Converting to drop bars....

[just4fun]

I was just wondering how long it took you to feel comfortable and confident on your first drop bar bike. Both in terms of handling and breaking.
I've been riding a very heavy mountain bike for a while and yesterday took a lightweight road bike for a test to see if i wanted to buy it. I found it quite a scary experiance, the bike was so light that it responded to every movement i made (the heavy MTB doesnt move sideways at all, but this was a twitchy little thing) and the new position of the breaks was a bit unnearving too....i found when breaking i would slightly pull the break leavers inwards although not enough to shift gears, and of course there not where i expect them to be. i wil be taking the bike out for a 2nd test ride soon to allow myself some more time to adjust but int he meantime i was wondering how long did it take you to adapt to the feeling and set up of your first drop bar bike?

 

[4F]

Well I had my first drop bar bike as a kid and to be honest despite a 25 year gap it felt as though I had never been off it. As with anything it is a confidence thing so just take it easy to start with and before you know it you will be thinking to yourself why didn't you change years ago.

 

[Tynan]

twitchy for about two days, especially the first hour or so

took a few days to get used to reaching for the brakes, I was graabbibg air for a while

but it happens just fine

I love being able to flick the bike around with my arse, and mine is steel and relativelyt heavy, I rode someone's trashy hybred a few weeks back to confirm a shagged BB, it was horrible, really

 

[BIGSESAL]

I was on the hoods a lot of the time before going down to the drop bars. To be honest the hardest thing I found was getting my feet into the toe straps as I had only ever riden on flat pedals.

 

[HLaB]

After picking up my Bianchi from the lbs, my first drop bar bike since I was a kid (circa 25years ago) I thought I'd made a mistake buying it, it was very twitchy on its first short ride. Took it out a few days later and It didn't feel half as bad and now it doesn't feel twitchy at all. So I guess I adapted quickly.

 

[Randochap]

"Drop bar bike" encompasses a very wide category of bicycles. What kind of drop bar bike did you try?

If you jumped on a bike designed for racing, it might have very aggressive geometry and tight, twitchy steering. Not something I'd want for everyday, recreational riding (though such machines are commonly the poseur bike of choice).

The other question is related to fit. Was the bike your optimum size? If you are too stretched out, in an low "racer" position, it's also going to be hard to get used to.

The average recreational rider will benefit from a more upright position. The majority of your riding will be "on the hoods" where it is comfortable, easy to brake, and shift.

Unfortunately, most off the peg bikes already have their steerer cut down, with only a couple of tiny spacers to play with for handlebar height. Of course, the poseurs will want to get rid of those as well, to attain the "look."

A riser and/or shorter stem might help dial in the fit.

 

[PaulSB]

Biggest difficulty in my experience is the brakes, it took me some weeks to naturally move to the brake levers without having to think where they are.

 

[just4fun]

Its interesting the variety of diference, some feet, some hands, some brakes, and comforting to know that im not alone in this.

Randochap, the bike was a giant defy which is meant to have a more relaxed riding position however i have just found the following qoute from giants product development manager:
“Defy is designed to exceed the expectations of both devoted club riders and die-hard road racers alike.”
and i notice that it doesnt say anything about fast commuting there, which is my main method of use

 

[Eat MY Dust]

I was sh*tting myself for about a week.

 

[Rhythm Thief]

I've always ridden drops. I'm the other way round, I just can't get on with flat bars and their pathetic range of hand positions.

 

[Tel]

I've always ridden drops. I'm the other way round, I just can't get on with flat bars and their pathetic range of hand positions.

I'm with you on that one. I've converted an old bike to flat bars as I'm not as fit as used to be and felt a bit silly plodding along on a "racer". But the flat bars are so limited and wide, I was considering getting some bar ends but I might just revert back to the drops. I can't decide

 

[rich p]

You get used to it quickly, don't worry. I ride on the hoods 95% of the time.

 

[Rezillo]

The average recreational rider will benefit from a more upright position. The majority of your riding will be "on the hoods" where it is comfortable, easy to brake, and shift.

Unfortunately, most off the peg bikes already have their steerer cut down, with only a couple of tiny spacers to play with for handlebar height. Of course, the poseurs will want to get rid of those as well, to attain the "look."

A riser and/or shorter stem might help dial in the fit.

I would certainly endorse everything said by Randochap just based on my own experience.

I'm in my early fifties and started riding just over three years ago. Until last autumn, I had flat bar bikes but decided last year to try drops. Not that flats were a problem, just that I was curious as to what the difference was and, it has to be said, conscious of some loss of street cred.

It wasn't for the 'more positions on drops' argument. This rather puzzled me, and still does. With Ergon grips to reduce torsion on my wrists, I was comfortable for 50 to 60 mile rides on flatbars. I half wonder whether this is because there is no single really comfortable permanent position on drops or hoods and drop bar riders assume that a single position on a flatbar isn't permanently comfortable either.

When I changed to drops, I realised I would need to change the reach so I switched the existing 120mm stem for a 90mm one. While this gave comfortable riding on the hoods, this was not the case with the drops, even though I had bought shallow ones. I put this down to the low position being a problem with a stiff and aging back and was resigned to rarely using the drops.

This was the case until I started training for the Suffolk Sunrise a few weeks back and found that over 50 miles I was getting numbness and tingling in one hand even though riding on the hoods. A bit of checking on this forum and elsewhere pointed at reach and height as being the culprit so I got a shorter 60mm stem and reversed it (slightly higher). I wasn't expecting much - the height and reach changes seemed quite small, although the closer reach meant I could rotate the drops a bit closer as well.

However, the difference was astounding - suddenly the drop position was natural and comfortable and my stomach wasn't being compressed through being overbent. No hand numbness and what was immediately evident, putting aside less wind resistance, was a much more efficient riding position on the drops. The first ride out was quite exhiliarating.

John

 

[stoatsngroats]

I rode drops a long time ago too, (30 years ), and I've had flatbar bikes in that time, and have an MTB too.

On my test ride my Carrera flew up the road, with no twitchyness, and I felt part of the bike straightaway, apart from the STi's, which were new to me - i'd never tried anything like them!

I think that we're all different, and my SORAs are not particularly well liked here at CC, tho' I love them!

Give yourself time to settle in to what you have - you'll grow to like it, I think!

 

[buggi]

LOL, it didn't feel strange to me except when coming into the work's car park on my first commute, i forgot where the brakes were had to duck and almost didn't make it under the barrier that the security guy was raising for me and had to give it a helping hand when he realised i was coming in way too fast. we were both in stitches after. great comedy moment. he said the look on my face was class! ha! the look on his face was even more funny