Am I likely to have trouble with a 'proper' road bike?

[mjr]

Not at all if your are doing a century then body position and aero gains are important imho.

Why waste energy acting like a windsock!

I don't understand why this begins "not at all" when it seems to be agreeing with me. If riding alone, the aero gains matter. When sheltered in a bunch, you won't be acting like a windsock even if sat up on the hoods.

 

[Oldhippy]

Well @Two-Wheels hope that has made things crystal clear for you. Honestly try a few things out at your local bike shop and whatever feels best and fits go for it.

 

[DCBassman]

I prefer riding a road bike to a bike with straight bars .

Ahem, I ride a road bike with straight bars...

 

[Jameshow]

I don't understand why this begins "not at all" when it seems to be agreeing with me. If riding alone, the aero gains matter. When sheltered in a bunch, you won't be acting like a windsock even if sat up on the hoods.

I assumed you thought aerodynamics wasn't of importance to cyclists like us.

 

[raleighnut]

Another vote for trying 'bar ends'

 

[Dadam]

I’ve done the same recently; gone from a flat bar hybrid to a drop bar bike. I think hand position on the hoods is more comfortable than the flat bars and I do like the variety of hand positions.

The bars on the hybrid are very wide and on longer rides it felt maintaining the position introduced a little bit of tension in the outer part of the wrists, or to relieve it made me stick elbows out a little more.

At first with the drop bars being narrower the bike felt much more twitchy but I soon got used to this.

I’m still getting used to the drops though; for some reason I’ve not worked out it feels a bit unsafe while I’m transitioning, and doesn’t feel like I have as much control.

 

[mjr]

The other thing to mention is that if the road bike has rim brakes, the pads tend to be shorter than on other types of bike. That's far from always true, but often is. If the road bike is disc-braked and/or the hybrid hub-braked, it could even be reversed.

Anyway, I'm sure you always test your brakes within the first few metres of every ride, so the reduction in stopping power from 70mm Vs to 35mm dual-pivot wouldn't surprise you.

 

[Two-Wheels]

Hell fire. Thanks for the replies. Didn't expect so much response tbh. Plenty of food for thought here. To respond so some comments...

What do you do with a bike? Transport, daily shopping, carting stuff about, toy for weekends. Not many bikes will do all of the above. Most importantly get something that fits correctly and you generally get what you pay for.

Difficult to tell, as you say.

I'm not clear what it is you want to achieve. Comfort? Speed?

I'll double quote as my answer should hit both.

I don't get on the bike to go from A-B. If I did that then I'd either be walking or driving.
I get out on the bike as a form of exercise which I tie in with going to quiet (as much as possible) areas - which means most of my cycling is back roads. I look out for climbs as I like to throw a few in. I'll be going for some kind of speed/time goal, whether that's an overall mph average or hitting various Strava segments I'll have earmarked for the ride.

But I don't want to be able to average out 20+mph if my bones are rattling with the rough ride. Likewise it's no good feeling like I'm floating on a cloud if I can't break 10mph & everything is sluggish.

Apologies for answering the question by probably not answering it.

as your not supposed to lock your arms i cant see an issue without seeing you on a bike

I don't think I lock my arms, but maybe I do without knowing. Maybe I grip too tight (though I've tried altering hand positions which involve no gripping at all).

I have a nacked elbow full of metalwork and do ache if in the same position too long. In this regard road bikes work fine for me due to the ability to shift about hand positions.

Interesting, especially with a few saying the same there about the various hand positions.

Second hand market may be worth a punt so that if it doesn't work out then megamoney hasn't been spent.

For those in the south asking where I'm at too - Lancashire.


Also few comments coming in on the bar ends. I'll look in to that for sure. Thank you.

 

[Jameshow]

The other thing to mention is that if the road bike has rim brakes, the pads tend to be shorter than on other types of bike. That's far from always true, but often is. If the road bike is disc-braked and/or the hybrid hub-braked, it could even be reversed.

Anyway, I'm sure you always test your brakes within the first few metres of every ride, so the reduction in stopping power from 70mm Vs to 35mm dual-pivot wouldn't surprise you.

Probably as much as the reduction in rubber width and therefore grip.

I've never found dp lacking, perhaps for loaded touring?

 

[Illaveago]

Hell fire. Thanks for the replies. Didn't expect so much response tbh. Plenty of food for thought here. To respond so some comments...




I'll double quote as my answer should hit both.

I don't get on the bike to go from A-B. If I did that then I'd either be walking or driving.
I get out on the bike as a form of exercise which I tie in with going to quiet (as much as possible) areas - which means most of my cycling is back roads. I look out for climbs as I like to throw a few in. I'll be going for some kind of speed/time goal, whether that's an overall mph average or hitting various Strava segments I'll have earmarked for the ride.

But I don't want to be able to average out 20+mph if my bones are rattling with the rough ride. Likewise it's no good feeling like I'm floating on a cloud if I can't break 10mph & everything is sluggish.

Apologies for answering the question by probably not answering it.



I don't think I lock my arms, but maybe I do without knowing. Maybe I grip too tight (though I've tried altering hand positions which involve no gripping at all).



Interesting, especially with a few saying the same there about the various hand positions.

Second hand market may be worth a punt so that if it doesn't work out then megamoney hasn't been spent.

For those in the south asking where I'm at too - Lancashire.


Also few comments coming in on the bar ends. I'll look in to that for sure. Thank you.

Bike charity shops might have a larger selection of different bikes at cheap prices for you to try out .