When I ride the hoods on my Tarmac SL4, my arms have the perfect bend. But when I ride the drops on the stock bars, it’s really difficult for me to still reach the brakes and shifters (I’m using SRAM Red, not that it should make a difference here). I also feel that when I’m on the drops they are too low for me to get to and they cause me to crunch up my body to fit down lower to the top tube. This might be unavoidable to some degree but I cannot ride like that. I need to get more aerodynamic on the roadie without getting the old-man-clipons, which are almost as socially unacceptable as those ridiculous vibram toe shoes.
So I’ve been mulling getting longer stems so I can stretch out more, but I’m worried that my arms might want to lock up. On the other hand, what bars should I consider?
I’m running all stock Specialized components. Not a big believer in crabon stem/bars but I’ll probably get that for the bling factor because I do like “pretty”.
A whole lot variables here, but many riders do prefer (I do) the newer short and shallow bars. A good set would by the Zipp Service Course (AL fine, carbon ones awesome at 172g, but 3 times the price) SS.
Since about the 70s the front end of racing bikes have generally gotted lower and lower. So now the riding with you habds on the hoods and arms resting on the top of the curve is pretty aero but lots of people cant really use the drops.
That pretty much sounds like your situation, you can try a shorter drop bar, just live with it and not use the drops or put in some more spacers/upward angled stem, and raise the bar you have. Or any combo of the former
Things seem to be changing a bit, lots of companies have race bikes with higher stacks.
Since about the 70s the front end of racing bikes have generally gotted lower and lower. So now the riding with you habds on the hoods and arms resting on the top of the curve is pretty aero but lots of people cant really use the drops.
Indeed. Thoughts on this from Cervelo co-founder Gerard Vroomen - where he even suggests that Fabian Cancellera may need to re-think his front end road fit:
look at this pic of Sean Kelly His bars top is just a bit lower than his seat. Granted he used a lower seat than most but not by a whole lot.
Not to mention that he was winning sprints on that “noodly” narrow tubed aluminum Vitus (re-badged in the pic above)…so much for the “need” for BB stiffness for sprinters
I was riding around after posting my question and realized that when I go to the drops it really scrunches me up and I want more space to reach out so my knees aren’t hitting my elbows. Y’all are right…too many variables! It’s confusing me.
Also note that the old style brake hoods are lower in relation to the bar top than the current models. Going from the hoods to the drops was not as much of a transition, but there is a bigger transition going from the tops to the hoods. I have a bike with the older levers and the bar top is about 3 cm higher to get the same position.
Also note that the old style brake hoods are lower in relation to the bar top than the current models. Going from the hoods to the drops was not as much of a transition, but there is a bigger transition going from the tops to the hoods. I have a bike with the older levers and the bar top is about 3 cm higher to get the same position.
Very important to note. The modern hoods stick up a bit, whereas the older models, even with a bent bar (grips angled downwards like the picture), the hoods will be positioned below the top bar.
As others have suggested, I’d say to look into some shallow drop bars and see how you like those. Currently I’m riding some with the angled bends, where it has 2 sharp bends on the bars. The reach doesn’t bother me, but I do spend a lot of time in the lowest bend, where my arms are almost straight and I can kind of roll up and relax my back a bit.
That’s what I’m looking for. My arm angle is currently too narrow so I’m going to elongate the stem 1-2 cms and see what that does for me. Decided to go non-bling aluminum stem in case I have to purchase a few of them. I am looking at Zipp Service Course SL 110 or 120 mm and these are only available in a +/-6 degree drop. Does anyone know of a comparable 0 degree drop stem? It’s such a pain in the ass to search every company’s website for this stuff.
What length and rise is your current stem? You say everything on your bike is Specialized. They do not make a 0° stem as far as I know. Are you sure you dont have ±6° currently?
By adding 20mm to the length of the stem you are also going to be raising the bars (unless you are on a -17 ° stem)
ETA. If you really want a 0° stem Easton makes one.
