arms on bars

[Angelfishsolo]

I have sooooooo much to learn about drop bars

 

[benb]

They only do it when being seen to by the race doctor or when their bike is being treated by the magic spanner.

Thanks. That's OK then.
As you were.

 

[Wankelschrauben]

The best way to learn is to go out and give it large using them.

The drops give you the most control over the bike when moving fast and you can get the best leverage on the brakes.

 

[Norm]

Flat bars plus bar ends then....

Which gives two or three (depending on the shape of the bar ends) positions.

I use 5 at least different positions on the drop bars, and that's without resting my arms on the bars as is the topic of this thread.

 

[Angelfishsolo]

The best way to learn is to go out and give it large using them.

The drops give you the most control over the bike when moving fast and you can get the best leverage on the brakes.

Am fuelling up the engine as I type!

 

[gregsid]

I have sooooooo much to learn about drop bars

Just use the position you're most comfy with.

My positions change according to how I'm riding, but it's not a conscious thing - I just make myself comfortable, and as a side-effect, that's usually the "right" position to be in.

Just enjoy your new machine...

 

[Angelfishsolo]

Just use the position you're most comfy with.

My positions change according to how I'm riding, but it's not a conscious thing - I just make myself comfortable, and as a side-effect, that's usually the "right" position to be in.

Just enjoy your new machine...

That is the plan. I am looking forward to the day when the bars feel as natural the DH Riser bars on my MTB feel now. I want my hands to be close to the brakes at the mo as they are 90 degrees off set from the "usual position" so hoods seems like a good place to be Anyhow, just having breakfast and then out for a ride

 

[fossyant]

That position improves aerodynamics by keeping the arms/elbows in. As said you can't do it for long, and it's only advisable when no traffic/riders about.

Riders used to use 'spinachi' extender bars, but they got banned - they were like mini tri-bars.

You can get close to that position by just resting your little fingers round the top of the hoods, then flexing your wrist so your arms and elbows come in. I do this quite alot when out on longer runs - but not on the commute in traffic.

 

[endoman]

Have plenty quiet roads around me, can bike for miles without seeing a car sometimes, so those are the types of roads I experiment on.

Hardest thing I find on drops is changing gear, so I try to think in advance what I need, getting more used to it.

 

[lulubel]

More than that, many of them use the bends and top of the hoods too, like the guy in yellow just left of centre on this image.

That last position, where the top of the brake lever is in the palm of the hand rather than between the thumb and fore finger, is where I ride most of the time, now.

I tried that the other day, and my bike went seriously twitchy and unstable. Quite scary. Didn't stop me trying it again, though I haven't tried the elbows on the bars thing yet, but might have to now when there's no traffic about.

 

[lulubel]

They only do it when being seen to by the race doctor or when their bike is being treated by the magic spanner.

Or when they're changing their shoes.

 

[Norm]

I tried that the other day, and my bike went seriously twitchy and unstable. Quite scary.

That's counter-intuitive, as that position is furthest from the steerer so has the most leverage and should be the most stable. All other things being equal, of course.

 

[lulubel]

That's counter-intuitive, as that position is furthest from the steerer so has the most leverage and should be the most stable. All other things being equal, of course.

Does "most leverage" not mean it takes the least amount of pressure to turn the bars, so any slight wobble on my part is more likely to make the bike twitch? Or am I getting confused?

 

[ufkacbln]

 

[Norm]

Does "most leverage" not mean it takes the least amount of pressure to turn the bars, so any slight wobble on my part is more likely to make the bike twitch? Or am I getting confused?

Not quite, and I'm feeling tired at the moment so I'm struggling to find the right words. It's all about fulcrums and leverage and pi is probably involved at some point.

Let me try and paint a picture. If you take two extremes.

#1 with bars 120cm wide, the circumference of the diameter of the circle that they would turn in (if they could go through 360 degrees) would be around 3.8m, so moving the end of the bars by 2cm would move the front wheel from the straight ahead by less than 1 degree (I think).

#2 with bars 30cm wide, the circumference of the diameter of the circle that they would turn in (if they could go through 360 degrees) would be around 94cm, so moving the end of the bars by 2cm would move the front wheel around 8 degrees from the straight ahead, which is quite a distance.

So, the further you get from the steerer, the larger the diameter of the circle, the less impact any movement at the bars has on the direction of the bike. Thus, addressing your second question first, no. Moving the hands a given amount will move the front of the bike by less than if you were holding closer to the centre of the circle.

Now, look at it from the steerer rather than the bars. Yes it does mean that the least amount of pressure is required to turn the bars but the other side is that you would need to put a heck of a lot more pressure at the centre of the circle, at the steerer, to be able to move your hands. So, by holding further from the steerer, your bike will be less deflected by movements from the tyre through the bars because you have greater leverage to maintain your line.

Therefore, holding the tops close to the stem makes for a twitchy bike with small inputs creating huge movement in the wheel, whereas holding the hoods or the tops gives you greater leverage, more fine control and a reduced liability to be deflected by steering forces travelling up the forks.

However... all this physics stuff which is making my brain hurt could be irrelevant because (and I always loved this get out clause) it relies on everything else being equal.

The truth is that the two hand positions mean that everything else is not equal. When you are on the tops, there is generally less weight going down your arms and through your hands then if you are on the hoods. I use the top of the levers because that position is even more stretched out than using the hoods but that means that even more weight is taken on my hands and it means that my arms are straighter than when on the tops, so there is less "shock absorption" left at my elbow. It is possible that this difference in weight and the reduction in the ability to absorb bumps do conspire together to mean that a small wobble isn't unknowingly absorbed by your arms but does make the bike twitch.