Choosing drops

[Crackle]

I think my current drops don't quite suit me. Think, because I'm mulling whether I need to re-examine the positioning of me on my bike, in particular seat height and fore/aft positioning but I think that is seperate to the handlebars.

So why: Well I don't have big hands and I cannot get a comfy position on the drops where I can easily reach the brakes. Current bars are as in the piccie below as that is my bike model

I have angled the bars down slightly so the brifters are a bit lower but reaching the levers from the curled part of the bar is pretty hard for me (yes I have put shims in). I also get a knot in the middle of my shoulders and I'm reasoning several things which may or may not need correcting.

a) the bars are too narrow
b) the brifters are too high. If they were lower I could reach them from the drop and my shoulders would drop slightly (lowering the bars would have the same affect too I guess but without a more optimum brake position)

So before I start fiddling and buying bars and re-taping etc I could do with some input to clarify my thoughts. As for me, in relation to my body my arms and legs are short so I ride a smaller frame than most people my height as reach is the issue for me.

I'm wondering if a shallower drop would suit with the brifters set a bit lower. I've tried bars with a straight section after the brifters but I don't like them, I'm further from the brakes and the position feels wrong.

All thoughts welcome, including going back to basics and re-evaluating my position on the bike.

 

[RecordAceFromNew]

In case you haven't already seen this and the associated links.

 

[Crackle]

In case you haven't already seen this and the associated links.

That's excellent: No I hadn't seen that, thanks.

 

[Baggy]

It's an excellent artice - had been looking for it recently without success, so thanks from me too.

Crackle, I have similar issues and fiddle round with my setup periodically. The knot between my shoulders seems to be caused when I'm tired and rest too much weight on my hands, my shoulder blades kind of fold in and it as if I'm using my shoulders to support my head instead of my neck, if that makes sense.

How wide are your bars?

A shorter stem definitely helped me, it feels as if more of my weight at the front is supported downwards rather than forwards so my arms take more of the strain than my back and neck - and I've recently raised the stem meaning I'm a bit more upright and there's a bit more weight on my bum. This seems to help my neck, though I still can't change gear easily. This is on my audax bike.

My road bike has FSA wing bars and I have to say they were a revelation, they make me want to ride on the drops more often and I can brake and change gear comfortably. At some point I'll try a pair on my Audax bike and see how they feel.

 

[Crackle]

Baggy I need to do some measuring of my bars so I can figure out what I've got. That article will help a lot now. The wing bars sound interesting as being on the drops is not comfortable for long at the moment.

You using a shorter stem to solve the knotted muscles is counter to what I was thinking. I was thinking the sore shoulders were caused because I didn't have enough reach and my shoulders were being pushed back and I wasn't taking the weight on my chest muscles by rolling my shoulders forward. I have the stem set as high as it will go (definetly not as flexible as I used to be), maybe too high.

Anyway, I don't know now. As ever, when you first start trying to solve a problem you pose more questions than you answer and I need to sit on the bike and try out the positions and take some measurements. I mainly need to comfortably reach the brakes from the drops as I've a sneaking suspiscion that doing some yoga and improving my posture might help with the shoulder pain, which is not too bad anyway, just there.

 

[Baggy]

You using a shorter stem to solve the knotted muscles is counter to what I was thinking. I was thinking the sore shoulders were caused because I didn't have enough reach and my shoulders were being pushed back and I wasn't taking the weight on my chest muscles by rolling my shoulders forward. I have the stem set as high as it will go (definetly not as flexible as I used to be), maybe too high.

Anyway, I don't know now. As ever, when you first start trying to solve a problem you pose more questions than you answer and I need to sit on the bike and try out the positions and take some measurements. I mainly need to comfortably reach the brakes from the drops as I've a sneaking suspiscion that doing some yoga and improving my posture might help with the shoulder pain, which is not too bad anyway, just there.

Your thinking about it pushing your shoulders back may well be correct - as you say, there are so many variables that trial and error is often the way. Thought I was comfy until I changed the saddle position slightly whilst fitting a bag holder...it felt somehow better until I'd sat on it for an hour and now everything is back in more or less the same position!

Worth investing in a bike-fit? The coach at my local road club set me up a couple of years ago for £25, I still tweaked a few things afterwards but overall the bike was much more comfortable (it was him who swapped my stem out).

 

[Fab Foodie]

I changed from Anatomical type to the FSA compact (like Baggy's wing) and the slightly shorter reach and shallowdrop allowed me to get properly comfortable on the drops and use the brake levers effectively and comfortably too. When I fitted them i left the bar tape off for a while until I'd found the best position for the levers etc.
I'm a big fan of the old 'Radonneur' style bars too, but they seems remarkably hard to come-by these days.

 

[Crackle]

I changed from Anatomical type to the FSA compact (like Baggy's wing) and the slightly shorter reach and shallowdrop allowed me to get properly comfortable on the drops and use the brake levers effectively and comfortably too. When I fitted them i left the bar tape off for a while until I'd found the best position for the levers etc.
I'm a big fan of the old 'Radonneur' style bars too, but they seems remarkably hard to come-by these days.

My initial thoughts were a shallower drop, so with you and Baggy recommending the FSA bars, I'll have a good look at them.

While you're here, what's that bike fit website you always recommend? I just want to examine some basics again.

 

[Fab Foodie]

My initial thoughts were a shallower drop, so with you and Baggy recommending the FSA bars, I'll have a good look at them.

While you're here, what's that bike fit website you always recommend? I just want to examine some basics again.

It be here Crackle m'lad!

http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/fitting.htm

The other compact bars that are similar to the FSA are the Pro PLTs.

 

[MacB]

Getting the saddle right is the first bit but I find this much easier than fine tuning the bars. My best method so far has been to get the tops and hoods right, especially the angle of my wrists when on the hoods which the height of the bars influences. I would do this with any bars you have and then see how the drops position is. If it's not right then it's a case of trying to imagine what shape of drop would fit the bill, the links provided would help in this. I also pay attention to the flare, or lack thereof, in the drop part, slightly out suits me better. I've tried a few bars and didn't like the anatomic ones at all, shallow drop seems to work best for me, I have two sets of the FSA Vero Compact now.

Interesting on the shoulders, I do try to conciously follow Sheldons advice to try and round the back rather than allow the upper body to slump between the shoulder blades, not always successfully though.

 

[John the Monkey]

I'm a big fan of the old 'Radonneur' style bars too, but they seems remarkably hard to come-by these days.

HubJub have you covered;

http://www.hubjub.co.uk/nitto/nitto.htm

Very tempted by the Nitto Noodle, myself - I like a flat ramp, with an old fashioned curve & flat in the drops.

 

[4F]

I like the look of the RB021 bullhorn variant, could be a good addition for my fixed

 

[threebikesmcginty]

Very tempted by the Nitto Noodle, myself - I like a flat ramp, with an old fashioned curve & flat in the drops.

I wanted Nitto Noodles for a bike I built a couple of years ago, couldn't get the bloody things anywhere.

 

[Baggy]

I wanted Nitto Noodles for a bike I built a couple of years ago, couldn't get the bloody things anywhere.

Chuffy's got a pair that came from Hubjub, but he did have to wait for a while for the right size. They've been in our kitchen for about a year waiting for him to fit them...they're nice bars.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

They've been in our kitchen for about a year waiting for him to fit them...they're nice bars.

Another couple of years and they'll be about ready to fit!

You're right though, they look lovely and are meant to be really comfy.