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MountainBikeReview.com's Forum Archives - 29inch Wheeled Bikes
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once again, query for drop bar (or rigid) users... (11 posts)
|  once again, query for drop bar (or rigid) users... | sslos
Dec 29, 2003 9:48 PM | | yeah, this is probably getting
b really
old, but i'm still up in the air about whether to run riser bars/sussy fork or drop bar/rigid in my upcoming solo 24 hr. race.
anybody have an opinion about this?
the los |
| re: once again, query for drop bar (or rigid) users... | ..::Nightfire::..
Dec 30, 2003 1:35 AM | | I run carbon risers, carbon rigids and 2.1" tyres and can't see a reason for suspention. Drops will be hard on your back after 24hrs unless you have a really high rise stem.
P::.. |
| yeah...high rise stem is a must.... | sslos
Dec 30, 2003 7:55 AM | | if i run drop bars, i'll have the drop section somewhere in the vicinity of the grips on my risers. the reason i have been considering suspension is that after a realy rocky downhill, my wrists sometimes get sore. drops will put them in a more ergonomically correct position.
someone on the singlespeed board informed me that the course i'll be racing on isn't too rocky, so i'll probably just stick with rigid for now.
the los |
| My wrists get sore even with suspension... | shiggy©®
Dec 30, 2003 10:46 AM | | ... if I am riding straight bars. But if you are not use to riding drops you may have more problems. If you are going to do it you need to do it now so you can get riding time on the new setup. |
| Well, if it isn't too rocky - you might even have a more..... | 2melow
Dec 30, 2003 11:06 AM | | aerodynamic advantage as well using drops. According to Matt Chester I probably fall into the "99% of people that have posted drop barred off-road bikes with threadless setups on discussion boards or people that buy flared drops because they are "cool" category" and have my drops an inch or so below my saddle and have broken the holy rule that they "gotta be" at saddle height. But then again - it is comfortable and really works for me. Maybe it's more comfortable because its closer to my road bike? Maybe my cockpit length was shortened enough because I already ran my flat bar inches below my saddle. Whatever. Just do what makes you comfortable.
I've got the drops on and have been running those cheapo Innova 700x45 studded "28"er" tires on my bike cruising the icy snowpack of the front range trails. What i've noticed that might make even more sense is that i'm about 1 mph faster in the drops position than on the hoods. In a 24 hour race, this could equate to minutes. But then again - if you jack your stem up above your saddle this might negate all aerodynamics. Luckily i've found a happy medium with drops/comfort/aerodynamics. Just gotta play with a lot of stems.
But still, my biggest beef is that the drop bars are still too narrow. Ride Zippity in Fruita with Drops, then with wide flats or risers. Much more fun with a wider bar IMHO. Good luck. |
| Sorry I annoyed you... | flexiflyer
Dec 30, 2003 4:46 PM | | i According to Matt Chester I probably fall into the "99% of people that have posted drop barred off-road bikes with threadless setups on discussion boards or people that buy flared drops because they are "cool" category"
I was not calling you out specifically with the statement you quoted. The fact of the matter is that the vast majority of people that experiment with drops off-road have them set up poorly and give up on them prematurely...blaming the drops themselves.
i and have my drops an inch or so below my saddle and have broken the holy rule that they "gotta be" at saddle height.
That is not what I said. What I said was:
b "The key is maintaining a reasonable cockpit length while having the tops of the bars (at a minimum if you're shorter than 6') level with the saddle. Ideally, they should be higher than that."
Why distort things to the extreme? I didn't issue an edict nor am I professing any "holy rules." I'm not a deity. I am passing on experience gleaned from years of long rides on road/crossish bikes off-road (my first off-road experiences were on an old Trek steel lugged frame) and from building numerous drop bar specific bikes. I returned to using drop bars exclusively off-road in 2000 and have no intention of riding anything else.
I ran my drops 2+" below my saddle for years and was "comfortable." I'm also 6'2" with very long arms. I gather that you're pretty tall too. When I moved to more challenging terrain, I raised my bars to be level with my saddle...which is difficult for someone of my build with short cranks (~37" inseam coupled with 165mm cranks = really tall saddle height) unless the frame is designed with this in mind or a custom stem is fabbed (I had Rick Hunter make one for me). Now I am "even more comfortable."
As the rider gets taller, the height of the drops in relation to the saddle is not as critical...hence why I said, again:
b "The key is maintaining a reasonable cockpit length while having the tops of the bars (at a minimum IF YOU'RE SHORTER THAN 6') level with the saddle. Ideally, they should be higher than that."
MC |
| Whoah! | 2melow
Dec 30, 2003 8:33 PM | | Actually you are very right to a point. I am in that 1% as you suggest - that's all i'm saying. I'm just tired of seeing people (sorry I picked you Matt because your post was the most recent and easy to scroll down to find, but there have been MANY others) saying the most comfortable ride with drops is with the tops of the bars even with your saddle and that is the "unwritten rule" and you've got them setup wrong if your setup deviates from this. Definitely NOT the case, especailly with taller riders (and most of us seem to be on the 6'2"+ side.)
I'd encourage folks to start off where you suggest(saddle and top of the drops about even) but then don't be afraid to play around with shorter stems if that doesn't satify you. Most people do get it WAY too low (and I was even guilty of that at first with my WTB's and my comfortable spot ended up lower than the saddle) but running the Salsa Bell Lap Bars is a whole different riding style than the WTB's which I think you, shiggy and others use & riding IN the drops is the norm 80% of the time or more. Not the case with the Bell Laps.
I ride my bike to work everyday. Most often I pick my road bike and put the majority of my miles on that because it is faster and cuts down my commute time significantly. Actually, probably 85% of all my miles logged in a year are on county roads/hardpack dirt/unimproved roads on my road bike. Now it is too snowy/cold/icy and sketchy to commute on the roadbike full time so the mtb sees double duty. Setting my 29"er similarly (ok- much shorter,more DH and techie friendly) has allowed me to keep an aggressive aerodynamic setup yet maintain several hand positions but still get that ass-hauling tuck in the drops and spin out a big gear. Works well in the mountains too. Riding on the hoods isn't choppered out with a slightly shorter stem either. It works for me and I can see it really being a benefit on a "non-technical-ish" 24 hour race as sslos describes above.
Basically I just wanted to clear up that it isn't wrong to have your drop bars set up lower than your saddle (especially others than WTB). Some of us are tall and lanky with ape arms and you need to find what works for you. I had my Bell Laps too high and they were almost even with my saddle. So saddle=top of drop bars isn't always the case and I just had to get it out because this subject came up again. Thanks for clearing this up.
And Shiggy, I don't know what you've got growing in that new lime green/blue shop out there in Oregon...but my wtb's didn't seem like they were even close to 27"!!! :)
2M |
| Measure the distance between your thumbs... | shiggy©®
Dec 30, 2003 10:15 PM | | ... (at the "crotch" of your thumb and index finger) when you are gripping your straight bars and the distance between them when in the drops. The distance in my WTBs is about the same as on a 27" straight bar (add 7-8" for the equivalent straight bar). My 46 cm Bell Laps are even wider.
You do not support/control the bars with the pinkie side of the hand. if happens at the thumb/index finger side. That is the "real" working width of a bar.
Rotating your hands out to grip a straight bar does make your elbows farther apart, which I do not like as it restricts my movement. |
| re: Measure the distance between your thumbs... | jpre
Dec 30, 2003 11:00 PM | | Shig:
You do not support/control the bars with the pinkie side of the hand.
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I'm not so sure about that. What if you've got a finger or two over the brake lever? |
| You still grip the bar with your thumb | shiggy©®
Dec 31, 2003 3:14 AM | | No thumb, no grip on the bar. |
| After riding drops all winter... | shiggy©®
Dec 30, 2003 5:20 PM | | .... you may find the width just fine. I consider my WTB's width to be equivalent to a 27" straight bar. I measure from the point where my thumb and index finger hold the bar as that is where most of your grip happens. |
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