Re: Bars & Stems

Velvet

igp wrote:
> Hi All,
> I'm in the process of changing my flat bar road bike into a drop bar
> bike and need a little advice. I've recently bought a used set of
> shimano sora combined shifters for the job and would like to change
> them over myself. A few questions that I need answered before I buy
> anything else are
>
> 1. Existing bars are 25.4mm must the new drops be exaxtly 25.4mm.
> 2. Existing stem is 90mm from centre of riser to centre of bars is this
> an appropriate length for drop bars.
> 3. Bar width Is there an easy way to determine correct width.
> 4. What type of bar tape is recommended.
> 5. I'm pressuming that I will need new cables.
>
> Any other advice would also be much appreciated
>
>

Can't answer most of those, but I was told that the width of the bars
should be about the same as the width of your shoulders - ie, arms
should be parallel rather than resembling more of a V shape etc.

Certainly was nicer once I'd changed my bars to a narrower (and
therefore closer to my shoulder-width) set.

Bare in mind with the stem reach that your hands will be further forward
comparad with flat bars, due to the shape of the drop bars - this may or
may not be to your liking, it depends if you are comfy where you are (in
which case you might find it a bit of a stretch to be on the
hoods/brakes) or if you want the more stretched out position.

--


Velvet