Drop Bar Pain

RobK

I brought my self a road bike and just could not get on with drop bars even after trying a shorter stem,brake spacers etc so I was going to sell the bike then I found a old mtb handle bar in the garage and tryed it on and had a little roll about down the street and it was much better So I sold the drops,shifters and brakes on eBay and brought riser bars and new shifters and have been using it for my 17 mile (each way) commute. I feel much more comfortable and more in control, just need to fit the hydraulics and bar ends now.

scoobaru11

♠ChumBucket♠ wrote:

Personally I think a flat bar with bar-ends make for much more comfort & stability.

It seems to me that for the amount of time that most people spend on the drops it's not worth them being there in the first place, yet, they seem to be the biggest factor in "proper road bike" waffle!! I find them useless if I'm being honest, with the only benefit being a tiny amount of aero gain & even this is then countered to a certain degree with comfort issues. I think a much better bar could be developed to the traditional shape.

Couldn't agree more but...
After shortening the stem and fitting a new saddle the bike was so much more cofortable to ride. I've done over 100 miles this week and even though I'm still finding the drops a bit of a challenge I'm making progress.
How anyone thinks Drops are better than flats for stability or comfort beats me. Will carry on persevering for a while longer but I already have a nice Ritchy Carbon Bar sitting in the garage

As an experiment it would be interesting to compare times with Flats and Drops to see if I really do gain or lose anything.

andrewjoseph

but do you have the shifters and brakes to go with the flat bar?

scoobaru11

Not 10 speed shifters but they're not difficult to find. Will keep my eyes peeled on ebay for some bargains

♠ChumBucket♠

I'm slightly baffled as to why this thread has been moved from "road beginners" to "training, fitness & health"?? :?

scoobaru11

♠ChumBucket♠ wrote:

I'm slightly baffled as to why this thread has been moved from "road general" to "training, fitness & health"?? :?

Havnt a clue.
Back on topic did another 40 today and I think I'll stick with the drops and put the carbon bars on my MTB instead.
Although the jury is still out on Drops vs Flats I'm finding things a lot better. Whether its confidence or adapting
either way its feeling so much better :-)

mattsccm

Not a joint issue is it?
My hands kill me nowadays yet gradually my position has eased over 35 years. Arthritis my doc says.

indjke

Mikey41 wrote:

if it's all set up correctly then you should not find it overly uncomfortable.

I'd said "if it's all set up really correctly you should find it very comfortable"