At what point do you give up on drop bars?
09-01-21, 02:03 PM
#126
Junior Member
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.
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.
what’s changed for me? Pretty much everything. My current road race bikes are designed to have bars higher (and with less reach). Modern bars have a bit larger diameter which i find much more comfortable than old school skinny bars. Saddles are better designed for riding on the drops—i use specialized power saddles. Even bar wrap has gotten better. Finally, i’ve put a set of “hover bars” on my oldest road bike and flipped the stem to give it a bit more rise.
i can routinely ride 1 hr+ on the drops. Not saying everyone should ride on the drops that much, but that’s what works for me. Again, i haven’t always been able to ride that much on the drops, but it is possible to ride comfortably on the drops.
11-03-21, 11:27 AM
#127
Full Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2020
Posts: 288
Bikes: Bianchi Nyala, Bianchi Volpe, Bianchi Campione D'Italia, Trek 640, Luxus folding bike, Schwinn Speedster, Bianchi Torino, KHS Aero Sport, probably something else around here somewhere
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 117 Post(s)
Liked 198 Times
in
100 Posts
So, to revisit this, on the most recent bike I'm trying out some porteur bars. Let's see how that goes. If I don't like them, though, I'll retry either Soma Highway 1s or Nitto Noodles.
