How long will it take to get used to drop bars?

[Steady]

I have a friend who always rode mountain bikes, when he switched to a road bike the thing he struggled most with was the visual aspect of the skinny tyres/wheels, and how they reacted with the road by his movements, more of a mind thing rather than anything practical or physical....

I can agree with that completely, before I switched to road somehow looking at those thin skinny tyres was almost enough to declare road bikes insanely dangerous. My brother still asks me how I ride with tyres that thin but now it's not an issue for me at all.

In the beginning I swore I'd never stand out of the saddle because everything felt so very different and 'wobbly' on a road bike it was just extremely reactive. Having gone from a heavy dual suspension bike fondly named my "work out bike" I felt like I was cycling on a feather. It is all perspective though, eventually I just got use to it.

Although I won't lie, sometimes the weight (or lack of weight) catches me out when I go to reposition the bike and throwing it into the right position throws me along with it and that catches me out.

 

[Supersuperleeds]

I've got quite a few different styles of bikes and they all feel different but after riding one for a bit that one feels normal, its just a matter of getting used to how each one 'feels' on the road.
If you want to try something really weird try riding one of these

took me ages to get used to it
I've had a few tentative rides on 2 wheels lately but the broken mended leg still ain't really up to it but I've been toying with the idea of a racing trike.
I've met a couple of guys that ride these

I've seen a couple of those racing trikes, both times being ridden between Countesthorpe and Willoughby Waterleys. .

To the OP - took me months to get used to drop bars, now much prefer them to flat bars

 

[Dayvo]

What you can do, to get used to that 'lying' position, is to touch your toes, ankles, knees, or whatever you can you reach when you're at home or out of sight from colleagues etc. , so as to get your back muscles used to being taut whilst on the drops.

 

[Cyclist33]

It took me two bikes. By which I mean, my first Road bike I didna get on with so I sold it after 6 months and swore off drop bar bikes. Got a fast hybrid and made it faster. Cracking bike but a couple of years later I felt the need for speed and did a lot more testing and research. Second time around, much better. So it turned out it wasn't the drops I wasn't ready for, it was the ride quality.

And now I have two Road bikes and probably about to buy a third!

 

[Big Dave laaa]

I don't get on with my old roadie in the drops for some reason. I think the bars are a strange shape maybe too shallow. The ones on my giant suit me much better and I ride the drops a lot.

 

[Cyclist33]

I don't get on with my old roadie in the drops for some reason. I think the bars are a strange shape maybe too shallow. The ones on my giant suit me much better and I ride the drops a lot.

Also, it's A Giant.

 

[Big Dave laaa]

Also, it's A Giant.

Oh yeah that too

 

[Cyclist33]

Oh yeah that too

Sweet lookin ride btw

 

[Big Dave laaa]

Sweet lookin ride btw

Thanks, I'm pretty pleased with it so far. So easy to make it go quick.

 

[User16625]

As some of you guys most probably know, i have recently purchased my new bike(i got it today) i am very impressed with it, one thing though is because my old bike was a hybrid with flat bars i am not used to riding with drop bars just yet. it's just the feel of the bike when i'm using the tops,hoods or drops instead of the flat bars like on my previos bike. the only way i can explain it is to me it feels very sensitive when i try to turn, i turn the bars the slightest bit and it feels like the wheel is about to twist all the way round on me, i'm sure before i was close to falling off what was it like your first time on the drop bars? is it something where overtime i'll just get used to the drop bars ? i am looking foward to what you guys have to say, the response i got from my last post was excellent!!!

My first time on drops? I was a kid and came across an old "racer" in the back of my shed. Gears didnt work except for the front derailleur IIRC. Oiled the chain and gave it a go. I remember thinkin "this thing flies!" The bike was probably way to big, but only ever ridden cheap BSO MTBs until that point, all I could think of was how much faster I could go. I eventually got myself a proper one, new and fitted. Never had any issues with regards to positioning or using the drops. In fact I much prefer it as its more aero. In a headwind Im almost resting my chin on the handlebars!

My MTB feels like Im pedaling through quicksand by comparison.

 

[Gravity Aided]

Used to be there were a myriad of choices in drop,or Maes bars. If you can get a set with the right sized reach ,width, and drop for your hand size and arm length. Oh,another parameter for the bike fitters to consider

 

[TheJDog]

[Pedant alert/]
It comes as a bit of a shock to learn that to get the bike to lean into a corner you first have to turn the bike ever so slightly in the opposite direction to the turn to start the bike leaning and then you make a minor correction in the direction of the turn to maintain stability once you're leaning into the corner. It's very subtle and you do it subconsciously.

You don't have to countersteer, you _can_ just lean your body (as you know because you'll still fall over if you bolt your steering straight). Motorbikes sometimes need a bit more of a push because the engine is a large spinning mass that can keep the bike upright, so countersteering is a bit more of a thing.

 

[anothersam]

I was happy to tour on flat bars for years. But I hankered after drops, purely because I thought they looked nicer – more "bikelike". Eventually I bought a bike so equipped and didn't have too much trouble adapting. I still prefer flats on very windy days for stability, and they make climbing a bit easier. Ideally I wouldn't touch bars at all…