# How long will it take to get used to drop bars?



## Stephen_24796 (16 May 2015)

As some of you guys most probably know, i have recently purchased my new bike(i got it today) i am very impressed with it, one thing though is because my old bike was a hybrid with flat bars i am not used to riding with drop bars just yet. it's just the feel of the bike when i'm using the tops,hoods or drops instead of the flat bars like on my previos bike. the only way i can explain it is to me it feels very sensitive when i try to turn, i turn the bars the slightest bit and it feels like the wheel is about to twist all the way round on me, i'm sure before i was close to falling off  what was it like your first time on the drop bars? is it something where overtime i'll just get used to the drop bars ? i am looking foward to what you guys have to say, the response i got from my last post was excellent!!!


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## HertzvanRental (16 May 2015)

TBH, I only use the drops when I'm careering downhill! The rest of the time I'm either on the tops or hoods - not much difference to straight bars.


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## Stephen_24796 (16 May 2015)

HertzvanRental said:


> TBH, I only use the drops when I'm careering downhill! The rest of the time I'm either on the tops or hoods - not much difference to straight bars.


i need to edit my post, by drops i mean hoods, tops all together etc like the type of bar, even on the hoods it felt strange


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## screenman (16 May 2015)

10 miles a day 10 days on the trot, and you will be forgetting you changed.


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## andyfraser (16 May 2015)

It won't take long. Up until September last year it'd had been over 20 years since I'd ridden on drops. After a couple of weeks commuting going back to my hybrid felt weird.


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## MikeW-71 (16 May 2015)

Road bikes will feel twitchy to begin with as their geometry is more aggressive and the bars are narrow, making the steering very responsive.

Took me a few rides to get fully used to it. They're still quite difficult to ride slowly though


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## Hip Priest (16 May 2015)

I was the same when I first got a road bike. Was scared to reach for my bottle or raise an arm to indicate. But put the miles in and you'll be surprised how quickly you become accomplished.


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## Tin Pot (16 May 2015)

I don't think I turn the handlebars themselves much at all.

You can turn by leaning.


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## sight-pin (16 May 2015)

It was much the same for me at first, i put the twitchy bit down to it being quite a bit shorter wheelbase than my mtb, and much narrower handlebars.
The drops are also handy for avoiding a little of the wind resistance. You'll soon get used to it.
Have fun.


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## User33236 (16 May 2015)

I switched back to my flat bar hybrid for a week till I got my replacement drop bar commuter. I was amazed how twitchy the switch back to dropbars was on the first ride out. Took a mile or so to feel comfortable again.

I am sure you will get used to it pretty quickly.


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## lesley_x (16 May 2015)

Very quickly. Couldn't go back to a straight bar now. Drop bars are so much more comfortable for me. You're right, it's more twitchy and feels quite uncontrolled at first but you will get used to it. Steering, particularly at speed, is more about leaning. Beware of toe overlap at slow speeds while turning the bars.


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## Stephen_24796 (16 May 2015)

Thank you everyone, you have all answered my question. also to add i do know about leaning to turn  well within the next couple of weeks i'll be on my new bike more and more and i might think about joining my local club soon to give me something to do saves been stuck inside on my days off work  again, thank you guys, much appreciated


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## MiK1138 (16 May 2015)

couple of rides in and you wont even think about it


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## slowmotion (17 May 2015)

It took me about five months of daily commuting to get completely used to my first road bike. It felt horrible to begin with. At one stage I did think of selling it and going back to my hybrid.

I'm very glad that I didn't. Good luck.


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## raleighnut (17 May 2015)

I've got quite a few different styles of bikes and they all feel different but after riding one for a bit that one feels normal, its just a matter of getting used to how each one 'feels' on the road.
If you want to try something really weird try riding one of these



took me ages to get used to it
I've had a few tentative rides on 2 wheels lately but the broken mended leg still ain't really up to it but I've been toying with the idea of a racing trike.
I've met a couple of guys that ride these


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## screenman (17 May 2015)

Trikes, more of a fight than a ride, great fun though. Must admit it is a long time since I rode one, but do remember not getting around the first corner I come to.


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## raleighnut (17 May 2015)

screenman said:


> Trikes, more of a fight than a ride, great fun though. Must admit it is a long time since I rode one, but do remember not getting around the first corner I come to.


One of the 'secrets' is to get weight onto the inside pedal with it at the bottom of the stroke, completely opposite to what years of cycling makes you do naturally and for gods sake don't try to brake in a corner if you're going a bit too quick.


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## slowmotion (17 May 2015)

My sister had a trike when we were very young, maybe about five. She decided to take our pet mouse for a ride with it in the pocket of her dress. I hung onto the back of the trike. The mouse hopped out and I went to catch it on the pavement but, being clumsy, I trod on it with my foot. The sight of red blood coming out of its tiny ear and staining its white fur is still a vivid memory. I never liked trikes after that.


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## Fab Foodie (17 May 2015)

Tin Pot said:


> I don't think I turn the handlebars themselves much at all.
> 
> You can turn by leaning.


[Pedant alert/]
No, you can't turn just by leaning, if you kept the bars dead straight and simply leaned over you'd fall off.
It comes as a bit of a shock to learn that to get the bike to lean into a corner you first have to turn the bike ever so slightly in the opposite direction to the turn to start the bike leaning and then you make a minor correction in the direction of the turn to maintain stability once you're leaning into the corner. It's very subtle and you do it subconsciously.

Somebody will be along to talk about motorcycles in a minute where initiating turning is much the same, however there are some differences on a motorcycles at higher elbow scraping speeds because they have powered rear wheels in turns ....


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## raleighnut (17 May 2015)

Fab Foodie said:


> [Pedant alert/]
> No, you can't turn just by leaning, if you kept the bars dead straight and simply leaned over you'd fall off.
> It comes as a bit of a shock to learn that to get the bike to lean into a corner you first have to turn the bike ever so slightly in the opposite direction to the turn to start the bike leaning and then you make a minor correction in the direction of the turn to maintain stability once you're leaning into the corner. It's very subtle and you do it subconsciously.
> 
> Somebody will be along to talk about motorcycles in a minute where initiating turning is much the same, however there are some differences on a motorcycles at higher elbow scraping speeds because they have powered rear wheels in turns ....


Countersteering.


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## Renmurew (17 May 2015)

I've only had my road bike for a couple of months. I trialed a road bike to see how drop bars felt and shocked myself by finding them really intuitive and comfortable. I found a nice long straight quiet stretch of road and practiced reaching for my water bottle, indicating, and most important of all, reaching for my jelly babies from a rear pocket. . I quickly realised which hand to get my water bottle with to feel more stable and which pocket to store my jelly babies in. All these things make riding more comfortable so you spend less time thinking about them and enjoying the ride. Oh and I love the racy feeling of riding in the drops much to my surprise. Wendy


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## Tin Pot (17 May 2015)

Fab Foodie said:


> [Pedant alert/]
> No, you can't turn just by leaning, if you kept the bars dead straight and simply leaned over you'd fall off.
> It comes as a bit of a shock to learn that to get the bike to lean into a corner you first have to turn the bike ever so slightly in the opposite direction to the turn to start the bike leaning and then you make a minor correction in the direction of the turn to maintain stability once you're leaning into the corner. It's very subtle and you do it subconsciously.
> 
> Somebody will be along to talk about motorcycles in a minute where initiating turning is much the same, however there are some differences on a motorcycles at higher elbow scraping speeds because they have powered rear wheels in turns ....



Nah.

It works like a rocker ski, you can steer without moving the handlebars whatsoever.

Although some adjustment if often necessary.


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## Tin Pot (17 May 2015)

Fab Foodie said:


> [Pedant alert/]
> No, you can't turn just by leaning, if you kept the bars dead straight and simply leaned over you'd fall off.
> It comes as a bit of a shock to learn that to get the bike to lean into a corner you first have to turn the bike ever so slightly in the opposite direction to the turn to start the bike leaning and then you make a minor correction in the direction of the turn to maintain stability once you're leaning into the corner. It's very subtle and you do it subconsciously.
> 
> Somebody will be along to talk about motorcycles in a minute where initiating turning is much the same, however there are some differences on a motorcycles at higher elbow scraping speeds because they have powered rear wheels in turns ....



Nah.

It works like a rocker ski, you can steer without moving the handlebars whatsoever.

Although some adjustment if often necessary.


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## ColinJ (17 May 2015)

It is 48 years since I made the switch to dropped bars but as far as I can remember, I got used to the new bike in less than an hour, and have had the same experience with every new bike since. Each feels slightly different, but I soon adapt. After 20 years of not cycling, I got used to my new bike after riding it 1 km back from the station!

I was think about the 'twitchy steering' question recently when I flicked my Cannondale round a rut in the road on a fast descent. I prefer to think of performance bikes being 'responsive' and the problem being that some people are used to bikes with slow, sluggish handling so they have developed techniques to work with them. 

Give me 'twitchy' any day!


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## Big Dave laaa (17 May 2015)

Flat bars feel like holding a ladder to me now. Nice and light on the controls and the bike will go where you look so be careful where your eyes go 

Oh and we will no doubt cross paths on the weekly Sunday exodus to North Wales


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## youngoldbloke (17 May 2015)

I've 4 road bikes and if I have been riding one much more than the others it always takes a mile or two to get used to the new one when I change bikes. They are all different. However it takes longer to get used to the change from Shimano to Campag to non indexed down-tube shifting !


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## Fab Foodie (17 May 2015)

Tin Pot said:


> Nah.
> 
> It works like a rocker ski, you can steer without moving the handlebars whatsoever.
> 
> Although some adjustment if often necessary.


Nah.
Bolt your bars straight then come back and show us the gravel rash ...


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## Fab Foodie (17 May 2015)

Tin Pot said:


> Nah.
> 
> It works like a rocker ski, you can steer without moving the handlebars whatsoever.
> 
> Although some adjustment if often necessary.


Nah.
Bolt your bars straight then come back and show us the gravel rash ...


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## Stephen_24796 (17 May 2015)

Big Dave laaa said:


> Flat bars feel like holding a ladder to me now. Nice and light on the controls and the bike will go where you look so be careful where your eyes go
> 
> Oh and we will no doubt cross paths on the weekly Sunday exodus to North Wales


i am most likely to cycle to north wales on my days off work so you never know


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## Stephen_24796 (17 May 2015)

Big Dave laaa said:


> Flat bars feel like holding a ladder to me now. Nice and light on the controls and the bike will go where you look so be careful where your eyes go
> 
> Oh and we will no doubt cross paths on the weekly Sunday exodus to North Wales


i am most likely to cycle to north wales on my days off work so you never know


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## Steady (17 May 2015)

User said:


> I have a friend who always rode mountain bikes, when he switched to a road bike the thing he struggled most with was the visual aspect of the skinny tyres/wheels, and how they reacted with the road by his movements, more of a mind thing rather than anything practical or physical....



I can agree with that completely, before I switched to road somehow looking at those thin skinny tyres was almost enough to declare road bikes insanely dangerous. My brother still asks me how I ride with tyres that thin but now it's not an issue for me at all.

In the beginning I swore I'd never stand out of the saddle because everything _felt _so very different and 'wobbly' on a road bike it was just extremely reactive. Having gone from a heavy dual suspension bike fondly named my "work out bike" I felt like I was cycling on a feather. It is all perspective though, eventually I just got use to it.

Although I won't lie, sometimes the weight (or lack of weight) catches me out when I go to reposition the bike and throwing it into the right position throws me along with it and that catches me out.


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## Supersuperleeds (17 May 2015)

raleighnut said:


> I've got quite a few different styles of bikes and they all feel different but after riding one for a bit that one feels normal, its just a matter of getting used to how each one 'feels' on the road.
> If you want to try something really weird try riding one of these
> 
> 
> ...



I've seen a couple of those racing trikes, both times being ridden between Countesthorpe and Willoughby Waterleys. .

To the OP - took me months to get used to drop bars, now much prefer them to flat bars


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## Dayvo (17 May 2015)

What you can do, to get used to that 'lying' position, is to touch your toes, ankles, knees, or whatever you can you reach when you're at home or out of sight from colleagues etc. , so as to get your back muscles used to being taut whilst on the drops.


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## Cyclist33 (17 May 2015)

It took me two bikes. By which I mean, my first Road bike I didna get on with so I sold it after 6 months and swore off drop bar bikes. Got a fast hybrid and made it faster. Cracking bike but a couple of years later I felt the need for speed and did a lot more testing and research. Second time around, much better. So it turned out it wasn't the drops I wasn't ready for, it was the ride quality.

And now I have two Road bikes and probably about to buy a third!


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## Big Dave laaa (17 May 2015)

I don't get on with my old roadie in the drops for some reason. I think the bars are a strange shape maybe too shallow. The ones on my giant suit me much better and I ride the drops a lot.


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## Cyclist33 (17 May 2015)

Big Dave laaa said:


> I don't get on with my old roadie in the drops for some reason. I think the bars are a strange shape maybe too shallow. The ones on my giant suit me much better and I ride the drops a lot.


Also, it's A Giant.


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## Big Dave laaa (17 May 2015)

Cyclist33 said:


> Also, it's A Giant.



Oh yeah that too


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## Cyclist33 (17 May 2015)

Big Dave laaa said:


> Oh yeah that too



Sweet lookin ride btw


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## Big Dave laaa (18 May 2015)

Cyclist33 said:


> Sweet lookin ride btw



Thanks, I'm pretty pleased with it so far. So easy to make it go quick.


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## User16625 (19 May 2015)

Stephen_24796 said:


> As some of you guys most probably know, i have recently purchased my new bike(i got it today) i am very impressed with it, one thing though is because my old bike was a hybrid with flat bars i am not used to riding with drop bars just yet. it's just the feel of the bike when i'm using the tops,hoods or drops instead of the flat bars like on my previos bike. the only way i can explain it is to me it feels very sensitive when i try to turn, i turn the bars the slightest bit and it feels like the wheel is about to twist all the way round on me, i'm sure before i was close to falling off  what was it like your first time on the drop bars? is it something where overtime i'll just get used to the drop bars ? i am looking foward to what you guys have to say, the response i got from my last post was excellent!!!



My first time on drops? I was a kid and came across an old "racer" in the back of my shed. Gears didnt work except for the front derailleur IIRC. Oiled the chain and gave it a go. I remember thinkin "this thing flies!" The bike was probably way to big, but only ever ridden cheap BSO MTBs until that point, all I could think of was how much faster I could go. I eventually got myself a proper one, new and fitted. Never had any issues with regards to positioning or using the drops. In fact I much prefer it as its more aero. In a headwind Im almost resting my chin on the handlebars!

My MTB feels like Im pedaling through quicksand by comparison.


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## Gravity Aided (19 May 2015)

Used to be there were a myriad of choices in drop,or Maes bars. If you can get a set with the right sized reach ,width, and drop for your hand size and arm length. Oh,another parameter for the bike fitters to consider


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## TheJDog (20 May 2015)

Fab Foodie said:


> [Pedant alert/]
> It comes as a bit of a shock to learn that to get the bike to lean into a corner you first have to turn the bike ever so slightly in the opposite direction to the turn to start the bike leaning and then you make a minor correction in the direction of the turn to maintain stability once you're leaning into the corner. It's very subtle and you do it subconsciously.



You don't have to countersteer, you _can_ just lean your body (as you know because you'll still fall over if you bolt your steering straight). Motorbikes sometimes need a bit more of a push because the engine is a large spinning mass that can keep the bike upright, so countersteering is a bit more of a thing.


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## anothersam (20 May 2015)

I was happy to tour on flat bars for years. But I hankered after drops, purely because I thought they looked nicer – more "bikelike". Eventually I bought a bike so equipped and didn't have too much trouble adapting. I still prefer flats on very windy days for stability, and they make climbing a bit easier. Ideally I wouldn't touch bars at all…


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