40
The main advantage is more hand positions. With a regular flat bar, you hold your hands at the grips (with possibly about one more hand position available if you have bar ends).
With drop bars, you can hold at:
The brake hoods (on top of the brake levers)
The drops (the bottom part of the bar)
The tops (on the left and right of the stem)
That place between ...
23
Yes, typically you will obtain an improvement in speed by adding clip-on aero bars to your bike.
How much extra speed is dependent on many variables though (mostly how it changes your aerodynamics) but a couple of km/h faster is certainly possible.
One of the several compromises of adding aero bars to a road bike versus having a dedicated time trial bike ...
22
Yes, the bag can cause the instability. The physics is quite simple.
Ordinarily, a bike is self-stabilizing. If you turn the handlebars to the left, you steer to the left and the bike leans to the left. However, the turning gives a centrifugal force to the right, which causes the bike to want to lean to the right which, in turn, straightens it out.
With a ...
22
That’s a tension bolt for a quill stem I think. Is there a wedge shaped piece floating around inside the fork now? You can fish it out with that bolt or maybe flip the bike upside down.
The last few mm of the bolt look stripped which may or may not be an issue. The small bend in the bolt shouldn’t be an issue.
Try cleaning everything then reinstalling ...
18
No! Don't do it!
Certainly not with aluminium / alloy bars. Any bending stresses the internal structure of the metal, weakening it. Even in a metalworking shop, I would be doubtful of the safety of the product. I hesitated to say final product because the result could be ... final. For you.
Even with steel bars, I wouldn't do it. With steel bars we used to ...
17
That's fairly normal behavior. You point out that you got used to it, but couldn't "trust the bike". It's a very similar scenario to moving to a new bike with much different geometry and not trusting the bike, your body and learned muscle memory needs time to adjust. Weight strapped to the front of your handlebars tends to do this, especially when it ...
15
As Chris H notes, the clerk was wrong. And he suggests a good suggestion to raise the light above the bag. However, you can also mount the light below the bag as well. Operating on the same principle as fog lights on cars, low mounted lights can do a better job of showing some road hazards. They are also much less likely to blind drivers and pedestrians (...
15
Older bikes have what is known as a quill stem. The stem telescopes inside the fork steerer tube and is held in place with a wedge. The long bolt you removed threads into the wedge. When the bolt is tightened the wedge is pulled up.
What you should have done is loosened the bolt, aligned the bars and re-tightened the bolt. With the bolt removed the wedge is ...
14
What he hammered down is the star nut. It's a gription (yes I made that word up) device that serves as an anchor point in the steer tube to allow the top cap to properly compress the headset during a headset adjustment. Old or damaged star nuts are often driven all the way through the steer tube to remove them (that's why your steer tube is open at the ...
14
Two reasons, one major and one a little more subtle.
Majorly, most adult bikes won't come close to fitting in a standard, non-oversize bike shipping box if you just turn the bars and fork as you describe. What counts as oversize and how much more it costs will vary depending on where you are in the world and the carrier, but you'll need a significantly ...
14
For one thing, the aerodynamics are terrible. For another, most cycling is not dependent on peak power, but on sustainable power, for which leg strength (or body strength) isn’t as important as cardiovascular capacity.
Some recumbents do use bars like the ones you mention, but the geometry is so different that muscle recruitment is also very different.
13
It's almost certainly cork that is used in the bar tape for its vibration damping and sweat absorbing properties.
It's clearly visible in this promotional image for Cinelli tape:
12
The most common measurement I've seen is c-c (centre to centre), the distance between the two horizontal tops of the drops, running parallel with the stem and behind the hoods.
If that doesn't make sense, see the following image.
Image credit bikerumour.com
However, you're right to check this as not everyone does it this way. The internal or external ...
12
I wouldn't recommend bending handlebar -- if the bar breaks (which is more likely due to the stresses you're putting on it), you're probably going to lose some teeth or worse. I don't know your skills with metal, so I'd also probably not suggest the bent piece of tubing approach.
If you really want a bullhorn and want to make it yourself, your best bet is ...
11
For a city commuter bike, don't bother with disk brakes - go for simple rim brakes. You'll want the reliability over all else. You don't need disks for most types of road cycling, as the limiting factor for grip is likely to be your tyre anyway.
As regards shifters, go with whatever is comfortable for you. I like the combination of brakes and gear levers in ...
11
I now realise "gran fondo" is American terminology for "cyclosportive". That sort of event falls loosely between audax and racing. The randonneuring community prize responsible riding, and tend to frown upon behaviour or equipment that could be deemed "antisocial". For example, most audax events require riders to fit mudguards, for the benefit of others.
In ...
11
My bikes had one. You would simply put your bike against the wall with just that "thing" and your saddle touching the wall.
It would prevent scratches and made sure your bike doesn't fall.
That thing was made of some sort of rubber/plastic so your handlebars wouldn't simple "slide" down the wall making your bike fall when you put it against it.
Also. ...
11
Well, from an engineering standpoint, no. It increases complexity, cost and weight. Those might be a deal breaker for the commuters who would likely use them. From a practical standpoint, maybe. @NL_Derek; you could be the first to test one!
In conjunction with other folding components (frame like a Dahon & pedals), it may suit the users need, imagine ...
11
Doing it safely with aluminum is not simple or equipment-minimal, either modifying it or making it from scratch. But, if you want to make a hobby of it for a while, you can do it safely in steel in very equipment-minimal fashion.
Here's a link to the public domain book usually referred to as "Bicycle Repairing 1896." It's a US bicycle shop repair ...
11
Before looking to improve the bike, I'd look to improve your fitness. I was able to average 13–14mph on my hybrid for 1–1.5hrs; at that time, I was commuting 3–5 miles each way per day and maybe a weekend ride of 15–20 miles once or twice a month.
Hybrids aren't designed for going fast but, at 11mph, there's not a huge aerodynamic ...
10
I commute every day in SF with drop bars. It's not an issue for me. You quickly adapt to the hand position, if you bike is set up in a way that is comfortable for you.
The real safety issue you should be worried about, IMHO is not braking itself, but rather the "heads-down" position you can be in on the bike itself. You have to get used to looking around ...
10
TL;DR: Position: drop bars can be set up to match almost any reasonable flat-bar body/head position and hence visibility.
Braking: if you can squeeze your front brake from the hoods hard enough to initiate rear wheel lift-off on dry flat pavement - you're good.
The long answer: Position: Higher body/head position will generally give you better visibility. ...
10
Yes. Don't use a handlebar bag if it affects your bike's handling that badly.
Perhaps your frame is just not suitable for a handlebar bag - normally a fork with a lot of trail (ie a stable touring style fork) would be best.
If your bike is a "twitchy" or "responsive" or sporty bike, then the bag will put weight on the wrong side and essentially act like ...
10
Many BMX levers are hinged, so they don't require messing with the grip. These can be had for either short pull (canti/caliper/u-brake) or long pull (v-brake/mechanical disc), so make sure to get the right pull. They're intended for one or two finger use.
Various basic "touring" levers, of the stamped sheet metal variety, also go on and off without removing ...
10
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.
10
Here are a few diagrams I drew in Autodesk Fusion 360 to explain how these zero-gap stems work.
According to the instructions provided with the few zero-gap stems I've encountered, you should tighten the "no gap" bolts to full torque first, then alternate between the lower bolts to fasten the handlebar. That makes sense according to the diagrams ...
9
Drop bars
The main advantage of drop bars is that you have a variety of positions for your hands, giving you options to make you more aerodynamic or just have a change if you get a bit sore in one spot. Additionally, having your hands 'pointing forward' is a more neutral position for your shoulders, where flat bars cause them to rotate outwards.
Related ...
9
Ultimately all road bike positions are a compromise between comfort, power and aerodynamics. The balance between each component depends on your goals, experience, flexibility and any underlying injuries or physical dysfunctions. If you find a position that works for you, that is outside the "typical" road positioning, then you should consider it as valid ...
9
I would suggest attaching the bars and doing some test rides.
Is your bike, with it's aggressive geometry, stable when using them?
Are you comfortable using them?
Does this new position provide some relief, or is it just more annoying?
I think you're the only one who can determine if they'll be an advantage to you. In general, I'd think the extra position ...
9
This answer elaborates a bit on the answer above, pulling from some YouTube videos done by Specialized Bicycles in their own wind tunnel as well as a few other sources. It goes on a (hopefully acceptable) tangent by discussing an alternative hand position for road cyclists, some of whom may not be able (due to racing regulations) or willing (due to vanity) ...
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