Why do so many people still buy road bikes with drop bars but neverride in the dropped position?

On Mar 9, 7:49*am, " wrote:
On Mar 8, 11:07*am, Lou Holtman wrote:





SMS schreef:

Yesterday on my ride across the GG bridge and into Marin county,
probably saw several thousand cyclists on road bikes (it was the first
non-rainy day in weeks). One thing that struck me is that for all the
fancy road bikes with drop bars out there, I never saw anyone riding in
the drop position. Since parts of the GG bridge path are quite narrow,
and there are a lot of inexperienced and unpredictable riders out there,
I saw a lot of maneuvers where the road cyclist would scramble to change
their hand position from the top, down to reach the brake levers.

I'm surprised that some of these riders don't install something like
Cane Creek Crosstop levers
("http://www.canecreek.com/crosstop-brake-levers.html") for when they're
riding in urban areas and the drop position is uncomfortable and
impractical.

Remember "safety brake" extension levers? Maybe those should be brought
back.

On the hoods should the most comfortable position IMO. In the drops is
for descending when really hard braking in needed or to get in a more
aero position. If your hands are on the hoods there is no problem even
on the Golden Gate bridge and you don't need those goofy safety brakes.

Lou

I spend quite a long time on the drops and I am quite comfortable on
them. Granted that I don't have them half a yard below the saddle. My
bars are about an inch below the saddle. So, being on the drops is
quite comfortable. Riding alone, at a good speed or against the wind,
is is also easier.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Me too. I probably ride 25-35% of the time in the drops. More when
going into a headwind. But I also notice most bikers do not use the
drops. Many a ride I've been on riding along in the group into a
headwind and everyone around me is sitting bolt upright with their
hands on the hoods catching the wind like a sail. Always seems odd to
me. My tops are about 3 inches or so below saddle height.

On Mar 9, 1:41*pm, Nick L Plate wrote:
On 8 Mar, 23:17, Bret wrote:



This is just your minority opinion. My opinion is that the drops are
the most secure place to be when handling a bicycle.

With the correct size hook, the hand is secure when braking or
cornering. *This locked-in position is not achievable on other bars.
Over bumpy ground, this means less force is required to maintain
control of the steering.
TJ

Right. In very rough terrain, such as washboard on a dirt road, you
can hold the drops loosely and get a suspension effect without being
in any danger of losing control of the bar.

Bret

In article 8100342a-3ae0-43e7-9a15-
,
says...
John Forrest Tomlinson wrote:
On Sun, 8 Mar 2009 16:24:55 -0700 (PDT), Chalo
Are there any photos of you riding a bike online?

Here's one:

http://home.comcast.net/~carlfogel/d.../tallride4.jpg

Now that thing _really_ needs drop-bars.

Mike

jwbinpdx wrote:

The major independents in PDX along with Performance, REI, etc., have
a wide variety of bikes. Bike Gallery must have three different SS
bikes with a variety of weird handlebars, many comfort bikes, MTBs,
etc.

Maybe Bike Gallery could open up a Silicon Valley branch. Great store.

SMS wrote:
Yesterday on my ride across the GG bridge and into Marin county,
probably saw several thousand cyclists on road bikes (it was the first
non-rainy day in weeks). One thing that struck me is that for all the
fancy road bikes with drop bars out there, I never saw anyone riding in
the drop position. Since parts of the GG bridge path are quite narrow,
and there are a lot of inexperienced and unpredictable riders out there,
I saw a lot of maneuvers where the road cyclist would scramble to change
their hand position from the top, down to reach the brake levers.

I'm surprised that some of these riders don't install something like
Cane Creek Crosstop levers
("http://www.canecreek.com/crosstop-brake-levers.html") for when they're
riding in urban areas and the drop position is uncomfortable and
impractical.

Remember "safety brake" extension levers? Maybe those should be brought
back.

I think setting up handlebars is the trickiest part of bike tweaking. I
set mine up so that I can ride comfortably in the drops for long periods
and can also stay on the brake levers if I want. The most comfortable
width for me is exactly shoulder width, so I don't ride on the tops much
at all. I fart around for a long time (hour or more) setting up bar
height, rotational angle and lever position until I get it just right. I
also try out multiple stems & bars. It's amazing how much of a
difference small changes can make (to me, anyway).

Short answer, I think most people have their bars too low. It makes the
bike look sporty, but they then can't comfortably ride in the (even
shallow) drops.

In article ee70022e-fed8-4b0b-a7a2-
, says...
On Mar 9, 1:41*pm, Nick L Plate wrote:
On 8 Mar, 23:17, Bret wrote:



This is just your minority opinion. My opinion is that the drops are
the most secure place to be when handling a bicycle.

With the correct size hook, the hand is secure when braking or
cornering. *This locked-in position is not achievable on other bars.
Over bumpy ground, this means less force is required to maintain
control of the steering.
TJ

Right. In very rough terrain, such as washboard on a dirt road, you
can hold the drops loosely and get a suspension effect without being
in any danger of losing control of the bar.

Furthermore, because your contact point with the bars is in front of the
handle-bar pivot, you are more stable against accidental rotation of the
bars when braking one-handed on drops. I notice this a lot when
comparing my road-bike to my MTB. Quite happy signalling in the city on
the road-bike while on the drops because one-handed emergency braking
doesn't de-stabilise me. Whereas, on the MTB, signalling and braking
simultaneously results in an unexpected cornering manouvre. I use the
drops on the road-bike about 50% of the time and occasionally would like
to have the option to take a similar position on the MTB - but usually
only on long (4 hour+) endurance rides.

Mike

On Mar 9, 1:55*pm, SMS wrote:
jwbinpdx wrote:
The major independents in PDX along with Performance, REI, etc., have
a wide variety of bikes. *Bike Gallery must have three different SS
bikes with a variety of weird handlebars, many comfort bikes, MTBs,
etc.

Maybe Bike Gallery could open up a Silicon Valley branch. Great store.

You can buy a Parlee Z3 or a Madsen kg271 cargo bike.
http://www.bikegallery.com/city-biking.php Or, in your case, you can
point and laugh at the Parlee Z3 and then go pet the CoMotion steel
frame or an Electra Amsterdam.

And just to be fair to the other shops, RiverCity has Waterford and
Surley. Coventry carries Rivendell. Lakeside has IF steel frames.
These are the steel frames that come to mind, but there are many more
OTC steel frames that you can get in town.

And if you must have custom steel -- hold on to your socks: Vanilla,
Cascadia, Altered, Velvet, Ahearne, Courage, Argonaut, Hufnagel,
Arrow, Metrofiets (cargo bikes), Pereira Cycles, Keith Anderson,
Belladonna, Sprout, Ira Ryan, Strawberry, Sweetpea -- to name a few
(and not including the builders down south like Vendetta and
CoMotion). We have a steel builder under every rock in PDX. I think
it is what baristas do in their spare time. -- Jay Beattie.

..

On Mar 9, 5:44 pm, A Muzi wrote:
On Mar 9, 6:40 am, Tom Sherman
wrote:
John Forrest Tomlinson wrote:
[...]
It's amazing and bizarre that you can use bikes in ways that few other
people do, that you weigh far more than the vast majority of cyclists,
and yet you think that your views/experiences on what is appropriate
for most riders is valid and what those many other riders are doing is
wrong. That's whack..
There are plenty of people that fit the above description.
Unfortunately, many of them work in LBS's.
landotter wrote:
The local G*** F**** is a hilarious example of an entire bike shop
built on mainly BS. They're in the wealthiest part of Old Money Town--
thus, they only sell high end racing bicycles to people with assloads
of money--because wealth buys that status--the right to tootle
uncomfortably around the park in team kit!
From the website:
"If your present bike is ten years old or older, it is time to replace
it. The upgrades you do will usually cost more than the bike is
worth."
That's right! Got an 88 Univega in need of a fresh chain a brake pads--
it's worth less than $40--so replace it with a new $2000 hunchy racer
to discover the value of cycling.

I'm with you.
The term 'BS' I understand. What's 'G***F***' mean ?

I took the liberty of anonymizing their name as Usenet is forever.
It's a road race and mainly roadie race wannabe shop. Lots of
attitude. No bikes under $1K, no kids bikes. Kinda depressing.

On Mar 9, 6:40 am, Tom Sherman
wrote:
John Forrest Tomlinson wrote:
[...]
It's amazing and bizarre that you can use bikes in ways that few other
people do, that you weigh far more than the vast majority of cyclists,
and yet you think that your views/experiences on what is appropriate
for most riders is valid and what those many other riders are doing is
wrong. That's whack..
There are plenty of people that fit the above description.
Unfortunately, many of them work in LBS's.

landotter wrote:
The local G*** F**** is a hilarious example of an entire bike shop
built on mainly BS. They're in the wealthiest part of Old Money Town--
thus, they only sell high end racing bicycles to people with assloads
of money--because wealth buys that status--the right to tootle
uncomfortably around the park in team kit!
From the website:
"If your present bike is ten years old or older, it is time to replace
it. The upgrades you do will usually cost more than the bike is
worth."
That's right! Got an 88 Univega in need of a fresh chain a brake pads--
it's worth less than $40--so replace it with a new $2000 hunchy racer
to discover the value of cycling.

I'm with you.
The term 'BS' I understand. What's 'G***F***' mean ?
--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

-snip-
jwbinpdx wrote:
-snip-
IMO, it is only the poseur who gets the "wrong" bike, which is in
fact, the "right" bike for him, viz., the one he wants and asked for
specifically. If some duffer with a gut and way too much cash walked
in to your shop and said that he was going to buy the $10K tricked-out
Pinarello because it was exactly what he needed and wanted, would you
-snip- sell it to him. Sure, you would snicker in the back room, but
hey, he can buy whatever he wants -- along with the full FitKit
session (probably a good idea), aero booties and full Astana kit. --

bless them, every one.
--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971