Now that the situation re: jobs and training is resolving a bit, I can get on with other projects, like fitting up Bike N+1 so I can use it in the UK later this year. It is also intended as a bike for the ‘yoof’ who want to come on the odd tour but don’t happen to have a bike of their own*, so the bike has to be ridable for fairly long distances, but it should also have a fairly low nickability rating, because I’ll be using the bike in a couple of British cities known for making bikes disappear, so it can’t have too many new parts. It also needs to be pretty cheap, so I went down into the depths of the cellar (or at least those bits of the cellar I can get into) to see what I could find, and fell over these:
This got me thinking: what are the pros and cons of drop handlebars? You hardly see them here in Germany except on super lightweight racing bikes: I may have occasionally seen a touring bike with them. Last time I was on a train I noticed the drop bars take up less space and poke people less than flat bars, which would be a consideration in the UK. I also wonder if they are good for riding longer distances: I may have a rather hilly 20km commute soon so that’s a consideration.
On the other hand I think that something unfamiliar like drop bars and un-indexed gears with handles way down there on the main bar, may put a couple of potential cyclists off, (although several of my companions are still the age where they’re invincible: ah, the joys of youth) and which brake handles work with V-brakes?
Any drop-bar touring cyclists out there with thoughts? How quickly does it take to get used to drops? And aren’t they just a development of old-school swept handlebars anyway?
*But who can, from nothing, ride 80km faster than me and still walk the next day. I’m not envious.
6 comments
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March 9, 2012 at 9:42 am
Iain Robinson
I am most used to riding with dropped handlebars…in their favour I can find a great variety of positions to put my hands…on the middle for serious hill climbing, on the hoods for relaxed rolling, holding the hoods for dancing on the pedals and of course, on the drops just under the hoods for max effort. Some of my colleagues even ride with their forearms draped over the hoods, not something I’m comfortable with. In comparison, I can never get comfortable on my mountain bike, even with a couple of 90′s style bar extensions. So I would come down in favour of drops, even if we discount the aerodynamic advantages, (presumably of no account in ordinary everyday proper riding.)
And yes, I know what you mean about the invincible folk.
March 9, 2012 at 4:01 pm
John Romeo Alpha
Some of the advantages of drop bars become more apparent when you fit a stem which positions them so that all parts of the bar from drops to hoods are comfortable to use. Several people with drop bars who told me they never use the drops had a stem in negative drop mode, so that the bars are lower. Flip the stem over (threadless), or in the case of a quill get a new one with a rise rather than a drop, and the drops can be better positioned for regular non-racing usage.
March 9, 2012 at 8:03 pm
disgruntled
I’ve never got on with drop bars having gone over the top of them once, but I love my (german style?) touring bars or butterfly bars. All the different hand positions of drop bars and none of the missing teeth. Of course they’re a major pain to take anywhere where you need to squeeze your bike into close proximity with other bikes
March 9, 2012 at 9:44 pm
travis
what’s the newest with your job situation. Pray tell!!
March 9, 2012 at 10:00 pm
Iain Robinson
Yes! Let’s hear!
March 17, 2012 at 9:32 pm
Andy in Germany
Thanks for the comments, sorry it took so long to reply but I’m knee deep in application forms.
@Ian: Thanks for the thoughtful response: I can see the idea of being able to change and vary according to conditions and I can imagine that would get more attractive on a long commute.
@John: A good point that I may have missed: I’ll need to get a new stem for the bike as the current one os way to long wit straight bars, so I’ll bear that in mind.
@Disgruntled: I keep thinking I’ll suffer your fate as well, or rather I’ll hit something because my hands are too far from the brakes.
oh, and Travis and Ian: Thanks for the thoughts… new post just up with the current situation…