albrt 

Never say never. When I was in high school in the late 70s the upward pointing brake levers were not common, and I did not come around to positioning them that way until a few years ago. But a few years earlier, especially when randonneur bars were so popular that Sears was putting them on Free Spirits, a higher position was totally the thing.

Most of the bikes I ride now are 80s models, and the bar & hood can't be made completely flat, but they generally can be tilted upward into a comfortable position.

Well, I guess there is one legitimate thing you can say to never do - never go full drop bar reversal. Upside down drop bars are the universal symbol for "tweaker with a stolen bike."

gkamieneski

Your bars and brake levers are set up correctly. If others have the bars rotated or levers pointing upward, it’s because the bicycle doesn’t fit them in the first place.

albrt 

Right. Maybe you should just get one of these.

BMC_Kid 

Everything I wrote previously is certainly legitimate. To imply otherwise is just silly. I don’t know why people in forums feel the need to blow out the candles of others just so their’s shine brighter, but that’s the time we live in unfortunately.

BMC_Kid 

Because high school kids were miss adjusting there handlebars as a fad in the 70s does not equate to the levers ever being designed for that.

JackJohn

+1 on the importance of a proper bike fitting/sizing as a starting point. Concerning your specific problem, I once inquired into that issue after realizing my hands were too small to reach levers from the drops in some cases, i.e. particular combinations of deep dropbars and protruding levers. Unlike some modern technology allowing to move levers closer to the bars through a dedicated screw, old levers didn’t have this option. Then I found this guy using a diy trick to do the job on Mafac brakes: he places an inner tube valve cup around the brake cable on the inside top of the lever, allowing to bring the lever 2-3cm closer to the bar. Frankly I haven’t tried it yet and cannot say if it works or if there are safety issues, but the idea seems interesting. Here’s the link, English subtitles available.
PS: that rear brake cable housing is quickly bent downwards on the top of the right lever, I would lengthen it to let it loop more.

smd4

Even many (most?) modern pro bikes have level bar drops and levers that don't point up--if pictures of riders in the 2022 Tour de France in the latest RBA magazine are to be believed.

Classtime 

Modern bars for modern levers.

BMC_Kid 

I grew up in the mid-80s and when I raced our setup then as it should be now if using the equipment of that era is like this with the flat of the bars parallel to the ground.



Speaking for myself, I never gripped the brake levers from the top like modern shifter/brake lever combos, those are modern ergonomics. We tended to run narrow bars and would grip the lever coming around the side as such…




Again, these levers were never designed to be pointed up, trying to mimic modern shift levers. You can do what you want, it’s your bike but they were designed to be mounted on the curve of the bar, which places the actual lever closer within reach down in the drops. If you felt inclined to grip the levers from up top, that too was easily accomplished. Once you start migrating the lever placement to the top flatter part of the bar, like a modern shift lever, the dimension from the bar to the lever in effect increases, making it not easily gripped when down in the drops. Generally, if we were just cruising alone, we’d grip the top of the bar, not gripping the brake levers unless we were climbing. During the race, we typically never left the drops. You have much better control of the bike down in the drops even to this day but many people will intuitively grip the modern brake/shift levers because they they think otherwise and think only racers should be down in the drops or they don’t have the fitness to ride down in the drops. Nothing wrong with this but back in the day, the typical higher end brake levers were not designed for comfort riders but for racers. I can’t speak for the cheaper end stuff and as always, YMMV.

I agree with someone mentioning, modern bars for modern levers and there’s truth in this statement. The converse is also true, vintage bars for vintage levers. You can mix and match them but my experience is they work best not being mixed but have not really tried.

No offense to anyone of this form but only the band dorks and nerds rode around with their bars rotated upward or their levers mounted up on the flats pointing to the sky. They certainly weren’t racers. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. LOL!

albrt 

So the 1974 Schwinn catalog was put together by high school band dorks and nerds?



Personally, I was both a band dork and a nerd in the 1970s, and I kept my drop bars flat. Now that I am cool, most of my road bars are about like this picture. Draw your own conclusions.

smd4

You can't tell, but that guy has major carpal tunnel issues because of this setup. Can't play the sax anymore.

Consider it done!

BMC_Kid 

Classtime 

This was my only cycling reference:

and in it was the recommended bar orientation: point the drops at the rear derailleur.

BMC_Kid 

sorry, I’m not up to speed with the books my grandfather utilized. Although he did always wear similar striped socks and sneakers when riding his bike…

streetsurfer

smd4

You forgot the rest of it:

BMC_Kid 

[QUOTE=streetsurfer; [/QUOTE]

Fixed it.












Even Christie knew how to correctly set up her cockpit...

smd4

Yeah, but those pics aren't from the Schwinn catalog!!

PhilFo 

Bar and lever positioning are completely up to the rider. It shouldn't matter if it "makes anyone else sick" if it gets a rider out on the road and they have brakes that work properly. About 8 years ago I was diagnosed with mild stenosis in my cervical spine and so I had to say goodbye to an aggressive riding position on my road bike. My Suntour Superbe levers are pretty high up now with my drops aiming at my rear dropouts. The handlebar is hung off a 100mm Nitto Technomic that puts it just at the level of the nose of my B17 saddle. Some may not like that, but I'm sure Snoop Dogg has some choice wisdom for what they can eat. My brakes work fantastic and I'm out on the road, so that's what counts. What a rider's bike looks like doesn't matter one bit as long as they are riding and hopefully doing it safely.

smd4

Yeah yeah, blah blah blah. I get that not everyone's the same, and everybody sets up their bike differently. Fine. I don't care how anybody sets up their bike. They can ride lying on their backs for all I care.

But there sure seem to be A LOT of riders on this particular site who feel comfortable with setups that are so out of the ordinary it boggles the mind that they can actually be used without causing more injury. It's as if no one ever even tried to set up their bike conventionally.

How is it even possible that the levers on the bike below can be actuated from the drops without being a contortionist? The brakes are practically vertical. The elbows would need to be bent at an angle greater than 90 degrees. This certainly looks to me like it would cause more problems and pain than it could ever solve. Yes, the rider (our own PastorBob) says he rides the drops and can reach the brakes. Color me skeptical.

repechage

love the background.

when I see uncommon set ups, saddle most often, I see a the adjustment as a way to address a more basic issue. Really need to see the rider on the bike in use. Or at least a stationary trainer.

Kai Winters

IMO it's what works for the rider.
It's difficult for the rider when there is a comfort issue due to a physiological complication. A fitter, I was a "Fit Kit" certified 'fitter' for years, has to take in the complications of the rider and do what they can to make riding comfortable and efficient.
If it means the bars are tilted up and the brake hoods are moved into a non-traditional position but it means that the person can now ride their bike comfortably then that is the correct positions for the parts.
If the rider is just not used to the traditional, ie 'racing', position but wants to achieve the position they should work there way to it gradually with small adjustments over a longer period of time to allow their body to adjust.
I'd rather see the person riding with an 'odd' setup than not riding at all.

gkamieneski

I know this is in C & V so what I am about to say does not apply as much as it does to the general road riding population.

I find it ironic how many riders purchase equipment, bicycles and components based on what the pros on World Tour Teams are riding, yet set them up in some of these cockamamie positions that said pros would never use.

For smd4 and BMCKid, I don’t exempt modern bars and brake shift levers from the same horizontal parallel to the ground position we’ve been advocating. I see no reason to set them up any different from vintage stuff. My vintage Pinarello has Campagnolo Ergo 8 levers set up that way on Cinelli 66 bars and my carbon 1o speed Shimano equipped bike has them set the same way on ergo bend FSA bars (never did like compact bars or compact cranksets. Sold them both off).

1964Supersport

Here is where I ended up, I think it will be ok for me.

albrt 

That looks like an excellent setup, with a nice set of Paselas to boot.