Straight or Drop Bars

General cycling advice ( NOT technical ! )
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foxyrider
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Re: Straight or Drop Bars

Post by foxyrider »

ouch that saddle!

Mirror - something like this should work http://www.jejamescycles.co.uk/vavert-v ... 79373.html , its attached by velcro but is held in place by a shaped 'splint'.
Convention? what's that then?
Airnimal Chameleon touring, Orbit Pro hack, Orbit Photon audax, Focus Mares AX tour, Peugeot Carbon sportive, Owen Blower vintage race - all running Tulio's finest!
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531colin
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Re: Straight or Drop Bars

Post by 531colin »

yostumpy wrote:.............. Some folks (with drops) sit further forward, with a shorter stem, and ride on the hoods all the time, and rarely use the tops , as its too close. Others slide the saddle back a bit with a longer stem, and ride on the tops/ramps, and only use the hood for braking and 'out of the saddle climbing' . I am the latter, why? Prob because I put so may miles n on a flat bar / long cockpit bike, that feels right to me. I read somewhere that to see if the pos it right for you, find an inclne, ride up at a steady pace, but fast enough that you can remove your hands from the bars. Whilst pedaling, and your arms by your side , your position should vary little when you resume your hand position, IE YOU LEAN INTO THE BIKE , but balanced in a forward position, with c of g and stomach muscles doing the work, with little weight on your arms. ..................


I absolutely agree with your "incline test". Another version is that when lazing along on the flat, the weight you put on the bars should be little enough to be supported by one finger.
Try this little test......stand with your feet one a bit in front of the other (hint....on a bike, your feet are about 2 crank lengths apart)
Now reach forward to grasp an imaginary handlebar, and feel the weight come onto your front foot. This might correspond to your riding position I have highlighted in red....OK perhaps for a short time trial, when you are pushing hard all the time, and the pushing supports your torso, but I wouldn't want to do it all day.
Next, bend your knees a bit, and stick your bum out the back, still leaning forward to grasp that imaginary handlebar, and the weight is distributed between both feet. This is a balanced "all day" position, and it allows you to "ride" the bike over bumps by un-weighting first one wheel then the other....the bike makes like a rocking horse, while you float over it, sharing your weight between bum, feet and hands.
My saddle position for a balanced posture corresponds to KOPS (another can of worms) and I set my stem length so that the hoods are my usual position....possibly because I use drops on roughstuff.
On another thread, http://forum.ctc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=91884&start=30"Freeflow" gives us details of his journey to find comfort....good stuff!
reohn2
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Re: Straight or Drop Bars

Post by reohn2 »

Bicycler wrote:
hondated wrote:Thanks again everybody. Just like Roberts8 my bike was built by Roberts for me with drops so I am a bit loathe to fit other bars.Because I have always felt stretched out on it I have fitted a shorter stem but it still seems too stretched out for me. I am now wondering whether I should ditch the B17 saddle as, as you all probably know, there is not a great lot of forward and back adjustment on them.

I've no idea where this recent idea of setting reach by moving the saddle has come from but I think it's a bad idea. I'm a great believer in setting the saddle in relation to the pedals rather than the bars. There are various ways of shortening reach which should be explored. There's a large choice of stem lengths with different amounts of rise and also a good range of compact drop bars to allow for shorter reach to the hoods and the drops. When all options have been explored and the only option left is to compromise optimal saddle position in order to bring yourself closer to the bars then IMO that would be time to accept that the bike will never be properly right for you (with drops).


+1
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Dave W
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Re: Straight or Drop Bars

Post by Dave W »

LowPlainsDrifter wrote:I cant stand drops and thats what on my Sadar. I don't find them comfortable no matter what hight or position I have them (using the drops). So much so I started using my Falcon Hylander hybrid instead as its more comfy.
I going to put some sort of semi straights on my Sadar when I get round to it and decide which ones.



I can't get on with 'normal' drops at all. I have a stiff back and tennis elbow. Every new bike I try feels far too stretched out for me and the bars feel too narrow. I've settled on a short (8cm) stem and On One Midge Bars. I love them, loads of width, flared drops and I can still get into a fairly aero position without any strain.
I still can't understand this theory of moving the saddle back to take weight off your arms - for me it stretches me out and induces neck and shoulder ache. I would be inclined to set the saddle at KOPS and work with the stem length - I don't know much, only what works for me.
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531colin
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Re: Straight or Drop Bars

Post by 531colin »

Dave W wrote:..............
I still can't understand this theory of moving the saddle back to take weight off your arms - for me it stretches me out and induces neck and shoulder ache. I would be inclined to set the saddle at KOPS and work with the stem length - I don't know much, only what works for me.


Setting the saddle at KOPS and working on the stem length works for me too....its exactly what I do.

When you are riding your bike with the saddle at KOPS, just idling along on the flat, with your hands wherever they "normally" are, I would expect you to have relatively little weight on your hands.....such that you can support it on one finger, for example. If you now shift forwards or back in the saddle, do you get more or less weight on your hands?
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fatmac
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Re: Straight or Drop Bars

Post by fatmac »

After a quick read through this thread I am seeing the phallacy of only having one position for your hands if you ride straights, that is totally wrong, I use at least 4 different positions on my straights, to help from getting fatigued; & I could place them in another 2 positions, & that without using bar ends, which would add another 3 positions.

You set the saddle position up first, so as to get the most efficient pedalling action, & then you set up the reach to & height of the handlebars to suit you.
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mjr
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Re: Straight or Drop Bars

Post by mjr »

hondated wrote:Thanks everyone I think I will dig out the butterfly bars and have another go with them. When I tried them before at 57cm they felt wide but I definitely sat up straighter.

So get narrower ones? Or try another shape, such as Porteur or North Road bars? Straights and Drops are not the only fruits.
MJR, mostly pedalling 3-speed roadsters. KL+West Norfolk BUG incl social easy rides http://www.klwnbug.co.uk
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Dave W
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Re: Straight or Drop Bars

Post by Dave W »

Might have been already mentioned but you won't be able to use drops properly anyway without changing the brake levers?
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mjr
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Re: Straight or Drop Bars

Post by mjr »

Dave W wrote:Might have been already mentioned but you won't be able to use drops properly anyway without changing the brake levers?

There are a few 22.2mm drops available (Soma Lauterwasser for example, I think) but yes, watch out for that.
MJR, mostly pedalling 3-speed roadsters. KL+West Norfolk BUG incl social easy rides http://www.klwnbug.co.uk
All the above is CC-By-SA and no other implied copyright license to Cycle magazine.
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