Would a road bike suit me better?

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Comments

  • gcwebbyuk
    gcwebbyuk Posts: 1,926
    I tried out a couple of bikes and did notice a big difference in effort needed just to move forward compared to my MTB.

    The riding position was uncomfortable though. Some of this may be because I tend to slump forward onto the bars due to poor core strength. I also have a disc at the base of my spine (l5/s1) that may need to be replaced at some point due to degeneration.

    We came to the conclusion that I purchase a turbo trainer for the winter to continue excersising and work on my core through pilates. I can revisit the road bike idea in the spring when my core and other muscles have improved.

    Thanks for all the info. It looks like next year I will potentially be buying a road bike...
    StumpJumper HT

    Canyon Endurace CF8.0

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  • imposter2.0
    imposter2.0 Posts: 12,028
    apreading wrote:
    Imposter wrote:
    Bizarre. A flat bar (let's be kind and say it has bar ends fitted) may give you two hand positions. Even without using the drops themselves, I can think of five or six different hand positions which I can use on drop bars. I can only assume you are not counting them properly.

    I can count 4 hand positions that I use on my flar bars with bar ends - it is you that is not counting properly.

    So still less than a set of drops then? Anyway, I'm talking about 'actual' hand positions - not subtle variations. If we're counting slight adjustments to each primary position, then road drops would probably give you about 956 different positions...
  • zak3737
    zak3737 Posts: 370
    Imposter wrote:
    apreading wrote:
    Imposter wrote:
    Bizarre. A flat bar (let's be kind and say it has bar ends fitted) may give you two hand positions. Even without using the drops themselves, I can think of five or six different hand positions which I can use on drop bars. I can only assume you are not counting them properly.

    I can count 4 hand positions that I use on my flar bars with bar ends - it is you that is not counting properly.

    So still less than a set of drops then? Anyway, I'm talking about 'actual' hand positions - not subtle variations. If we're counting slight adjustments to each primary position, then road drops would probably give you about 956 different positions...

    You need to listen to yourself........
  • imposter2.0
    imposter2.0 Posts: 12,028
    Zak3737 wrote:
    You need to listen to yourself........

    You need to listen to everyone else..
  • apreading
    apreading Posts: 4,535
    Imposter wrote:
    apreading wrote:
    Imposter wrote:
    Bizarre. A flat bar (let's be kind and say it has bar ends fitted) may give you two hand positions. Even without using the drops themselves, I can think of five or six different hand positions which I can use on drop bars. I can only assume you are not counting them properly.

    I can count 4 hand positions that I use on my flar bars with bar ends - it is you that is not counting properly.

    Anyway, I'm talking about 'actual' hand positions - not subtle variations.

    Me too.

    I havent quoted the rest of your post because it is just bo****ks, trying to misrepresent reality to serve your argument.
  • imposter2.0
    imposter2.0 Posts: 12,028
    Look - if you're happy ridinig distance on flat bars, then great. Switching between your four hand positions obviously gives you plenty to do as the miles go by...
  • blackpoolkev
    blackpoolkev Posts: 474
    apreading wrote:
    blackpoolkev wrote:
    I used to ride a flat bar road bike, I loved that bike, it was comfortable,quick and good in traffic (upright positions offer a better view ahead and easier for rear observation - with your neck problems, that may be relevant).
    But (there's always a 'but') longer (30+ miles) rides would leave me aching. Only having one position on the bike stiffened me up and specifically gave me mainly hand and arm ache. I tried bar ends and ergonomic grips but they only offered limited relief.

    This again - if you couldnt do 30 mile rides without aching then the bike either did not fit or was not set up right for you. This is a tiny distance and aching over that is not down to the type of bike but to having your body in a position that it is not comfortable with. Thats why the bar ends didnt help, because there was a fundamental problem with your position.

    Allow me to elaborate - I think that riding with a horizontal wrist position(flat bar) is unnatural, it tends to push the elbows out and strains arms and subsequently shoulders and neck. Riding drop handlebar bikes turns the wrists to a vertical position which (in my experience) is more comfortable. Bar ends only offer relief when you're not covering the brakes.
    How many long distance riders prefer flat bar?
  • zak3737
    zak3737 Posts: 370
    There are clearly those that wont ever concede, that for some, straight bars can be equally comfortable, perhaps as this is posted on the Road section of a cycling forum.

    Interestingly, I've had more numbness in my hands and wrists from riding drp bars on my Roubaix, than I think I ever had on MTB riser bars, and that includes some loooong rides, and all day efforts in the Alps.

    Maybe its cos i'm a few years older, I dunno, and although I'm enjoying the Road cycling, I know which Bars I 'prefer' to have hold of.
  • apreading
    apreading Posts: 4,535
    blackpoolkev wrote:
    apreading wrote:
    blackpoolkev wrote:
    I used to ride a flat bar road bike, I loved that bike, it was comfortable,quick and good in traffic (upright positions offer a better view ahead and easier for rear observation - with your neck problems, that may be relevant).
    But (there's always a 'but') longer (30+ miles) rides would leave me aching. Only having one position on the bike stiffened me up and specifically gave me mainly hand and arm ache. I tried bar ends and ergonomic grips but they only offered limited relief.

    This again - if you couldnt do 30 mile rides without aching then the bike either did not fit or was not set up right for you. This is a tiny distance and aching over that is not down to the type of bike but to having your body in a position that it is not comfortable with. Thats why the bar ends didnt help, because there was a fundamental problem with your position.

    Allow me to elaborate - I think that riding with a horizontal wrist position(flat bar) is unnatural, it tends to push the elbows out and strains arms and subsequently shoulders and neck. Riding drop handlebar bikes turns the wrists to a vertical position which (in my experience) is more comfortable. Bar ends only offer relief when you're not covering the brakes.
    How many long distance riders prefer flat bar?

    Again - 30 miles is not 'long distance'. If you cant ride that far without aches then something more funamental is seriously wrong with either your body or the bike fit/setup. Sounds like it was the bike setup if your switch to another bike fixed it.

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