29
votes
Why do men's bikes have high bars where you can hit your testicles while women's bikes have the bar much lower?
The tube is low on ladies' bikes for the skirt.
Otherwise, structurally, it is better to have the top tube higher. You can make the bike lighter with the same strength.
One should not be in a large ...
- 15.3k
16
votes
How do I purchase a drop bar bike that will be converted to flat bar?
Converting between drop and flat bars is generally a huge amount of hassle. As you say, there are all kinds of incompatibility issues around brakes and shifters, and the geometry of the frame is ...
- 16.9k
14
votes
What's this "spacer" lever on the front brake lever for?
Adding pictures to Weiwen's answer...
Here is a picture of a brake lever with the part in question circled in blue.
It is a quick release mechanism integrated into the brake lever that allows ...
- 19.9k
11
votes
Accepted
What to call bike brake levers with two gripping points?
I was hesitating to flag this post as a duplicate of Why don't brakes come with 'Safety Levers' any more?, but the other post is rich in the names of those "dual-pull" brake levers which ...
- 4,261
11
votes
Why do men's bikes have high bars where you can hit your testicles while women's bikes have the bar much lower?
Historically, the lowered/angled top tube was used relegated to women's frames so they could wear a dress or skirt.
However, in recent years this geometry has been reframed (HA) as "step-thru&...
- 237
10
votes
Rental bike for holiday: wise to change handlebar style?
I'd recommend getting used to a new handlebar style (or frame geometry or any other change) slowly. On a multi-day trip problems tend to accumulate, so I would't recommend trying anything new. An ...
- 21.6k
10
votes
Accepted
Fitting a vibration-proof bell for drop bars
If your screw head is actually a nut, like the picture looks like, replace it with a nylock nut. If that is not possible, thread lock fluid like blue Loctite works nicely.
- 21.6k
10
votes
Why do men's bikes have high bars where you can hit your testicles while women's bikes have the bar much lower?
It's a mistake to think of bikes as gendered. Anyone can ride any bike, within some limitations, and physiological differences within genders vary greatly. Find a bike that fits your body correctly. ...
- 2,718
9
votes
What's this "spacer" lever on the front brake lever for?
That is a brake quick release lever. Sometimes, our tires are slightly too big to fit through the brake pads when we remove a wheel from the bike. That quick release lever releases a bit of cable, ...
- 28.3k
9
votes
Accepted
Is adjusting the angle of a drop handlebar a viable way to reduce wrist pain?
Putting your wrists at an uncomfortable angle on the bars can cause pain for any number of reasons. It can aggravate or maybe cause carpal tunnel, cause stiffness, cause road forces to not be properly ...
- 80k
9
votes
Accepted
Why does my front brake cable push out of my brake lever?
The lever is not broken.
The lever's job is to pull the cable away from the brake.
There are springs in the brake that should pull the cable away from the brake lever.
The cable housing should allow ...
- 19.9k
9
votes
Where to mount a bell on drop bar handlebars to make it accessible while braking?
I made up little stub bars that wrap around the drop just below the brake. It is 3d printed, and is clamped together by heatshrink tubing. The middle part is under my bartape. I have the same ...
- 119k
8
votes
Braking on a vintage road bike
It is true that the old style brake levers were not as powerful from the hoods as modern ones. The reason is geometry.
The picture below shows how old and new levers move when pulled. With old ...
- 21.6k
8
votes
Options to reduce reach on a gravel bike
When riding on the hoods reducing the reach of bars is equivalent to using a shorter stem. Only when riding on the tops a shorter stem will lead to different steering compared to shorter reach bars.
A ...
- 9,474
7
votes
Accepted
Is it OK to ride in the drops almost the whole time?
Cycling is a non-natural activity (i.e., homo sapiens did not evolve bio-mechanically over millions of years to ride bikes). As such, the only real rule is whether or not it works for you. Many road ...
- 30.3k
7
votes
Accepted
How to improve braking with hands on hoods?
Braking is always stronger from the drops than the hoods, as you noted only your lower fingers have mechanical advantage when braking from the hoods, when braking from the drops you have much better ...
- 30.3k
7
votes
Where to mount a bell on drop bar handlebars to make it accessible while braking?
I just put the bell at the tops. For some reason I normally put it on the left side, but I think the right side is basically the same. Basically, one side gets the bell, the other side gets the front ...
- 15.3k
6
votes
What to call bike brake levers with two gripping points?
It's just worth mentioning that there are modern levers that serve the same purpose but are much safer. If you're trying to emulate the setup above you shoudl use the new products.
They are known as ...
- 55.7k
6
votes
Accepted
Can I fit my normal brake levers to the curves of the dropbars?
Sorry, but fitting drop bars to a flat bike is a no-go.
The flat bar levers will not fit properly on a drop bar. You will probably not be able to reach the levers easily which is dangerous ! Reaching ...
- 75.3k
5
votes
Accepted
Rental bike for holiday: wise to change handlebar style?
Drop handlebars give a rather different riding position to flat bars. They tend to be narrower (much narrower if you cycle on the tops), farther forwards (if you're using the hoods) and lower (if you'...
- 16.9k
5
votes
Rental bike for holiday: wise to change handlebar style?
Most countries drive on the right (including probably yours, but not mine). In Japan they drive on the left. Driving etiquette is also very different in Japan (we've had questions here about some ...
- 55.7k
5
votes
How do I purchase a drop bar bike that will be converted to flat bar?
You have other options as well if you get on with the bike but not so well with the bars.
I bought a new primary bike a couple of years ago - it was a steel tourer with similar specs to the Sutra, ...
- 55.7k
5
votes
Why does my front brake cable push out of my brake lever?
David D's answer excellently explains why the cable is not being retracted.
A couple of things to check for before taking the cable off the caliper:
First thing to check is that there is no slack in ...
- 75.3k
5
votes
Accepted
How much faster when using drops
BikeCalculator attempts to quantify these different positions. I find it tends to overestimate speeds a bit (probably thinks all roads surfaces are smooth/good).
In my experience you gain about 0.5mph ...
- 18.2k
5
votes
Drop barends on cruiser handlebar
I guess there are no ready answers when you choose the path of alt-bars. Experimentation should decide. Consider aspects of comfort and safety.
Comfort — will it be comfortable to use? Cruiser ...
- 14.2k
5
votes
Drop barends on cruiser handlebar
Drop bar ends try to simulate Drop Handlebars. Drop handlebars and cruiser handlebars are practically oposite ends of a spectrum. Often times trying to obtain benefits of two oposites brings along ...
- 12.1k
5
votes
Drop barends on cruiser handlebar
I agree with Grigory's answer. Some other points to consider:
There will be a long distance between the drop bars and the cruiser grips (where the brake levers presumably would be), and moving ...
- 28.5k
4
votes
Is it OK to ride in the drops almost the whole time?
I'd like to start off by saying that bike fitting is almost completely a matter of personal preference and the "rules" are often broken and should be broken as long as it is safe, doesn't cause injury ...
- 214
4
votes
Can I fit my normal brake levers to the curves of the dropbars?
You can't. The reason is that drop bars are thicker than straight bars, and levers that are designed to match the 22.2mm tube of straight bars can't fit around 23.8mm that is standard drop bar size. ...
- 21.6k
4
votes
How do I purchase a drop bar bike that will be converted to flat bar?
This is just a generally bad idea. There are plenty of flat bar bikes with similar specs (700c wheels, 40mm tires, disc brakes, 9 speed mountain drivetrain) available. Swapping out the bars shifters ...
- 75.3k
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