Flexibility goes away quickly in a hospital.Īnyone who swings a leg over a drop bar bicycle grabs the bars by the tops. Yes, flexibility can be acquired over time. The most obvious reason the brakes can't be reached easily is they're too far away. Enough riders establish this 'skill' on Ride One that it can't be regarded as 'advanced'. Anything less and you're headed for trouble. The move from tops to brakes has to be quick, automatic, and positive. It will make no difference that you have learned to be somewhere else most of the time. And there will be times when you find your hands on the tops and you need to brake. If you ride with a handlebar that has tops there will be times when your hands are on the tops. I consider there to be 5 distinct positions available: The hoods, the hooks, the drops, the tops, and the ramps. Whether you are racing, touring or going on a leisurely ride, what makes drop handlebars special is the variety of hand positions they offer. This write-up reflects my non-expert personal experiences, informed by local mentours. Not everyone agrees on which hand positions are best to use at which times, or even on what the positions are called. something like this), the shape of the original handlebars and brake levers will make some of the positions described here impossible. I am also assuming that you are using contemporary "aero" style brake levers, with the brake cables hidden. Note that if you are dealing with a 1970s-80s roadbike (i.e. the Nitto Noodle, Grand Bois Maes, Velo Orange Course). This post assumes that your bike is fitted with the flat ramp style of bars prevalent today - either the compact type found on most stock road/racing bikes, or the more classic style popular with the twine and shellack crowd (i.e.
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To preface, a couple of things to keep in mind: First, drop bars vary in shape. I was frustrated by them too when I first started, and so I hope this illustrated introduction might be of some help. Riding a roadbike does not come naturally to everyone, and one particular source of frustration is the drop handlebars.