Handle bar set up

[Mctommyd]

Good evening,

Maybe someone can assist with my current issue.

I have found that if i am comfortable riding in the hoods then it means that im not comfortable in the drops and vice versa.When comfortable in the hoods i have rotated the handle bars to where i cant reach the brakes easily and my hands are resting on the ends of the drops. If im allngood in the drops the hoods seem to be to far away and my reach is increased.

Is it worth adjusting the gear/brake levers back on the bar once i am comfortable in the drops. Im guessing i would need to remove bar tape etc.

Also would i need to adjust tension in the gears and brake cables?

any help would be appreciated.

 

[mjr]

You will need to redo the tape, probably. You shouldn't need to mess with cable tension because the outers remain the same length.

I can't visualise the problem so I'll leave advice on how to adjust it best to others.

 

[biggs682]

I prefer to ride on the drops

 

[Illaveago]

Hi and
I'm wondering if your stem maybe a bit too long for you ? It could explain why you are having to stretch.
Is it a modern or old type of bike ?
I find that I tend to ride on the bars or hoods for most of the time and on the drops when I'm going downhill or into a headwind .

 

[cyberknight]

Hi and
I'm wondering if your stem maybe a bit too long for you ? It could explain why you are having to stretch.
Is it a modern or old type of bike ?
I find that I tend to ride on the bars or hoods for most of the time and on the drops when I'm going downhill or into a headwind .

I was thinking the same , if you need to rotate the bars too much that you cannot reach the drops then maybe your reach to the bars is too long ,Assuming your saddle height and set back are right then you should be able to ride with a slight bend on the elbow when on the hoods

https://bikedynamics.co.uk/fit03.htm

 

[HLaB]

Shallower drop bars perhaps ?

 

[cyberknight]

Also
does your bike have bars with a long drop or shallow d

Shallower drop bars perhaps ?

I thought that too although without seeing how far @Mctommyd has turned the hoods up its hard to say as some people really turn the bars up a lot when trying to compensate for a reach that is too far , assuming his reach is ok then i agree a shallow drop bar is a good idea.
I am imagining they have it like this atm ?

This is a good guide
https://bike.bikegremlin.com/920/setting-up-road-bike-bars/

 

[ChrisEyles]

On old school non aero non brifter brake levers, I find to comfortably reach the brake levers from the drops I have to move the brake levers a bit further out/down the curve of the drop bars than I'd ideally like them from a comfort position when riding on the hoods. Which seems to be the same issue you describe.

Modern lever profiles seem a bit easier for me in this regard (2014 shimano sora on my tourer is very comfy indeed). One thing I personally find helpful is to rotate the levers inwards very slightly, so that the hoods are angled very slightly in towards the centre line of the bike rather than pointing dead ahead.

It's a bit of a faff getting this spot on, trial and error basically, but worth it when you finally get it sorted.

A pic of your set up may help us point you in the right direction, but probably only if it's way off. Small adjustments can make a big difference to feel but aren't so easy to assess by eye.

Good luck!

 

[vickster]

Bars right width as well as shape?

 

[Shearwater Missile]

I think along with others that it is the stem being too long. After years of tinkering I have just about have it right. I prefer riding the drops and I am comfortable. If I go up onto the hoods I find my power goes as it just stretches me that bit too far so only go onto the hoods when not under load, ie on the flat or decline. If I fit a shorter stem(90mm instead of 100mm) I find that I am too close on the drops and OK on the hoods, sounds familiar ? I have compact bars with the hoods virtually level. So my compromise is 100mm. Hope this info helps

 

[mjr]

Bars right width as well as shape?

Is there a right width? I've ridden everything from 550 to 390 without noticing much difference except sight variation in stem length required. Well, except for the handling!

 

[vickster]

550cm wide drop bars? This thread is about drops

 

[mjr]

550cm wide drop bars? This thread is about drops

Yes, someone's off road bike I borrowed. Of current branded products, the Soma Junebug looks slightly wider. I'm not a pigeon!

 

[Jenkins]

Yes, someone's off road bike I borrowed. Of current branded products, the Soma Junebug looks slightly wider. I'm not a pigeon!

The 560mm for them is measured at the bar ends where they flare out - the conventional measure is at the normal lever mounting point on drops.

 

[mjr]

The 560mm for them is measured at the bar ends where they flare out - the conventional measure is at the normal lever mounting point on drops.

Really? That seems like a step backwards because the headline used to be centre-to-centre at ends, because people vary in where they mount levers. Then there would be many other measurements like flare angle, top width, drop height, and so on, to enable comparisons before ordering it into your lbs.