Cycling UK Forum

I've come to the conclusion that I've gone about as far as I can with my Hybrid and I'm considering going up a gear and buying a fully paid up road bike.

What bothers me about the change is my back. I fell down some garden steps a few years ago and trapped a nerve in my spine and I still suffer with it if I'm not very careful with lifting things etc. I'm wondering about the change to drop handlebars. Does that riding position put more or less strain on the lower back? Is it difficult to get used to?

Does it not also put a strain on your neck as you are looking up all the time?

You do not have to ride on the drops all the time. Drop handlebars offer an enormous number of hand positions. You can ride on the lever hoods, hands on the tops behind the levers, or in the centre of the bars etc

Beware the term "road bike". The modern "road" bike will give you handlebars very much lower with respect to the saddle than you are likely to want unless you are a first category racer. It will have a gear range to suit that riding style, which possibly does not suit you. The "road" bike will have no facility for mudguards or luggage. Ok, it might be lighter but that is no substitute for practicality. It would not be sensible to ride a steeple racing horse on a hack to the local stables for example, nor would it be practical to drive an F1 racing car to work.

Depending on your riding aspirations, may I suggest you look at lightweight touring which have bee the mainsteam of CTC membership all along. These days they are likely to be called Audax bikes to distinguish them from "road" bikes. Marketeers love their little niches to make you think you need a different bike - the hybrid niche was created/named probably 15 years ago. The Audax machine will have the facilities to fit mudguards, carriers etc. Gearing lis likely to be more suitable, and it is likely to be a more pratical machine whilst only a little heavier than the equivalent "road" bike.

Dai
just to add what Tatanab has said the Audax or light tourer would also have provision for a wider tyre range too something that will add to comfort.Also you don't have to be in a head down riding position, with a different stem the bars can be brought up to a more comfortable position.

A note on bad backs, if anything did my back good (with which I'd suffered with for years through abuse and hard labour) was Yoga a most excellent sysyem of exercise you wouln't believe the difference and thats not just for bad backs but for general health.

So R2,

You're not only related to R2D2 and C3PO, but that bear from Jellystone Park!

Regards, and love to Wigan as well!

Mick F. Cornwall

Dats ok if you've got a pannier for your picanic basket BooBoo!

Thanks R2 - Sadly there's no yoga class locally but I do do some yoga style strtechs that my physio showed me - they help a lot.

As for the bike - when I said 'road' bike I meant something along the lines of a Galaxy; perhaps 'tourer' would have been a better descriotion.
I've just been chatting to a dealer who says he will let me have one for a day to try out - presume I'll have to leave him my watch or my wife as a deposit.

I have a pretty bad lower back and actually find that the more stretched position of drops helps. It seems to stretch out the lower back and transfers some of the weight to your arms (the seat also needs to be tilted slightly down at the front compared to on a hybrid).

If you're really worried, I've noticed quite a few bikes fitted with in-line brake levers on the tops these days, a design that seems to come from cyclo-cross. I don't know how good they are, but might make the more upright position of riding on the tops more of an option when you need hands near the brakes, such as in traffic.

There is an earlier thread on so called "suicide levers"

http://www.ctcforum.org.uk/SearchView.aspx?bcid=5&id=27976

Cycling with dropped handlebars, in any position, caused me to have pain and numbnass in my right hand & arm some years ago. It was diagnosed as a trapped nerve in my neck and the cure was to stop riding leaning forward. I can ride on upright bikes reasonably well but the real solution was to get a recumbent. My ICE Trice Explorer is a real delight for longer rides as one can get off after all day riding without any soreness or aches and pains. However, the riding position makes for slow going uphill - I daresay that if the 'engine' were newer, lighter and more powerful it would do better.

I keep on making the point that it is a common myth that drop handlebars are lower than straight bars. The position of drops is determined by the length (i.e. height) of the stem. Racing bikes have lower drops (relative to the saddle) for a more athletic position. My daughter's bike is just about to get its new stem to bring her drops exactly where she wants them - nice and high.

Any backers on this please??

GeorgeRedgrave wrote:Cycling with dropped handlebars, in any position, caused me to have pain and numbnass in my right hand & arm some years ago. It was diagnosed as a trapped nerve in my neck and the cure was to stop riding leaning forward. I can ride on upright bikes reasonably well but the real solution was to get a recumbent. My ICE Trice Explorer is a real delight for longer rides as one can get off after all day riding without any soreness or aches and pains. However, the riding position makes for slow going uphill - I daresay that if the 'engine' were newer, lighter and more powerful it would do better.

Well done George ........
Very good point it just shows that recumbents allow you
to go that extra mile without looking like a "Wildwest Cowboy" at the end
of a nice days ride .
Go on George tell us how old the engine is ?

I have just bought a Revolution Country, which is really the Dawes Horizon only slightly cheaper, made by a bike shop in Edinburgh that has its own brand. I bought it after using a very upright bike for years, most recently a Gazelle Impala which is a beautiful machine but quite heavy, especially on the steep hills in Edinburgh. I had always gone for the very upright position because of lower back pain.

Anyway, my main point is that the lower riding position does not put strain on my lower back and the variety of positions available, as others have said, mean you can keep it fluid, which helps.

Do not confuse the Cyclo-cross levers withthe old Weinmann type. There is a distinct difference between the old fashioned "suicide levers" and the modern Cross levers.

The new style are actually part of the cable run and are very efficient (almost as efficient as the main brakes, and do not affect the function of the main braking system either.
http://www.on-one.co.uk/index.php?modul ... PAGE_id=76
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ProductDetail.a ... &cat=cycle

I have levers on the bars of my road bike as well as the usual combined brake/gear levers. They work well and have so far always slowed or stopped the bike as required.

I have some of the older ones on an old Peugeot, which don't work nearly so well.

When i was young and fit i used to ride a road bike with very vey low handlebars (ie stem and riser) , it could get quite uncomfortable. On long rides. I got some tri athlon bars (for going faster), but found out that the new position allowed me to go longer as it would take the weight of my arms and back for a bit.

Moral of the story is , get a front rig that allows you as many different positions as possible.

Get an adjustable stem (they are great).

Look at fancy new handlebars. Theres some new shapes around now.