Saddle Height.

[Ajax Bay]

I have never been remotely interested in road bikes,

Perhaps that explains why you don't see the point of a fit. I suspect the percentage of riders paying for a bike fit for flat bars is miniscule - maybe a few competitive MTB riders.

My drop bars had tape all the way up and the Weinmann brakes had extension levers so you could brake from the top of the bars with no need to change hand position.

Who taped these bars 'all the way up'? Did they not realise that's not how it was done?
Were these extension levers the type more commonly known as 'suicide' levers? No possibility of changing hand position when the rider tragically realised the brakes were not going to stop him/her in time.

I typically walk at between 3.5 and 4 mph

That's quite fast. Why do you walk that fast? Wouldn't it be easier to run? Do you have friends that walk that fast too?

Perhaps people ride on the hoods because it is comfier?
And if they spend most of their time there, why not get a hybrid?

Riders with drop bars have more bar position options than those with a flat bar. Those with drop bars (I assert) will spend the majority of time on hoods (with two options: thumb/first finger web or palm of the hand on top) but the option to drop to the 'drops' is there for a. a more efficient aero position when there's a significant apparent head wind b. down hil: a lower centre of gravity and stronger arm position and hand position for braking c. a change from being on the drops. Options on the top of the bars and the bend of the bars (knuckles up or knuckles down) also exist. A flatbar offers fewer options and that's a reason to choose drop bars over flat bars. I suspect most riders owning a bicycle with drop bars also own and ride a bike with flat bars so it's not an 'either/or' choice.

 

[screenman]

The stupidly low back-breaking riding position fashion on road bikes seems a fairly recent thing outside of racing. When I was a youngster back in the 1980's I had a drop-bar bike (albeit a steel one, and fairly heavy at that) and I never experienced any significant discomfort. Why would this be? The reason, I suspect, is that I set the bars at a sensible height; i.e. only marginally lower than the saddle, rather than the current practice of setting them as low as the headset will physically allow. It doesn't surprise me in the slightest that a lot of cyclists who ride around hunched over the bars as low as they can get with their spines forced into an unnaturally curved position for extended periods, experience all sorts of cycling-related discomfort.

It might break your back, but I am comfortable on my modern road bikes. I was 24 in 1980, so not a spring chicken.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

You need a 7kg road bike instead of that 16kg MTB.

(That’s tongue in cheek btw.)

No, I need to get my general fitness level back up to how it was a few years ago - and lose a few pounds of body fat!
Actually, I'm really looking forward to doing my ex-regular 11 mile each way trip on my "new" 14kg lightweight Pioneer next time, and if I can still do it in about 45 minutes - bearing in mind I'm older and heavier than I was, I shall be a very happy bunny. It may not be a fancy 7kg carbon bike, but it's noticeably lighter than my 3 speed. You actually needed to be fairly fit to make decent progress on an all-steel roadster with wide-ratio SA hub gears. Either your legs would be a blur whirring away in 2nd or you whacked it up into 3rd and then you really had to push hard against the top gear ratio. The much bigger ratio choice on the Pioneer will help me maintain a more comfortable cadence.

 

[bpsmith]

No, I need to get my general fitness level back up to how it was a few years ago - and lose a few pounds of body fat!
Actually, I'm really looking forward to doing my ex-regular 11 mile each way trip on my "new" 14kg lightweight Pioneer next time, and if I can still do it in about 45 minutes - bearing in mind I'm older and heavier than I was, I shall be a very happy bunny. It may not be a fancy 7kg carbon bike, but it's noticeably lighter than my 3 speed. You actually needed to be fairly fit to make decent progress on an all-steel roadster with wide-ratio SA hub gears. Either your legs would be a blur whirring away in 2nd or you whacked it up into 3rd and then you really had to push hard against the top gear ratio. The much bigger ratio choice on the Pioneer will help me maintain a more comfortable cadence.

Was messing with you, that’s all.

I think we’re all thinking the same thing after a busy festive period. I know that I can definitely benefit from shifting a few pounds in the new year too.

2018 regime starts tomorrow. Actually thinking of not drinking tonight, which will be a NYE first for me.

 

[SuperHans123]

Perhaps that explains why you don't see the point of a fit. I suspect the percentage of riders paying for a bike fit for flat bars is miniscule - maybe a few competitive MTB riders.


That's quite fast. Why do you walk that fast? Wouldn't it be easier to run? Do you have friends that walk that fast too?

Riders with drop bars have more bar position options than those with a flat bar. Those with drop bars (I assert) will spend the majority of time on hoods (with two options: thumb/first finger web or palm of the hand on top) but the option to drop to the 'drops' is there for a. a more efficient aero position when there's a significant apparent head wind b. down hil: a lower centre of gravity and stronger arm position and hand position for braking c. a change from being on the drops. Options on the top of the bars and the bend of the bars (knuckles up or knuckles down) also exist. A flatbar offers fewer options and that's a reason to choose drop bars over flat bars. I suspect most riders owning a bicycle with drop bars also own and ride a bike with flat bars so it's not an 'either/or' choice.

I have plenty of available hand positions with my Ergo grips.
I am not interested in all those things you mention.
I just enjoy being out and about, mainly on cycle tracks and if i want to go a bit quicker now and then I pedal a bit faster.

I also walk my dog at the speeds mentioned earlier.
No inclination to run.
Said dog in question.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

Was messing with you, that’s all.

I know you were, no offence taken.

 

[Slick]

[QUOTE="bpsmith, post: 5098238, member: Actually thinking of not drinking tonight, which will be a NYE first for me.[/QUOTE]

Heresy, they still shoot you up here for even thinking that.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

Who taped these bars 'all the way up'? Did they not realise that's not how it was done?Were these extension levers the type more commonly known as 'suicide' levers? No possibility of changing hand position when the rider tragically realised the brakes were not going to stop him/her in time.

Yep, they were the "suicide" levers fitted and the bar tapes were done at the Factory by Raleigh. Never had a problem with the lever travel as I used to be really fussy about maintaining my wheel trueness and I had the brake blocks adjusted to very minimal clearances. The only scary moments I ever had were going downhill in the wet and that was down to the fact the wheel rims were steel not alloy, nothing to do with the brake lever arrangements.

That's quite fast. Why do you walk that fast? Wouldn't it be easier to run? Do you have friends that walk that fast too?

I've got quite long legs and if I'm walking on my own and I'm on a mission to be somewhere, I don't hang around. Walking with someone else whilst having a chat is another thing entirely - no more than 3 mph I'd estimate. I can't think of anything more boring than running, plus it's hard on your joints. I avoid it like the plague.

 

[Alan O]

Is it that stupidly low back-breaking riding position fashion on road bikes seems a fairly recent thing that changes the cycling style, or is it that cyclists with drop bars from a few years ago cycled on the drops most of the time and on more up to date bikes are used on the hoods but some what near the same set up?
Only reason i ask is i have a few old and modern bikes and on the older bikes it seems more natural to be on the drops, no bar tape on the bar tops or rubber on the hoods? Whereas on a more modern bike i tend to cycle on the hoods most of the time?

For people actually racing, yes, I think that is the case - in fact, I recently saw somewhere a comparison of handlebar positioning and grip positioning between pro riders of the past and of today, and it showed exactly what you suggest.

But for those of us who don't race, aren't after top speed at the expense of all else, and aren't seduced into doing stuff just because it's the way the pros do it, it never was relevant and still isn't today.

My bars are positioned with the tops at about saddle height, which gives me the best range of comfy positions I can get - about 80-90% on the tops or hoods, and the rest on the drops.

 

[youngoldbloke]

It is simply not the case that 'cyclists with drop bars from a few years ago cycled on the drops most of the time' - even the pros!

 

[screenman]

For people actually racing, yes, I think that is the case - in fact, I recently saw somewhere a comparison of handlebar positioning and grip positioning between pro riders of the past and of today, and it showed exactly what you suggest.

But for those of us who don't race, aren't after top speed at the expense of all else, and aren't seduced into doing stuff just because it's the way the pros do it, it never was relevant and still isn't today.

My bars are positioned with the tops at about saddle height, which gives me the best range of comfy positions I can get - about 80-90% on the tops or hoods, and the rest on the drops.

If I have my bars that high I get back ache, whatever fits is my suggestion but please do not think I am imitating pro's just because my position is lower than the one you prefer.

 

[Alan O]

If I have my bars that high I get back ache, whatever fits is my suggestion but please do not think I am imitating pro's just because my position is lower than the one you prefer.

Sure, whatever is comfortable for you is obviously what's right.

 

[cyberknight]

The stupidly low back-breaking riding position fashion on road bikes seems a fairly recent thing outside of racing. When I was a youngster back in the 1980's I had a drop-bar bike (albeit a steel one, and fairly heavy at that) and I never experienced any significant discomfort. Why would this be? The reason, I suspect, is that I set the bars at a sensible height; i.e. only marginally lower than the saddle, rather than the current practice of setting them as low as the headset will physically allow. It doesn't surprise me in the slightest that a lot of cyclists who ride around hunched over the bars as low as they can get with their spines forced into an unnaturally curved position for extended periods, experience all sorts of cycling-related discomfort.

http://bikeretrogrouch.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/changing-positions.html

 

[Blue Hills]

I thought you were in your 70s or older from the way you talk!!

don't understand why. Seemed a reasonable enough statement of skipdriver's.
May return later with my experience of bike fitting - short version - can be lived well without for anyone who already has bikes they feel comfortable on, has a modicum of common sense and can spend a minute or two here and there tweaking. Even shorter version - these days I'd no more pay anyone to bike fit me than I would pay anyone to tell me which shoes fit.

 

[vickster]

don't understand why. Seemed a reasonable enough statement of skipdriver's.
May return later with my experience of bike fitting - short version - can be lived well without for anyone who already has bikes they feel comfortable on, has a modicum of common sense and can spend a minute or two here and there tweaking. Even shorter version - these days I'd no more pay anyone to bike fit me than I would pay anyone to tell me which shoes fit.

Based on his prior comments somewhere about 'young people' not being able to do basic electrics or some such. Most of my peer friends (mid to late 40s, teenagers in the 80s) would get professional tradespeople in to do electrics beyond changing a light bulb