Should the lever hoods be horizontal?

over-the-hill

I had a scary moment at 30 + mph today cycling down a bumpy hill with traffic and the handlebars started rotating in the stem. I pulled in only to find all 4 bolts were lose on a brand new Wilier.

I pulled in, tightened them up and realised the hoods were now slightly sloping back but it felt much more comfortable. The downside being that in the drops it is now almost impossible to reach the change down button with my thumb.

With the bolts being lose the hoods could have slowly become sloping forward slightly without me realising it. Before this happened I was resting the palm of my hand on the bars just behind the hoods now I rest them on the hoods. Does anyone else have their hoods sloping back slightly?

homercles

The hoods on my bike slope back ever so slightly. Was all fitted and professionally set up so although I don't know if this is standard, it's the way I've got used to riding it.

PhilofCas

nope, completely level, can ride on hoods, on drops, pull brakes, change up/down gears, lovely

ddraver

loosen them up and try them in differnet posistions and choose the best one - we re all different - only ever use the suggested positions as guides

Isnt this what everyone does?

hodsgod

I measured mine after setting the bike up so it was comfortable for me. I have mine 2 degrees higher than flat. It means I can set it up anytime I want to the same position. I know it's a pain in th earse but I did that for all adjustable dimensions.

andrewgturnbull

hodsgod wrote:

I measured mine after setting the bike up so it was comfortable for me. I have mine 2 degrees higher than flat. It means I can set it up anytime I want to the same position. I know it's a pain in th earse but I did that for all adjustable dimensions.

How do you measure the two degrees so accurately?

I usually just line them up till they look about right, then get out a spirit level to make sure the left and right one are at the same height.

Cheers, Andy

Monowai

whatever you decide - just make sure those stem bolts are tightened properly, or you may be eating tyre next time...;) I had a similar experience recently and now i regularly check the bolts before i ride. It is easy to forget this kind of thing, but it can have nasty condequences...

John C.

by higher do you mean the front higher than the back, if so the bottom of the bars must be at quite an angle. I like my bars front down a bit to give a flatter angle on the drops, it also means that on the hoods my hands are in a straighter line with my arms. I suppose it's all down to personal taste in the end.

ColinJ

I've just linked to this picture in a discussion about flipping stems to gain handlebar height and I've just noticed that Landis went for the tilted back hoods too. This could well be because he had a dodgy hip and was trying to reduce the amount of bending that he had to do.

richardjallen

ColinJ wrote:

I've just linked to this picture in a discussion about flipping stems to gain handlebar height and I've just noticed that Landis went for the tilted back hoods too. This could well be because he had a dodgy hip and was trying to reduce the amount of bending that he had to do.

Are those hoods tilted back? Slightly perhaps, otherwise almost flat. I had mine flat last year and they were comfortable on the hoods but not on the drops. My bars have a similar curve as those in the photo. I rotated my bar down so the curve is flatter (as John C said) and comfortable on the drops but now the hoods are not comfortable. I suggest flat for comfortable hoods.

always_tyred

Bike positioning is personal.

Within reason, there is no right or wrong.

If batwing levers work for you, go with it. You may find that you re-adjust naturally. In the mean time, there's no sense in having a sore neck for the sake of how your bike looks when no one is riding it.

I have a fair saddle to bar drop, but I have my levers pointing slightly upward. I find it just suits how I hold the levers. I also rarely use the drops. When I want to put the hammer down, I rest my arms on the bar tops - my forearms are flat, I can reach the brakes and I'm no more or less aero than when on the drops. I've got a strong upper body (a rower) and I'll bet that some other cyclists just think "ouch". Its all personal.

ColinJ

richardjallen wrote:

ColinJ wrote:

I've just linked to this picture in a discussion about flipping stems to gain handlebar height and I've just noticed that Landis went for the tilted back hoods too. This could well be because he had a dodgy hip and was trying to reduce the amount of bending that he had to do.

Are those hoods tilted back? Slightly perhaps, otherwise almost flat.

They are. When they aren't tilted, the levers point straight down towards the ground (okay, the levers aren't straight but you know what I mean!).

I have my bikes set up like that. It is just enough to take the pressure off my wrists, which otherwise tend to suffer on long rides.

redddraggon

ColinJ wrote:

When they aren't tilted, the levers point straight down towards the ground (okay, the levers aren't straight but you know what I mean!).

Mine don't go straight down

andrewgturnbull

Yeahbut.

You've got yours mounted way-high on the bars, then have tilted your bars quite far forwards (old-school).

I like the bar tops horizontal so that I can rest my wrists there while grasping the (slightly tilted back) hoods in my fists. Shimano are better for this, as they have much bigger hoods.

Which is pretty much why I (shock horror) gave away my ergos and went for DA instead.

Cheers, Andy

redddraggon

andrewgturnbull wrote:

You've got yours mounted way-high on the bars, then have tilted your bars quite far forwards (old-school).

Huh? Do you mean mine?

redddraggon

andrewgturnbull wrote:

I like the bar tops horizontal so that I can rest my wrists there while grasping the (slightly tilted back) hoods in my fists. Shimano are better for this, as they have much bigger hoods.

I use that position a lot myself on the shimano bike, I find it more comfortable than the "normal" hoods hold, my thumb wants to be where the shift cable is.

over-the-hill

ColinJ wrote:

richardjallen wrote:

ColinJ wrote:

I've just linked to this picture in a discussion about flipping stems to gain handlebar height and I've just noticed that Landis went for the tilted back hoods too. This could well be because he had a dodgy hip and was trying to reduce the amount of bending that he had to do.

Are those hoods tilted back? Slightly perhaps, otherwise almost flat.

They are. When they aren't tilted, the levers point straight down towards the ground (okay, the levers aren't straight but you know what I mean!).

I have my bikes set up like that. It is just enough to take the pressure off my wrists, which otherwise tend to suffer on long rides.

These are about how mine were. I've put them more horizontal again so the drops are more usable, but they are not as comfortable. My stem is 115 so I may try shorter.