Question

Sam123 said:

Simple question for you lot.

Can Dropbars be adjusted like moved back, moved forward?

I know they can be moved up and down with the stem.

But my drop bars dont seem to be long enough they seem short so im holding onto the edge of the drops near the cap plugs.

The only way they can be changed, without changing the stem or the bars themselves, is to rotate them in the stem clamp. This isn't really a great idea, though. Once you've got drop bars set at an optimal position for you, you really shouldn't move them. What really should be done is to shop for a specific drop bar geometry in combination with the stem length and rise that provides the correct fit for you.

Sam123 said:

Can Dropbars be adjusted like moved back, moved forward?

No, that adjustment, if you need it, is done by switching the stem to a shorter one. If you're not fashion conscius, and have a threadless fork, there's a chance that you can find a real short stem among the DH MTB/BMX components. If you've got an old quill-type stem they too can be found fairly short, but you'd neeed to venture away from road bike parts and into the world of hybrid and cruiser parts.

There is one adjustable stem that has sort of an parallellogram action, as opposed to the simple hinge of most adjustable stems. This one actually allows for reach adjustment too. As I remember it was fairly pricey, and mainly intended for shops to use while the customer figured out which stem he actually wanted.

Sam123 said:

But my drop bars dont seem to be long enough they seem short so im holding onto the edge of the drops near the cap plugs.

I don't quite get this, are you having difficulties reaching the bar, or is the actual part of the bar short? It should be the first option, but I've never come across anyone with such extreme issues that they actually find themselves running out of bar before.
Makes me wonder if you're using a bike that's hopelessly too big for you.

dabac said:

I don't quite get this, are you having difficulties reaching the bar, or is the actual part of the bar short? It should be the first option, but I've never come across anyone with such extreme issues that they actually find themselves running out of bar before.
Makes me wonder if you're using a bike that's hopelessly too big for you.

Yeah, if someone could reach the hoods without issue then I'm not sure how they could have a problem reaching the horizontal section of the drops. 😕

Sam123 said:

Simple question for you lot.

Can Dropbars be adjusted like moved back, moved forward?

I know they can be moved up and down with the stem.

But my drop bars dont seem to be long enough they seem short so im holding onto the edge of the drops near the cap plugs.

I think that I know exactly what you are talking about because I also want the end of the bar to be an optional place to grip the bars ... I guess that I prefer that the drops of my handlebars extend further back than a theoretical plumb line held behind the crossbar portion of the handlebar would be.

If you haven't noticed, just as the drop & reach varies on different handlebars, the length of the drops also varies on different handlebars.
[INDENT]I know someone who bought a "new" set of bars (a few years ago) that were "on sale" & after he mounted them he realized that the drops were shorter than he was used to using ... because he bought them for what he thought was an unbeatable deal, he didn't want to return them, and he has simply adjusted his dis-/comfort level when he holds the bars at their ends.
[/INDENT]If your current handlebars currently fit in every other way, then you will either need to buy a different set of handlebars (e.g., Ritchey bars do NOT have a truncated drop length) OR (if you are really handy) you can ADD a 'plug' that you fabricate that is essentially the same as adding a bar-end shifter sans shifter OR you can sacrifice another handlebar & splice an extension on the end (that is, I would glue a plug inside the existing handlebars onto which the extension would also be glued ... if you choose to do THIS then remember to leave enough room inside the extension for the bar end plug!).
[INDENT]N.B. The inner diameter varies on different handlebars.
[/INDENT]