That's my point re drops. It seems the marketing guys have caught on and called it adventure bikes or gravel bikes. To me they're touring bikes or at most CX bikes. Mind you in my case it used to be 23mm or 25mm tyred road bikes as a kid. Although we called them sports bikes back then (wiemenn brakes that barely worked but that's another story).
Can I just make it clear I'm only in my 40s? I'm reminiscing like I'm a lot older.
Flat bar to drop bar?
Re: Flat bar to drop bar?
FWIW if you want to try dropped bars out properly even half an hour isn't really enough. If you can't get a longer ride then I think it makes sense to buy (or build) a dropped bar bike and then to convert it to flats if it really doesn't work, rather than to try and do it the other way round.
The reasons for this are that
a) the top tube length that is right for dropped bars is (excepting designs that are not very well thought-out) usually shorter than you might get with flat bars; you can always fit a longer stem if you convert from drops to flats but going the other way is often impossible.
b) flat bars, shifters etc are cheaper than dropped bars/shifters etc
c) you can always get flat bar controls to work 'road' mechs, brakes etc (although this is getting tricker with FDs these days) but going the other way is trickier.
The other thing is all this varies with how tall your other half is; IMHO if ~5' 6" or less, you want fattish tyres and dropped bars there is still much to be said for a bike with 26" (559) wheels. If you are keen you can build a 'mule' starting with an old steel framed MTB; this can be a very useful bike if you go about it in the right way. Again you need to choose one with a top tube that isn't too long, ideally. Maybe you could convert her extant bike, well enough to try drops out?
cheers
The reasons for this are that
a) the top tube length that is right for dropped bars is (excepting designs that are not very well thought-out) usually shorter than you might get with flat bars; you can always fit a longer stem if you convert from drops to flats but going the other way is often impossible.
b) flat bars, shifters etc are cheaper than dropped bars/shifters etc
c) you can always get flat bar controls to work 'road' mechs, brakes etc (although this is getting tricker with FDs these days) but going the other way is trickier.
The other thing is all this varies with how tall your other half is; IMHO if ~5' 6" or less, you want fattish tyres and dropped bars there is still much to be said for a bike with 26" (559) wheels. If you are keen you can build a 'mule' starting with an old steel framed MTB; this can be a very useful bike if you go about it in the right way. Again you need to choose one with a top tube that isn't too long, ideally. Maybe you could convert her extant bike, well enough to try drops out?
cheers
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Brucey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Brucey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Re: Flat bar to drop bar?
What Colin said. Try some. Preferably for more than just around a car park.
I rode mostly drop bar bikes until I bought a hybrid for touring in 1993. I still have and ride that bike, but I now tour (again) on drop bar bikes, and the primary reason is comfort.
I rode mostly drop bar bikes until I bought a hybrid for touring in 1993. I still have and ride that bike, but I now tour (again) on drop bar bikes, and the primary reason is comfort.
“In some ways, it is easier to be a dissident, for then one is without responsibility.”
― Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom
― Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom
Re: Flat bar to drop bar?
Tangled Metal wrote:..........It seems the marketing guys have caught on and....................
.
Oh - that lot - who remembers about 25ish years ago when we were told that we should have a short flat bit on the drops - and for a while it was difficult to get quality bars that didn't have that (ultimately agreed to be) ridiculous feature. During that period I built up a re-furbed bike, and had a bar-bending prang. I bought two pairs of the bars-with-flats-on and could never get them right. How many cyclists obeyed the marketing guys and believed that the bars-with-flats-on were what was absolutely necessary to be comfortable and efficient?
It took five or six years of our experience before the bars-with-flats-on became seen for what they were................and how many do you see around now?
I find what works for me and/or is comfy, and stick with it. For me, slavishly following fashion, and having the latest, has no credibility.
Re: Flat bar to drop bar?
I ride bikes with both straight and drop bars, I don't accept the usual arguments about aerodynamics and variety of hand positions, you can achieve both with either type. It comes down to whatever you prefer - within those categories as much as between them. It's taken me a few goes to find the drop bars I like and likewise the straight bars with bar ends. I'd prefer my favourite drop bars over my least favourite straights, or vice versa.
Don't underestimate the difficulty to differentiate between perception and reality, if it puts a smile on your face that's real enough. I really don't care if that's due to fashion or marketing, or something physical. I'm currently converting a bike back to drops having gone the other way a couple of years ago, I'm fairly confident the set ups were close to identical, yet simply preferred that bike with drops.
Try before you buy is great if you know what you're looking for and have the experience to make comparisons. I've an idea of my preferences and what won't work for me, so I can reject a lot of bikes before riding, that still leaves a lot of choice and I'm not sure how useful a test ride would be for me to make it. It takes me a long time to know if a bike is right, the new bike novelty has to have worn off and some trial and error experimentation to make sure I'm getting the best from it, months if not years. By the time I've made my mind up I've usually had my monies worth, I sold the least favourite bike I've owned for £500 less than I bought it for, after three years and 20,000 miles!
Hope you and your partner enjoy the research and retail, it shouldn't be any less enjoyable if it turns out to be part of the journey rather than the destination.
Don't underestimate the difficulty to differentiate between perception and reality, if it puts a smile on your face that's real enough. I really don't care if that's due to fashion or marketing, or something physical. I'm currently converting a bike back to drops having gone the other way a couple of years ago, I'm fairly confident the set ups were close to identical, yet simply preferred that bike with drops.
Try before you buy is great if you know what you're looking for and have the experience to make comparisons. I've an idea of my preferences and what won't work for me, so I can reject a lot of bikes before riding, that still leaves a lot of choice and I'm not sure how useful a test ride would be for me to make it. It takes me a long time to know if a bike is right, the new bike novelty has to have worn off and some trial and error experimentation to make sure I'm getting the best from it, months if not years. By the time I've made my mind up I've usually had my monies worth, I sold the least favourite bike I've owned for £500 less than I bought it for, after three years and 20,000 miles!
Hope you and your partner enjoy the research and retail, it shouldn't be any less enjoyable if it turns out to be part of the journey rather than the destination.