drops ( handle bars) does anyone still use them??

[Herbsman.]

Also, I feel way more secure on the drops than on the aero bars on my bike (similar set-up to the first picture above). The aero bars are awesome, unless the road becomes filthy-bumpy. And then it's onto the drops

But I haven't yet gone over 40mph on the drops (38 / 39mph?), on the aero bars I've nearly hit 42 And the hoods... I can't get anywhere near as low.

Maybe I don't understand how

It's because you're a bell

lowness =/= aerodynamicity all the time

 

[durruti02]

as i say then why do timetriallists not use drops ( generally ) ??

btw graham obree has a new bike .. its beautiful and he's going for the record again

for UCI with drops http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/graeme-obree-bidding-for-hour-record-again-21712
without for himself http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/first-look-graeme-obrees-amazing-bicycle-21811 ( btw hope he is well again )

 

[cybertect]

btw graham obree has a new bike .. its beautiful and he's going for the record again

Obree is a very singular individual. I keep meaning to read his book.

 

[durruti02]

... And the hoods... I can't get anywhere near as low. ..

Maybe I don't understand how [/QUOTE

rotate the bars forward/downwards so the hoods are as low and as far forward as they can be .. so the top of mine, which should be flat i.e. at 90o, is sloping down at 140o or thereabouts and the end of the drops which should again be flat is pointing upwards! so when i'm on the hoods i am further forward than in the drops though slightly higher and much more in control

 

[cybertect]

as i say then why do timetriallists not use drops ( generally ) ??

Better aerodynamics, but not so hot for controlling a bike in a pack (vs road racing) and trials are usually shorter than road races, so longer distance comfort is less of an issue.

 

[durruti02]

Obree is a very singular individual. I keep meaning to read his book.

yes do .. but with kimages book helped put me off pro and race and record cycling as a 'sport' . he was not a happy man and the obsesson is disconcerting though his determination and individuality do inspire equally

 

[durruti02]

Better aerodynamics, but not so hot for controlling a bike in a pack (vs road racing) and trials are usually shorter than road races, so longer distance comfort is less of an issue.

ah ha! so i don't do more than 40-50 miles and don't pack cycle .. is this why drops seem fo no use to me?

 

[Herbsman.]

ah ha! so i don't do more than 40-50 miles and don't pack cycle .. is this why drops seem fo no use to me?

It's because you're not a REAL cyclist

I bet you don't even have a carbon fibre frame

 

[durruti02]

It's because you're not a REAL cyclist

I bet you don't even have a carbon fibre frame

he he that must be it!! p.s. i have carbon fibre forks! does that mean i partly a real cyclist?

 

[nick h.]

I'm not sure we're comparing eggs with eggs. If you want to ride efficiently with minimal drag all you have to do is get low - it doesn't much matter how. Sounds like Durruti's done it by rotating his bars. Any bike with drops can be set up so they're within easy reach, but not many are. Most people seem to ride on the hoods these days because the modern Shimano ones are so comfy. Hence lots of bike shops set bikes up with this in mind, putting the drops out of reach. Twenty years ago brake levers tended to be further forward, like Durruti's.

But none of this matters much unless you care about speed. It's handy even on short urban hops if you're the type who likes to race all the other cyclists. And it's extra handy when touring. If you can go 100 miles on the drops with the same effort and in the same time that you would go 80 miles on the hoods it gives you more options.

 

[durruti02]

he he ok i did a 25 miler this afternoon ( lovely ) ..and deliberately used the drops loads AND was very areodynamic concious!! so ..

-- i am only marginally lower in the curve of the drops than on the hood
-- you have to come up and down to click the STI ( STI is clearly designed for hood riding)
-- i feel very unsteady holding the ends of the drops
-- you are looking at the ground all the time if you don't want a cricked neck
-- BUT ok yes it does give variety and there were times at speed where yes it has a value

also forgot to say the other thing a do with my hoods is curve them inwards so again more like mini aero bars!

( btw the point of bringing up obree was his first record attempts were with inverted/upside down handle bars ( like we did at school!) and crouched low within that )

 

[cybertect]

-- i feel very unsteady holding the ends of the drops

The very ends?

I usually hold the lower portion of the curve, below the levers. Holding the plugged end of the bar would be unsteady as your weight is projecting forward and you'd have to hold yourself back with your arms. If you grasp a little further forward you have more control.

 

[durruti02]

The very ends?

I usually hold the lower portion of the curve, below the levers. Holding the plugged end of the bar would be unsteady as your weight is projecting forward and you'd have to hold yourself back with your arms. If you grasp a little further forward you have more control.

ok yes you're right, so whats the point of the ends then?

 

[weepiper]

ok yes you're right, so whats the point of the ends then?

you can fit these in them?

 

[Boycey]

or these

 

[Sigmund Fraud]

-- you have to come up and down to click the STI ( STI is clearly designed for hood riding)
-- i feel very unsteady holding the ends of the drops
-- you are looking at the ground all the time if you don't want a cricked neck
-- BUT ok yes it does give variety and there were times at speed where yes it has a value

also forgot to say the other thing a do with my hoods is curve them inwards so again more like mini aero bars!

( btw the point of bringing up obree was his first record attempts were with inverted/upside down handle bars ( like we did at school!) and crouched low within that )

-you should be able to setup STIs to work from the drops - if you couldn't roughly 50% of pro teams wouldn't be able to compete. The Campag / SRAM design is generally better though for shifting from the drops
-you're not used to it, thats why its unsteady. you would get used to it if you used it more.
-cricked neck - you'd get used to it OR your frame is too small and you got away with it until you had to use the drops. Flip your stem, get a new frame and take yoga classes.

Obrees 1st hour record wasn't with inverted bars, it was with a straight flat bar with what were effectively bar ends.

 

[durruti02]

you can fit these in them?

he he .. no i meant why so long then?

 

[durruti02]

-you should be able to setup STIs to work from the drops - if you couldn't roughly 50% of pro teams wouldn't be able to compete. The Campag / SRAM design is generally better though for shifting from the drops
-you're not used to it, thats why its unsteady. you would get used to it if you used it more.
-cricked neck - you'd get used to it OR your frame is too small and you got away with it until you had to use the drops. Flip your stem, get a new frame and take yoga classes.

Obrees 1st hour record wasn't with inverted bars, it was with a straight flat bar with what were effectively bar ends.

he he fair play .. i think i'll just continue to mix and match .. i'm late 4ts so not planning to get serious just like a few 30-40 milers every now and then

but he set up that 1hr record using the inverted handle bars i thought and thought what he use was legal when the inverted handle bars would not have been .. isn't that right?

 

[Crispy]

I'm not sure we're comparing eggs with eggs. If you want to ride efficiently with minimal drag all you have to do is get low - it doesn't much matter how. Sounds like Durruti's done it by rotating his bars. Any bike with drops can be set up so they're within easy reach, but not many are. Most people seem to ride on the hoods these days because the modern Shimano ones are so comfy. Hence lots of bike shops set bikes up with this in mind, putting the drops out of reach. Twenty years ago brake levers tended to be further forward, like Durruti's.

I've pushed mine forwards a bit so I can reach the brakes in the drops (in the 'climbing a ladder' position, not the 'gymnasts vault' position) - it makes a noticeable difference in a headwind or at high speed.

 

[nick h.]

Even at 15 mph it makes a worthwhile difference. I'm going to measure it with this http://www.ibikesports.com/products_iaero.html

 

[Sigmund Fraud]

but he set up that 1hr record using the inverted handle bars i thought and thought what he use was legal when the inverted handle bars would not have been .. isn't that right?

His first foray into iconoclasm was in his teens when he did indeed invert his drops - everyone took the piss but this times didn't lie and he started to smoke everybody. His hour records were taken on the above bike, 'old faithful' - first with flats in a tack position then the 'superman' position which was even faster - so fast though that the UCI decided that all this progress wasn't cricket and decided to revert cycling back to 1973 forever.

Ironically if he had inverted standard drop bars he would have remained totally legal as they would have been UCI apporved equipment - but they would probably have made up another rule to stop him, he wasn't and isn't part of the old boys club and the old duffers in blazers frown on things like ingenuity and originality.

 

[durruti02]

I've pushed mine forwards a bit so I can reach the brakes in the drops (in the 'climbing a ladder' position, not the 'gymnasts vault' position) - it makes a noticeable difference in a headwind or at high speed.

:O what do you mean by those positions! they don't google

 

[durruti02]

His first foray into iconoclasm was in his teens when he did indeed invert his drops - everyone took the piss but this times didn't lie and he started to smoke everybody.

half the kids at school used to invert their handlebars