Australian Cycling Forums - Bicycles Network Australia

by **thejester** » Wed Mar 27, 2013 11:15 am

This argument is irrelevant when discussing pro's and con's of flat bars and drop bars and it is [mod=mikesbytes]bad language removed[/mod] me off that people keep crapping on with it.
For 5 years I rode a flatbar without bar ends with no issues for my hands, shoulders, elbows, wrists, fingers etc. Yes I changed my grips to ones with palm rests, but that was really upgraditis than necessity and did not increase the number of hand positions.
NOW, I have a drop bar bike and find myself shuffling all over the bars looking for comfort.. WAIT..FINISH READING... I am playing with the set up of the bike to get it perfect, using different stem lengths and angles and expect that eventually I will be perfectly happy with just the hoods and drops.
Really!!!...
I can accept "natural alignment of hands", and "compressing of shoulder blades due to wide bars", but "multiple hand positions" that just [mod=mikesbytes]Bad language removed[/mod] ME!!
Buy a EFF'N bike that fits.
Rant finished.. soapbox kicked back under bed.. sorry :oops:

by **BNA** » Wed Mar 27, 2013 11:22 am

by **human909** » Wed Mar 27, 2013 11:22 am

Enthusiastic rant!

I took like using multiple hand positions on my roadbike, it is great for comfort.

However on my mountain bike & my flat-bar commuter I never feel the need for multiple hand positions because my one hand position is comfortable and more so than anything a drop bar gives! A big factor is that you generally have more weight on your hands when using a drop bar!

It varies, but I am probably 50% drop bar, 50% flat bar usage at the moment. One of the perks of having a large number of bikes!

This morning I chose my road bike and SPD sandals! :mrgreen:

by **zero** » Wed Mar 27, 2013 11:24 am

I've no idea what you are talking about.

I have 3 hand positions on my roadbike.

Drops. Adjusting my sunnies, and holding the bidon :wink:

by **il padrone** » Wed Mar 27, 2013 11:29 am

I would agree with you, with a slight variation.

I believe that varying hand position becomes more of an issue when you are moving further forward in a crouched position, as more weight gets taken on your hands. If you are siting in an upright position it really does not matter.

I've ridden touring distances of 80-100km in a day on this bike, and been perfectly comfortable with just riding on the grips. You sit up, enjoy the view and there is no pressure on the palms at all.

I will be starting out with some riding on this bike in the next few days. Hopefully it will be easier on my recovering collar-bone.

by **thejester** » Wed Mar 27, 2013 11:32 am

Nice grips. Brooks?

by **il padrone** » Wed Mar 27, 2013 11:46 am

Yes, they are. Not cheap, but they'll last a very long time.

by **mikesbytes** » Wed Mar 27, 2013 12:16 pm

[mod]Bad language, even masked is not acceptable, this is a family forum. Think of smarter ways of communicating[/mod]

Edit: I've removed the slang from the title

by **RonK** » Wed Mar 27, 2013 2:30 pm

thejester wrote::evil:
This argument is irrelevant when discussing pro's and con's of flat bars and drop bars and it is [mod=mikesbytes]bad language removed[/mod] me off that people keep crapping on with it.
For 5 years I rode a flatbar without bar ends with no issues for my hands, shoulders, elbows, wrists, fingers etc. Yes I changed my grips to ones with palm rests, but that was really upgraditis than necessity and did not increase the number of hand positions.
NOW, I have a drop bar bike and find myself shuffling all over the bars looking for comfort.. WAIT..FINISH READING... I am playing with the set up of the bike to get it perfect, using different stem lengths and angles and expect that eventually I will be perfectly happy with just the hoods and drops.
Really!!!...
I can accept "natural alignment of hands", and "compressing of shoulder blades due to wide bars", but "multiple hand positions" that just [mod=mikesbytes]Bad language removed[/mod] ME!!
Buy a EFF'N bike that fits.
Rant finished.. soapbox kicked back under bed.. sorry

1,2...99,100 - change hands...

by **clackers** » Wed Mar 27, 2013 3:28 pm

Obviously the flat bar position is similar to riding on the tops, but on a drop bar I find the hoods with the V of the hands pointing forwarded to be a very natural (and unstrained) position.

by **Summernight** » Wed Mar 27, 2013 3:31 pm

clackers wrote:Obviously the flat bar position is similar to riding on the tops, but on a drop bar I find the hoods with the V of the hands pointing forwarded to be a very natural (and unstrained) position.

+1

by **sogood** » Wed Mar 27, 2013 3:56 pm

Ummm... If a person can get so driven to rant like this over a handlebar, no wonder there are so much discussions on the subject out there.

by **human909** » Wed Mar 27, 2013 4:51 pm

clackers wrote:Obviously the flat bar position is similar to riding on the tops

I think the point being made by many is that it isn't! Flat bar is significantly different from riding on the tops!

by **il padrone** » Wed Mar 27, 2013 4:59 pm

And a flat bar is quite a bit different to a North Road bar.

by **Philipthelam** » Wed Mar 27, 2013 6:46 pm

I think the issue here is not the type of handlebar but geometry of the bike.

by **warthog1** » Wed Mar 27, 2013 6:54 pm

Wack some clip on aerobars there. Surprisingly comfortable.

by **clackers** » Thu Mar 28, 2013 10:12 am

human909 wrote: Flat bar is significantly different from riding on the tops!

I don't find that, H909. Other than width, it's the same. And I ride dropbar, flatbar, and flatbar with bar ends.

by **kukamunga** » Thu Mar 28, 2013 5:12 pm

Good info here

I find with multiple, comfortable hand positions, I swear a lot less.....

by **Xplora** » Sat Mar 30, 2013 8:28 pm

You've got to have the bike sizing, fit and fitness/ability to cope with the positions that road bikes present. It's go down low and go go go, not sit down and shut up. Drop bars are comfortable for that particular style of riding. MTB geometry's idea of aggressive is laughable compared to the inhuman crit and TT geometries that many consider normal. I am under no illusion that it took a while for me to cope with big kms using drops... but the aero benefits are just too big for me to enjoy going back... but I like going faster than most MTB guys I guess :wink:

by **il padrone** » Sat Mar 30, 2013 10:05 pm

Xplora wrote:You've got to have the bike sizing, fit and fitness/ability to cope with the positions that road bikes present. It's go down low and go go go, not sit down and shut up. Drop bars are comfortable for that particular style of riding. MTB geometry's idea of aggressive is laughable compared to the inhuman crit and TT geometries that many consider normal. I am under no illusion that it took a while for me to cope with big kms using drops... but the aero benefits are just too big for me to enjoy going back... but I like going faster than most MTB guys I guess

Hmm..... Agressive, low position, aero, big kms, going faster.............. :?:

How does Perth-Sydney in 11 days sound?? Do a 1200km Audax out of Hopetoun, western Victorian Mallee, then ride home after it...... to Canberra??

Say g'day to Peter Heal's ride, the M5 carbon. Just the one hand position

by **Xplora** » Sat Mar 30, 2013 11:52 pm

If you've got perfect ergonomics, you won't need to move your hands but road bikes aren't like that, and you would definitely not be touring on a bike set up like Cadel's TT bike either. The more extreme positions ARE quicker, but not necessarily manageable for anything beyond race distances. The OP is complaining about the natural benefits of drops... but it sounds like he really isn't using the bike in such a way to necessitate drops...

by **Paddles** » Sun Mar 31, 2013 8:31 am

We use dirt drop bars (ragley luxy for mine and salsa woodchipper for wifey's) on our bike path bikes and tilt them upwards slightly so that you not only get a flat bar across the top, but you also get a nice comfy bullhorn position riding on the hoods and then a swept back drop position just for something different. The drop position is similar to the swept bars of il padrone's but slightly lower/wider. We do find however that we do nearly all our riding on the hoods as it's just so comfy, but we don't do high km rides either.

by **Lurkin** » Sun Mar 31, 2013 4:09 pm

Fizik bar gel.

Goodbye expensive gloves, wriggling for postion.

Win.

by **AndrewBurns** » Sun Mar 31, 2013 4:24 pm

thejester wrote::evil:
This argument is irrelevant when discussing pro's and con's of flat bars and drop bars and it is [mod=mikesbytes]bad language removed[/mod] me off that people keep crapping on with it.
For 5 years I rode a flatbar without bar ends with no issues for my hands, shoulders, elbows, wrists, fingers etc. Yes I changed my grips to ones with palm rests, but that was really upgraditis than necessity and did not increase the number of hand positions.
NOW, I have a drop bar bike and find myself shuffling all over the bars looking for comfort.. WAIT..FINISH READING... I am playing with the set up of the bike to get it perfect, using different stem lengths and angles and expect that eventually I will be perfectly happy with just the hoods and drops.
Really!!!...
I can accept "natural alignment of hands", and "compressing of shoulder blades due to wide bars", but "multiple hand positions" that just [mod=mikesbytes]Bad language removed[/mod] ME!!
Buy a EFF'N bike that fits.
Rant finished.. soapbox kicked back under bed.. sorry

I find my drop bar bikes extremely comfortable, so there? Your argument doesn't follow any logical structure and you present a sample size of 1, at least you're honest about calling it a rant but ranting is generally what irrational people do and certainly nobody is going to change opinions with one.