# Bull handlebars or traditional Drops



## TheBobidentity (28 Mar 2013)

Hi I joined a wee while ago and have been very quiet since.
I got my first road bike a Triban 3 its great but Ive fallen for the fixed gear Single speed style of bike.

I sourced an old 1970's Peugeot PX10 or something very simillar, and its being converted to a single speed, i'm in a quandry I had my heart set on the Bull handlebars style;
but having seen photos of the traditional handlebars I'm not sure what to do any advice on riding positions etc would be most welcome..


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## biggs682 (28 Mar 2013)

bull horns or drops good question ? 

depends on what you call bull horns ?

do you know anybody who has a set of bullhorns you can try before buying and fitting and then find you dont like them after all


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## smokeysmoo (28 Mar 2013)

I've used both set ups TBH and they both have their merits IMO.

That said overall I prefer drops myself but not sure why.

It could simply be as my other bike (s) are drops.

Sorry I'm not much help am I?


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## TheBobidentity (28 Mar 2013)

unfortunately I dont know anyone with a set of bullhorns.
they would be drop and chop style I'm told.
but thanks for the advice


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## TheBobidentity (28 Mar 2013)

thanks for the post smokeysmoo any thoughts are useful
what sort of merits would the bulls have over the drops and vice versa
I'm not being v helpful asking continous hypothetical questions myself


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## Boris Bajic (28 Mar 2013)

I have traditional drops on my geared roadbike. I like them.

When I put together a Fixie some years ago, I hacksawed and inverted the drops to make a rudimentary set of bullhorns.

I like both types of bar, but I think I prefer drops and I slightly (slightly) regret chopping down the lovely set I had on my fixie.

Both are fine and both offer a good variety of hand and body positions.

I made cut-offs for the fixie for purely aesthetic and 'fashion' reasons. As I am almost fifty, that is an absurd admission.

I dislike (aesthetically) the off-the-shelf bullhorns one sees on some bikes. I think fixies should be built with a hacksaw and a rubber mallet and not have any fancy adornments. I cannot defend that opinion, but it is so.


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## biggs682 (28 Mar 2013)

i rode a single speeder on chopped and turned drops and found them great transferred them to a n other bike and cant get comfy at all .

must admit i have kept them so i can try them on another bike but just not yet .

will you be using with aero brake levers or time trial type levers ?


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## derrick (28 Mar 2013)

I like the ones on my fixie for commuting, and on the drops at weekends.


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## Lee_M (28 Mar 2013)

derrick said:


> I like the ones on my fixie for commuting, and on the drops at weekends.


 
if you commute on that I hope you have a lot of muc-off!


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## Rob3rt (28 Mar 2013)

Bull horns are nice. But they are a compromise, you will want them somewhere between the hood and drop position IME, I quite like pursuit bars because they tend to have a small amount of drop from the clamp area to the bullhorn area. If you spend all of your time on the hoods then bullhorns will suit well, but if you split your time between the hoods and drops they can be a bit limiting.


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## derrick (28 Mar 2013)

Lee_M said:


> if you commute on that I hope you have a lot of muc-off!


It ain't that clean at the mo.


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## TheBobidentity (28 Mar 2013)

biggs682 said:


> i rode a single speeder on chopped and turned drops and found them great transferred them to a n other bike and cant get comfy at all .
> 
> must admit i have kept them so i can try them on another bike but just not yet .
> 
> ...


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## TheBobidentity (28 Mar 2013)

Boris Bajic said:


> I have traditional drops on my geared roadbike. I like them.
> 
> When I put together a Fixie some years ago, I hacksawed and inverted the drops to make a rudimentary set of bullhorns.
> 
> ...


 
I agree with the notion of building them with a hacksaw and a mallet, i think I'm going to g odropped if my builder hasnt done the drop and chop already. Either way I cant wait to get the bike but now want the drops I can always change my mind, thanks for the post


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## TheBobidentity (28 Mar 2013)

derrick said:


> I like the ones on my fixie for commuting, and on the drops at weekends.


 Love the bike and the brakes may get ones like this once the piggybank recovers


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## dave r (28 Mar 2013)

I have Bull horns on my fixed, Pearson call them Courier Bars, Personally I prefer them to drops, I've got short arms and they suit me better than drops, I've done rides up to 70-80 miles on them and they have been very comfortable.


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## ayceejay (28 Mar 2013)

The drawback when riding fixed with drops with only one brake is the lack of a 'on the hoods' hand position especially now with the Avid type brakes. Bullhorns give you that position but denies you the full drop so you have to decide which is the most useful. You could also add tandem rear brake levers to drops. I use keirin type bars and one brake lever on my fixed but I only use it for a specific purpose.


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## Rob3rt (28 Mar 2013)

ayceejay said:


> The drawback when riding fixed with drops with only one brake is the lack of a 'on the hoods' hand position especially now with the Avid type brakes. Bullhorns give you that position but denies you the full drop so you have to decide which is the most useful. You could also add tandem rear brake levers to drops. I use keirin type bars and one brake lever on my fixed but I only use it for a specific purpose.


 
I have only a single brake but installed both brake levers, I just locked the redundant one in the out position.


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## thegravestoneman (28 Mar 2013)

When I was riding fixed In the eighties I used upturned North road bars. They will be going on my next fixed when I find a suitable frame at the same time as I have a suitable cash flow.


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## edindave (28 Mar 2013)

While I was out today I got overtaken by a couple of riders at one point, and I made an effort to keep up with them. One was on a road bike and one on a fixed.
At first I thought the guy on the fixed was riding in the drops the whole time, but when I got closer at a junction I saw that he was on bull horns. It looked like a pretty efficient riding position. I'd have sworn he was on the drops. Perhaps he has the stem really low but when I was close to them at the lights it didn't look disproportionate. I think it might have been a Fuji feather but I didn't get close enough to eyeball the make.


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## Rob3rt (28 Mar 2013)

edindave said:


> While I was out today I got overtaken by a couple of riders at one point, and I made an effort to keep up with them. One was on a road bike and one on a fixed.
> At first I thought the guy on the fixed was riding in the drops the whole time, but when I got closer at a junction I saw that he was on bull horns. It looked like a pretty efficient riding position. I'd have sworn he was on the drops. Perhaps he has the stem really low but when I was close to them at the lights it didn't look disproportionate. I think it might have been a Fuji feather but I didn't get close enough to eyeball the make.


 
Some bullhorns (typically pursuit types) have a small amount of drop from the clamp area to the bullhorn section, this puts them somewhere between the hoods type ride position and the drops, see the below example (you can find more extreme examples).


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## edindave (29 Mar 2013)

I might look at something like those when I swap out the bars on my Macinato.


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## getinthevan (29 Mar 2013)

I took a hacksaw to my drops and turned them into bullhorns. I find it a lot more comfortable.
Holding the very ends of the 'horns' puts you in an aerodynamic position, and also makes hill climbing out of the saddle easier.
I kind of miss my drops, but purely for aesthetic reasons, which is stupid.


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## Kies (29 Mar 2013)

I'm on the lookout for some cheap (oversized) drops. The plan is to chop them and attach to my flat bar road hybrid. I prefer riding on the bar ends when braking not required so bullhorns look ideal (and very very cool)


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## GrumpyGregry (29 Mar 2013)

getinthevan said:


> I took a hacksaw to my drops and turned them into bullhorns. I find it a lot more comfortable.
> Holding the very ends of the 'horns' puts you in an aerodynamic position, and also *makes hill climbing out of the saddle easier.*
> I kind of miss my drops, but purely for aesthetic reasons, which is stupid.


There you have it. I use bullhorns on fixed/ss on the road. I use the horns to get into a tuck when cruising or when 'honking'. I have a tt brake lever for the front brake on the end of the horn 'just in case' as well as the lever on the tops.


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## TheBobidentity (29 Mar 2013)

well thanks for the posts suggestions pics etc, it helped me make up my mind that I will get drops spoke to my builder today he is setting me up with a set of drops that have four levers just like my first roadbike over um 25yrs ago.
only problem is the paint wont match and he resprayed it which is great as it should look super clean but i wanted the old decals as a charm thing, any suggestions where i could get a set of peugot decals worth the money?
will post pics as soon as i get them


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## Boris Bajic (1 Apr 2013)

TheBobidentity said:


> well thanks for the posts suggestions pics etc, it helped me make up my mind that I will get drops spoke to my builder today he is setting me up with a set of drops that have four levers* just like my first roadbike over um 25yrs ago*.
> only problem is the paint wont match and he resprayed it which is great as it should look super clean but i wanted the old decals as a charm thing, any suggestions where i could get a set of peugot decals worth the money?
> will post pics as soon as i get them


 
The bit in bold (my bold) is the key to it all.

I think that much of cycling is the joyful and never-ending quest for the delight on that first bike.

Carbon-fibroids, twelve-speed dolby cassettes, horizontal highschool drop-outs and self-calibrating uncorked bar tape are just details.


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## jonny jeez (1 Apr 2013)

derrick said:


> I like the ones on my fixie for commuting, and on the drops at weekends.


Is that a mystic?


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## derrick (1 Apr 2013)

jonny jeez said:


> Is that a mystic?


Yup.


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## TheBobidentity (1 Apr 2013)

Boris Bajic said:


> The bit in bold (my bold) is the key to it all.
> 
> I think that much of cycling is the joyful and never-ending quest for the delight on that first bike.
> 
> Carbon-fibroids, twelve-speed dolby cassettes, horizontal highschool drop-outs and self-calibrating uncorked bar tape are just details.


 I totaly agree there have been several delays in the delivery of this bike, some weather related then paint related to be honest if it wasnt like the first road bike I owned(came off and gave myself a mouthful of stitiches and my parents a very nasty surprise) I would have walked away from it, been promised it for tomorrow, my birthday, hope it comes through would make all the letdowns worth it.


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## TheBobidentity (3 Apr 2013)

Well it didn't come through. Gutted ......... On the lookout for another fixied gear single-speed project thanks for the feedback and the chance to see what goes on


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## TheBobidentity (4 Apr 2013)

I think I found a replacement project! A black Peugeot haven't seen it in the flesh yet going tomorrow. 
It looks ok in the pic but the chrome on the forks looks rusty, I know it's old and can't be expected to be perfect 
So as long as the rust is made up of spots it's lookin good.


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## TheBobidentity (4 Apr 2013)

Help bought the Peugeot mentioned above took the back wheel off and found a crack in the frame where the rear drops fit to the bottom bracket, absoluely gutted is there any way this can be welded safely,
Woldnt want to risk a bad accident, i know i know nothing checked out the frame superficial rust it seemed fine couldnt see the crack as it was v small with a bit of rust in an akward place, ive a feeling its a done deal but advice would be welcome


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## Old Plodder (4 Apr 2013)

I've just realised what your white bike reminds me of; the 'ghost bikes' left at the scene of cyclist deaths in & around towns.


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## Scilly Suffolk (6 Apr 2013)

Compared to when I had drops on here, I'm now using a 10mm shorter stem and red bar tape.

The combined effect has made me at least 17% faster discussing the changes in the pub.


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## Greenbank (12 Apr 2013)

I prefer bullhorns and tribars:-

http://www.greenbank.org/bikes/tempo/tempo7.jpg


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