On Tue, 01 Mar 2005 14:38:11 GMT, David
<
[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> >
>> > Would like to spend no more than $500-$600 and get something that I am not
>> > going to want to upgrade again.
>> >
>> >
>
>While a good fit is important, it's the type of bike fitting that is
>fitted to the type of riding that's going to make you happy with your
>$500 to $600 bike purchase. Make sure that a bike shop isn't going to
>sell you an aerodynamic efficient road bike with drops, cause you need
>to very flexible on your body joints and that is something you need to
>develop over time with more cycling. That is why, upright bicycles are
>selling like hot cakes, especially with newbies. There are a few
>advantages of riding on drops, namely being aerodynamic. But it also
>allows you to push bigger gears by ways of leveraging your body against
>the drops, which you can't easily do on flat bars.
>
>David.
This sounds wrong to me. What is an aerodynamic efficient road bike? To me
that means TT bike, not a road bike.
Second, you don't need to be more flexible in the body joints. Spinal flex
helps, but that is normally adequate unless you have a gut, or an injury.
Upright bikes are selling like 'hotcakes' to newbies b/c they are
mis-informed, mostly. Too many people may be getting knobbie tired MTB when
all they are doing is riding on the road or hard-pack dirt b/c a
dual-suspended MTB is 'trendy' - imo.
Riding on the drops allows you to get higher gears because, in my
experience, it puts your bodyweight more fully over the pedals. Newbies try
to get more power by 'pulling' on the bars, but it's better to use your
weight, like you're standing to pedal, but your butt is still on the seat.
You have a relatively light touch on the drops most of the time.
The more forward position, or 'racing' position that you obtain in the
drops -is- more aero.
The truth is, you have a lot more hand positions available using drop bars
and I rarely have to use the drops - plus holding the flat part of the bar,
your arms are closer together than on a flat-bar bike, exposing less of
your chest, which improves your aerodynamics also.
In addition, in my experience, you can sit up relatively the same on a road
bike with drop bars as with a flat bar bike. If you have an injury or flex
issues, just get a different stem, or reverse your stem, decreasing the
angle between the seat and the h/b. If your seat is too low, your legs will
have to flex more against your torso, so it might feel, in that case, like
you struggle to get into the right position on the drops. Simply raise the
seat to the optimal height and see if you don't feel better.
That's my experience - not trying to be critical, here.
jj