Mountain Bikes · Public discussion

are drop down handlebars worth it?

Started by finnrambo · · Last activity · 9 posts · 1,740 views

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Mountain Bikes
Published
6 August 2010
Last activity
9 August 2010
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finnrambo
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9
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  1. Hi,
    I come from a road bike background and am going to try MTB as a new thrill, I figured that I could race much faster if I had drop downs is this correct? (if so pls tell me what I need to get, I use disk brakes with 8 gears in the back, 2 in the front)

  2. Your question is vague.
    If you are talking about drop downs for a cyclo-cross race or are you doing a down hill race?
    I am not an off road racer but it looks like the handlebars have more to do with handling and balance then it does have to do with speed.

  3. I'm going to be doing cross country and downhill racing not cyclocross, and I was just wondering if drop downs were worth the aerodynamics or not

  4. finnrambo said:

    I'm going to be doing cross country and downhill racing not cyclocross, and I was just wondering if drop downs were worth the aerodynamics or not

    You'll want to avoid drops if you're doing XC and DH...it's important to be able to shift, brake, and steer without moving your hands off the grips.

  5. I guess there is a reason that MTB's don't come with drop bars, even for the elite riders. So I would suggest sticking to the flat bar. You don't need to be that aerodynamic while avoiding the tree.

  6. TKOS said:

    I guess there is a reason that MTB's don't come with drop bars, even for the elite riders. So I would suggest sticking to the flat bar. You don't need to be that aerodynamic while avoiding the tree.

    That's the reason why most serious MTB riders up here have switched their clipless pedals for oversized flats...there's been too many serious accidents when a rider couldn't get a foot down fast enough.

  7. I'm going to stick with a flat bar and use clipless as I can't ride well without them, but I figured I'd point out that drop downs have integrated shifters and haven't used down tube shifters for years

  8. finnrambo said:

    I'm going to stick with a flat bar and use clipless as I can't ride well without them, but I figured I'd point out that drop downs have integrated shifters and haven't used down tube shifters for years

    The issue is that they're integrated into the brake levers, between the hood and the drop...not great for the technical singletrack we ride up here.

    If you want to try some good MTB pedals.,..

  9. The other pedal option is the platform one side, SPD the other side. A nice combo IMO. It is what I use. If you have to clip out quickly you can still mash down just as fast without any fiddling until it is easy to get back in.

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