike in the past as a youth. Its natural that their viewpoint is already recognized by the marketing gurus. It would take a lot of motivation points for an adult to simply go directly to road type bikes.

But once captivated by road riding, that adult just might want to stay close to the road type geometry and spend money on a gravel type, even a high end gravel.

It would be more interesting to see what Peter Sagan rides when at home, than say, another retired pro rider who never had mountain bike background.

Gresp15C

Indeed, flat bars are quite uncomfortable for me -- my wrists hurt after a few hundred yards. Same bike with a swept bar, I can ride all day in one hand position. That's assuming normal stops. I don't think I've ever ridden further than about 20 miles at a stretch without stopping for some reason: Clothing, a snack, etc. That's enough to give my hands and arms a rest. Drop bars also rotate your wrists.

I think this is why you see people riding flat bar bikes with their palms cupped over the ends of their bars, or with attachments such as bar ends.

wolfchild

I am not a new rider, I have been a commuter and recreational rider for 8 years and I hate drop bars...I tried drop bars for a while on few different bikes and it never felt right to me, just don't like them...Flat bars with bar ends or riser bars is what feels most comfortable to me.

BobbyG

I think you are "BI-ke curious".

trail_monkey

This is why on my bike I went with jones bars. Comfy!

badger1

+1000

I resumed cycling in 2002 at age 50. Since then I've averaged 6 to 7000kms each year -- most of that a mix of commuting and longer weekend rides (typically around 60kms).

All of that has been on either riser bars (9 degree sweep) or flat bars (5 degree sweep) w/bar ends. I've ridden three 'imperial centuries' -- simply to see if I could do it. Two of those were with flat bars, one with risers (on my hardtail mtb). No problems -- at all. I have tried to like but just don't like drop bars.

Chuck Naill

I think many, like me, thought there were two types of bikes, mountain and road. I spent a month or so shopping and learning about what is available. I discovered touring type bikes, gravel bikes, Cyclocross bikes. Since I want to be able to ride road, trails, fire roads, and my 2000 foot gravel driveway, the touring bike made so much sense for what I want to do.

unionmanbirch

I can understand why the mountain bike is popular among the general public. It is versatile, easy to use, available in big box stores and generally cheaper to buy than a road bike. Most of us on this forum have multiple bikes. I have a road bike, a mountain bike, a touring bike and a folder I keep in my car. But if I only had one bike it would probably be a mountain bike because it can do what the others do, albeit not as well, and even though I do not ride off road very often I like to occasionally. I only have one car but it is a 4 wheel drive Jeep. I only need the 4x4 maybe 10 times a year, but I'm glad to have the capability when I need it.

Gresp15C

Those look pretty versatile. I went with "FSA Metropolis" for the bike that I use for longer rides on trails and pavement.

trail_monkey

I looked at those myself and almost bought some. What stopped me was the 620 width and the fact that I was unsure if my revelate harness would attach to those bars. I wanted no less than 660 so I went with jones.

Gresp15C

That's a pretty cool accessory. It looks like it'll carry practically anything if needed, but stay out of the way if not. I did something similar, but not nearly as classy, on my older converted road bike: Just a tiny little rack on the stem, so I'd have a place for my lunch. On the new bike, a rear rack has proven sufficient so far.

jon c. 

I'm the same way. Flat bars killed my wrists in short order. No problem at all on drop bars.

And riding a road bike is much easier on my back. A more upright position starts to hurt my lower back after a few miles. I have the same problem standing still for any length of time.

Everyone is different of course, but I when I started riding it was mystifying to me why folks founds MBs and hybrids more comfortable.

trail_monkey

My harness carried my sleeping bag and other items. FWIW if you ever go bikepacking, my bike in the following pics is loaded way too heavy lol. But it did the job. This bike can ride gravel, road (I put 42 road tread panaracers on it and rode the first 2 legs of RAGBRAI this year on this bike before switching bikes), singletrack, and it can carry camping gear. Long live the mountain bike.

Daniel4

I'm beginning to think the same way. Lately, I've been having wrist problems that I notice when I play guitar. Don't know how much of that is due to getting older and how much is due to my converting all my handlebars to flat.

At the gym, the bench press is an overrated excerise risky in all sorts of injuries. It's due to holding the bar with palms down (relative to your body) the same as holding a flat bar on a bicycle. This makes your arms naturally flair out when the bar is down at your chest. You should keep the arms no more than 60degrees from your torso. Dumbbell presses lets you hold the weights with hands in a palm-in position avoiding shoulder injuries.

But riding a bike, most of your time your arms are straight and not fully bent.

MadMack 48

A mountain bike is the Jeep of bikes... if you have to ask, you wouldn't understand!!!

LesterOfPuppets

I almost went with Metropolis, but decided against them for the same reason.

I wound up with Surly Open bars, since even the cheapest Jones is too rich for my blood.

jefnvk

I've got bikes with drop bars, and flat bars. So does the fiancee. I've ridden many longer rides with the flat bars, and she almost exclusively rides her flat bar on all our rides, the longest of which are upwards of 45 miles or so, without any issue. I don't personally see THAT much of a difference. Even my bikes that have the drop bars, the amount of times I am past the hoods is almost nil.

While I am not sticking with a flat bar on my current tour build, I'm not looking at drops either. I'm going something like a trekking or Jones H-bar or albatross style. On my road tour build, I put cross levers on, so I could ride in the urban areas in a more upright flat-bar style. I just don't have the love of drops that some do, and I've been past the end of the block.

MRT2

I do believe flat bars are not great for riding long distances. That said, I think the flat bar/drop bar debate is a bit of a false choice, as there are bars that are in between. I ride drops now, but I might consider a modified drop bar in the future, such as the Salsa Cowchipper or the Nitto Moustache bar. On my wife's old Peugeot, we replaced the drops with a Velo Orange Postino bar and she happily rides up to 35 or 40 miles on that bar just as comfortably as she does riding the drop bars on her modern road bike. Other choices include the Jones H bar, Velo Orange Crazy bar, or the butterfly bar.

Gresp15C

One thing I've noticed is that some riders prefer a shorter reach, and others prefer to be more stretched out. While I was converting from flat bar to swept on my new bike, my buddy was looking for a longer stem for his new bike. So if you know that you prefer a longer reach to begin with, then drops are probably your best bet.

I don't know where you're at on the guitar, but I suggest getting some lessons from a classically trained teacher if possible, to critique your physical approach. I play double bass, and the instrument is literally dangerous if played incorrectly. But any instrument can hurt you.

Another thing: How's your posture at the computer? Neck strain can lead to nerve problems that can manifest in your wrists.

The nice thing about going from flat to swept is that you don't need to buy new controls, and may even be able to use the same cables, so it can be a relatively inexpensive experiment. Also, in my case, the reach is short enough that I can always ride with my elbows slightly bent. I rarely see that on anybody riding drop bars.

Jameth

In the places I've lived, I've noticed that most people who commute ride mountain bikes. When I lived in Panama City, FL, that's about all I saw. Most of them were extremely cheap bikes with off-road tires. Most of them were also riding extremely slow in a very low gear.

What concerns me isn't so much the number of mountain bikes, but the quality thereof. I think most people are just too lazy to do an iota of research when they're in the market for something. I really think these people just make up their minds (consciously or otherwise) that they're going to walk into Wal-Mart and buy whatever they're selling.

Most of the commuters riding cheap bikes that I talked to in Florida would complain about repairs, then balk at the idea of spending a mere $500 on a better bike. Too many practitioners of false economy.

Dave Cutter

I blame BMX for the way adults look at bicycles. Mountain bikes look like an adult version of what many considered their childhood bicycle.

Back in the 50's when I was a child... we didn't have BMX or mountain bikes. We had cruisers, English racers (3-speeds), and race bikes.

trail_monkey

In my small community, people know who the avid riders are so when they see one of us riding around town paying bills etc, they know we are riding because we enjoy it. Then there is the rest of the bikers. These are adults who have messed up their lives, usually don't work, have no license and definitely no car, and they are riding wal mart BMX bikes with their knees hitting the bars. I can see what you are saying. If you saw Rob Dyrdek riding a BMX you would know he's an ex pro of some sort but when you see the others you just know the truth lol.

12strings

This is a biggie...when I was in elementary school I had a red bmx type bike with somewhat bumpy tires...when I got into Jr hi, and high school, I still wanted a bike to ride around town...I got a mtb.. it seemed like the obvious choice...ride to the store, cut through some yards, jump off a few curbs...it just worked.

Aidoneus

I agree doing bench presses is risky...if you are performing them as described. Instead, a small back arch, narrower hand grip, lowering the bar to your sternum, while keeping your elbows in will shorten your stroke, increase power, and greatly reduce shoulder strains. In my fifties I could bench 335 lbs. for two reps with no shirt. The only back injury I ever suffered was a lower back strain before a meet in which I didn't warm up properly before deadlifting 440 lbs. That forced me to switch to summo-style deadlifting for several months. You might find the program at Westside Gym under Louie Simmons a good place to research techniques and training programs.