denaffen

OK, so I grew up with BMX bikes and later rode mountain bikes. It really wasn't until last year that I spent any time with drop bars, and I find myself just NOT getting along with them. I wonder if I'm just too old, too fat and too set in my ways to get along with them.

On my vintage Bianchi I finally swapped out the old-style drops for some Soma Highway Ones, and that did make a huge difference there. At least now I find I'm riding on my palms instead of the heel of my hand, so it's *way* more comfortable. But I'm still pretty much never on the drops.

And now I have this old Trek 520, and I find myself again not getting along with the vintage-style bars. And again, I'm riding on the heels of my hand, which is just a recipe for pain. I could adjust them a bit, or I could get another set of Highway Ones, but I still don't know if I'd ever actually get into the drops.

Do I need to just power through and force myself onto the drops until I see the advantages? At what point do I just decide that drops just ain't for me? I mean, there are plenty of other handlebars out there that will give you multiple hand positions, and if you're not using the drops, why bother with them? I could just throw some bullhorns on or something.

Reflector Guy

If you were riding on the heel of your hands, could it be the stem/reach was too long?

Watch the other riders; I bet they aren't in the drops "all" the time either.

2old

I gave up a long time ago because the position was uncomfortable in my neck-shoulder area even with the bars "high enough". Solution: MTB and cruiser-type bikes.

denaffen

I've tried everything from 60 to 100mm reach. On the Trek, it's a 60. Very short. I could clock the them up a little bit and get a better (less sloping) grip up top, but then the drops would be even less accessible.

And yeah, I get no one's on the drops all the time, but even on the Bianchi, where I've got the drops pretty comfortable, I find that I force myself onto the drops, stay there for a minute or two, then say forget it and go back up again.

gringomojado

No drops? Won't look cool! You need drops, need to clip in, and lose the kick stand too and dork disk, ya gotta conform!

gm

ClydeClydeson

If it's not comfortable, it's not comfortable. There are loads of options - flat, riser, butterfly, TT/bullhorn, North Road, randonneur, porteur, ape hanger, etc. Unless you are doing mass-start road racing (where drop bars have the advantage of not easily getting tangled with the bars of a rider next to you), experiment with different shapes based on what you think would be best for you.

genejockey 

There are several aspects of your fit that could be the issue, but the most obvious thing is the bar too far away, and/or too low. When you're on the saddle, your hands should fall naturally onto the hoods, and you should be able to ride there comfortably for mile after mile after mile. Set up like that, you should be able to ride in the drops comfortably for some distance. Maybe not mile after mile, but A mile, anyhow, while still pedaling. If not, if your hands naturally fall behind the hoods, on the ramps or the curve, the bar is too far away or too low.

How did you arrive at the current fit?

SJX426 

To answer your question, I don't. I started using them in my teens, 50 years later I still use them. I have tried others, like on my MTB but the position options are too limited. Drops give me the most choices not only for comfort but for need like climbing or accelerating or bucking the wind.
I recognize that others have different priorities and needs. No problem, I just enjoy the options drops give me. If I need to stretch, I just let go and stretch.
P1030755
on Flickr

icemilkcoffee 

Are your bars rotated so the hoods are either horizontal to the ground or pointing slightly up?


The older bikes had the bars rotated forward so the hoods are pointing down- very uncomfortable to be on the hoods.

genejockey 

Okay, while I was writing my comment you're running a 60mm stem and still not comfortable. It sounds like either your frame is too big, or you're sitting too far back, or some other fit problem. Now, you shouldn't move your saddle position JUST to fix reach to the bars, but for example when I first got a professional fit, on a bike that had been set up with the 10 minute bike store fit, he moved my saddle up and forward by 1 cm each. This not only made the bars an easier reach, but also improved my pedalling efficiency - I could spin higher cadences, and ride for hours and climb without any knee problems.

EDIT: regarding aging and all that, while everyone is different, I'd note that I'm 63 years old and so inflexible that if I try to touch my toes I can reach no further down than mid-calf. So, don't assume that you're just too old.

chaadster

I’d say one gives up on drops when they don’t fit the kind of riding they do. There is no magic to drop bars other than that they allow the rider to have both a higher and lower position. As you note, other bars have multiple hand hold positions as well, but drops are pretty unique in terms of offering a lower position.

I use both flat and drop bars, but do find flat bars more versatile across different riding conditions. Drops are the best for fast group road rides, though.

One of my favorite flat bar setups has inner bar ends by SQ Lab which allow me to bring my arms in, tuck my elbows, and make a smaller face to the wind, perfect for longer runs where I don’t need access to brakes or frequent shifting:



SQ Lab Inner Bar Ends

But yeah, there are so many bar designs and bar add-ons that any rider should be able to get exactly what they want. There is the matter of style, too, of course, but it’s your ride life and you gotta do you.

denaffen

Yes, this is a big part of what I'm dealing with... vintage-style drops. On my Nishiki, I gave up and put bullhorns. On the Bianchi, the swap to highway ones brought it more into line with the top image. Phenomenally more comfortable on the hoods, but I still don't find myself on the drops, pretty much ever.

Which brings me to the current bike, the trek, also sporting vintage-style drops. I can clock the bars up to be flatter and make riding the hoods pretty comfortable. But when I do so, the drops are now at a ~30 degree angle and don't seem particularly useful, even if I were inclined to use them.

I could install more modern drops, which I know I like more, but I still don't have any reason to believe I'd use the drops. I don't on the Bianchi.


I don't think this is a fit question. I've been pondering this across 3 bikes, using multiple bars and stems. I can get comfortable with the bars, but I can't seem to make the dropped position make sense to me.

denaffen

So, to maybe rephrase the initial question (given that I know I'm OK with at least some modern drops) -- if you have drop bars and you never use the drops, why have drop bars?

Flatforkcrown

Can we see a pic of the bike? How far below the saddle are the tops of the bars now?

Reflector Guy

And if I remember right, we were always told we were supposed to set up the bars with the straight part at the bottom of the drop parallel to the ground. Thus the hoods would be pointing down.... But I don't remember "on the hoods" even being considered a rideable position in those days. My first road bike had some sort of sharp aluminum brake levers and it would have been supremely uncomfortable to put my hands there.

Rolla

Same issues, similar background. Options I’ve tried:

Velo Orange Nuevo Randonneur: My favorite drop bar.
Jones Bend, Jones Loop: Comfortable, lots of hand positions, but I decided that bikes designed for drop bars feel weird with flat bars that have a lot of sweep. The “tiller effect” is off-putting.
Specialized Hover: Didn’t get to do more than a test ride, but they do raise the tops and the drops considerably. Lots of potential here, although I dislike the look.
Short stems, tall stems, short and tall stems: Kinda helped, but felt like I was either shrugging my shoulders or banging my knees when out of the saddle.
Just riding my 27.5” We The People Avenger BMX klunker: Still the most comfortable bike I own.
Ordering an All City Super Professional: We’ll find out when it comes in!

denaffen

Which one? I mean, again, this is multiple bikes, multiple bars, multiple stems.

70sSanO

Easy answer. Drop bars make you more aerodynamic so you work less, or go faster with the same effort. Even riding on the hoods is better than bar ends on mtb flat bars.

Most riders I see are on the hoods. I would guess some may never ride in the drops. A lot of modern bars give a higher riding position on the hoods.

Some people can ride in the drops and some can’t. Physique, flexibility, etc., and really bad fit can prevent people from getting down that low. I’m thankful I can still ride in them at my age. I’m dreading the day when I have to ride upright on a really windy day.

John

c_m_shooter

I always use drops unless I plan on a lot of jumps. It is all in the setup. You have to start with a frame sized correctly to fit you and work from there to a good usable position.

livedarklions

Riding the hoods is by far my favorite hand position as I can do that for a solid 100 miles or more straight. I use the drops from time to time, but if you don't like riding the hoods, I wouldn't see the point in using them.

Other than that, there's no reason that I can think of not to go with a style of bars you'd prefer other than you want to make your current crop of bikes work.

denaffen

Please, can we stop talking about frame size. Again, this isn't one bike. Multiple bikes. A variety of sizes. A variety of stems. A variety of bars. This isn't a case of me getting on one ill-fitting bike and making a sweeping proclamation.

rsbob 

What exactly are your issues? Shoulder, neck, hand, back pain? Hard to diagnose the problem without knowing how you are being effected.

I bought a new drop bar bike a year ago and got back into cycling with a vengeance. Developed neck and stabbing shoulder pain and ended up getting PT and finally a bike fit where the stem was too long. After a few months all pain is gone and am riding comfortably. So what are your issues?

Charliekeet

Maybe post pics of the bikes (plural) as they’re currently set up, and people could suggest changes or components that might make the drops more usable without ruining everything else.

zandoval 

Yep... I get it. There have been times I have tried riding bikes with straight bars and just could not do it. After ridding nothing but road bikes its has just been painful to go to anything but drop bars. And now today I use Bull Horns cause I'm to arthritic to get into the drops... Ha

My suggestion would be to sit back, close your eyes, and bring your arms to the comfortable position you would assume when ridding. Now open your eyes and look at the position of your hands. Now go find those bars.

I am getting ready to take my vintage drops off my old PR-10 and graft on some bull horn bars. I have been reluctant as it will certainly condemn the bike to the Franken status. But no... I am not reluctant any more. I have not ridden the bike and I want to. I am going to do what ever it takes to ride. So if your considering putting BMX bars or the like on your vintage bicycle so you can ride it, fine. Thing is to get out there and ride... Right?

icemilkcoffee 

After Shimano came out with brifters in '91, the hoods became the default riding position. With each generation of brifters, you can see the top of the brifter become more and more beefy and horizontal for better hand placement, and at the same time handlebars also evolved such that the hoods part and the drops part are now pretty much parallel:



So you can set the top of the hood to be parallel to the ground, and the drops will still be useable.