What are the ends of the handlebars for?

[[email protected]]

While browsing "Major Taylor" by Andrew Ritchie, I noticed that Taylor
was always photographed and caricatured with his hands well forward of
the thick grips on the ends of his moustache-style handlebars.

The old moustache bars soon curved into our modern ram's-horn shape,
but I can't remember seeing anyone riding with his hands any closer to
the ends of the handlebars than Taylor.

If they don't grab that bars that far up, they can't reach the levers
that Taylor's track bikes lacked. And if they do grab the ends of the
bars, it seems as if they'd be forced into a very uncomfortable
position with no aerodynamic benefit.

We ride with our hands "on the hoods" or even on the middle of the
bars, but I don't recall ever seeing the phrase "on the ends" used to
describe hand position.

Road bicycles are perfectly honed examples of engineering evolution,
but now I'm looking at the last two or three inches of my handlebar
with wary suspicion.

In fact, bicycle drop-bars suddenly look weird to me, compared to
motorcycles with the grips and levers on the ends.

Given all the fuss about weight, I'm wondering if some of you are
secretly sawing an inch or two (or three or four) off your handlebars.

Are the last few inches of drop bars the bicycling equivalent of
earlobes, ornamental but useless? Would you miss them if they
vanished?

Do any riders really grip drop bars all the way back at the end?

The only thing that I can think of that uses those last few inches of
the bars are end-shifters.

I look forward to getting a handle on this question.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

 

[Michael Press]

In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] wrote:

> While browsing "Major Taylor" by Andrew Ritchie, I noticed that Taylor
> was always photographed and caricatured with his hands well forward of
> the thick grips on the ends of his moustache-style handlebars.
>
> The old moustache bars soon curved into our modern ram's-horn shape,
> but I can't remember seeing anyone riding with his hands any closer to
> the ends of the handlebars than Taylor.
>
> If they don't grab that bars that far up, they can't reach the levers
> that Taylor's track bikes lacked. And if they do grab the ends of the
> bars, it seems as if they'd be forced into a very uncomfortable
> position with no aerodynamic benefit.
>
> We ride with our hands "on the hoods" or even on the middle of the
> bars, but I don't recall ever seeing the phrase "on the ends" used to
> describe hand position.
>
> Road bicycles are perfectly honed examples of engineering evolution,
> but now I'm looking at the last two or three inches of my handlebar
> with wary suspicion.
>
> In fact, bicycle drop-bars suddenly look weird to me, compared to
> motorcycles with the grips and levers on the ends.
>
> Given all the fuss about weight, I'm wondering if some of you are
> secretly sawing an inch or two (or three or four) off your handlebars.
>
> Are the last few inches of drop bars the bicycling equivalent of
> earlobes, ornamental but useless? Would you miss them if they
> vanished?
>
> Do any riders really grip drop bars all the way back at the end?
>
> The only thing that I can think of that uses those last few inches of
> the bars are end-shifters.
>
> I look forward to getting a handle on this question.

I use enough of the drops so that I would miss any portion
of them. I run down tube shifters, so my bars are higher
than typical with integrated brake-shifter mechanisms. My
bars are deep drops. I tilt them so the straight section
of the drops are further tilted than the rule of thumb;
more toward the rear hub than the rear brake. The tilt I
prefer is where my weight in the drops is perpendicular to
the straight section. Now the bar ends are somewhat
further forward than typical and I use all of the bars:
tops, hoods, hooks, and drops.

--
Michael Press

 

[[email protected]]

[email protected] wrote:
>Do any riders really grip drop bars all the way back at the end?

I've seen many people do this as shown on cyclefitcenter.com web site :

http://www.cyclefitcentre.com/pdf final docs/backyard positioning_julu_aug_2004.pdf

But does anybody know when is the time to do this or if it's just
a matter of personal preferences ?

 

[H. Guy]

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected]
wrote:

> Road bicycles are perfectly honed examples of engineering evolution,
> but now I'm looking at the last two or three inches of my handlebar
> with wary suspicion.

> Are the last few inches of drop bars the bicycling equivalent of
> earlobes, ornamental but useless? Would you miss them if they
> vanished?

> Do any riders really grip drop bars all the way back at the end?

while "in the drops" is a deep aero tuck, i ride "on the ends"
when i'm dealing with a headwind but want to relax. you're not
as stretched out, and your arms are taking a little more of your
weight than when you're in the drops.

i'll admit that it isn't a place i find myself frequently, but
i spend some time there a couple of times a week.

 

[[email protected]]

On Sat, 19 Aug 2006 07:57:13 GMT, [email protected] wrote:

>
>[email protected] wrote:
>>Do any riders really grip drop bars all the way back at the end?
>
>I've seen many people do this as shown on cyclefitcenter.com web site :
>
>http://www.cyclefitcentre.com/pdf final docs/backyard positioning_julu_aug_2004.pdf
>
>But does anybody know when is the time to do this or if it's just
>a matter of personal preferences ?

Dear T.,

Here's the working link:

http://www.cyclefitcentre.com/pdf final docs/backyard positioning_julu_aug_2004.pdf

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

 

[[email protected]]

[email protected] wrote:

> Are the last few inches of drop bars the bicycling equivalent of
> earlobes, ornamental but useless? Would you miss them if they
> vanished?

Mine have vanished. I am thus clearly a superior being.

> Do any riders really grip drop bars all the way back at the end?

I wish mine had even longer ends. I routinely ride in the drops and I
only use the forward portion when I may need my brakes, such as in a
descent, in a pacecline (when I am not leading), etc. Otherwise I use
the rearward part. So I use my tops, hoods, and drops. Each place has 2
variations: tops hands wide, tops hands close fingers intertwined at
stem, hoods regular, hoods grabbing with small finger only (looks like
one is using a bull-horn bar) and wrists resting on hoods/bar, drops
forward and drops back. That's a lot of variation. And I even sometimes
do the "I wish I was a pro cyclist" forearms resting on the tops thing.

Joseph

 

[[email protected]]

[email protected] wrote:
> [email protected] wrote:
> >Do any riders really grip drop bars all the way back at the end?
>
> I've seen many people do this as shown on cyclefitcenter.com web site :
>
> http://www.cyclefitcentre.com/pdf final docs/backyard positioning_julu_aug_2004.pdf
>
> But does anybody know when is the time to do this or if it's just
> a matter of personal preferences ?

I would say it is entirely a matter of personal preference. I only do
it when I am already in the drops and I need a quick power burst that
requires standing.

Joseph

 

[G.T.]

[email protected] wrote:
> [email protected] wrote:
>
>
>>Are the last few inches of drop bars the bicycling equivalent of
>>earlobes, ornamental but useless? Would you miss them if they
>>vanished?
>
>
> Mine have vanished. I am thus clearly a superior being.
>
>
>>Do any riders really grip drop bars all the way back at the end?
>
>
> I wish mine had even longer ends. I routinely ride in the drops and I
> only use the forward portion when I may need my brakes,

Yeah, that's the one thing I don't like about my Salsas. The ergonomic
bend leaves only an inch or two of flat down on the ends.

Greg
--
"All my time I spent in heaven
Revelries of dance and wine
Waking to the sound of laughter
Up I'd rise and kiss the sky" - The Mekons

 

[RonSonic]

On Sat, 19 Aug 2006 10:19:41 GMT, "H. Guy" <[email protected]> wrote:

>In article <[email protected]>, [email protected]
>wrote:
>
>> Road bicycles are perfectly honed examples of engineering evolution,
>> but now I'm looking at the last two or three inches of my handlebar
>> with wary suspicion.
>
>> Are the last few inches of drop bars the bicycling equivalent of
>> earlobes, ornamental but useless? Would you miss them if they
>> vanished?
>
>> Do any riders really grip drop bars all the way back at the end?
>
>while "in the drops" is a deep aero tuck, i ride "on the ends"
>when i'm dealing with a headwind but want to relax. you're not
>as stretched out, and your arms are taking a little more of your
>weight than when you're in the drops.
>
>i'll admit that it isn't a place i find myself frequently, but
>i spend some time there a couple of times a week.

Yep, that's my sucking wind into the wind position.

Ron

 

[[email protected]]

On Sat, 19 Aug 2006 16:54:54 -0400, RonSonic
<[email protected]> wrote:

>On Sat, 19 Aug 2006 10:19:41 GMT, "H. Guy" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>In article <[email protected]>, [email protected]
>>wrote:
>>
>>> Road bicycles are perfectly honed examples of engineering evolution,
>>> but now I'm looking at the last two or three inches of my handlebar
>>> with wary suspicion.
>>
>>> Are the last few inches of drop bars the bicycling equivalent of
>>> earlobes, ornamental but useless? Would you miss them if they
>>> vanished?
>>
>>> Do any riders really grip drop bars all the way back at the end?
>>
>>while "in the drops" is a deep aero tuck, i ride "on the ends"
>>when i'm dealing with a headwind but want to relax. you're not
>>as stretched out, and your arms are taking a little more of your
>>weight than when you're in the drops.
>>
>>i'll admit that it isn't a place i find myself frequently, but
>>i spend some time there a couple of times a week.
>
>Yep, that's my sucking wind into the wind position.
>
>Ron

Dear Ron & HG,

So you both sometimes grip the very end of the bars in aero tucks,
right? Can you let us know if you notice any pictures of riders doing
this? I'm just curious what it looks like.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

 

[[email protected]]

[email protected] wrote:
>[email protected] wrote:
>>[email protected] wrote:
>>>Do any riders really grip drop bars all the way back at the end?
>>
>>I've seen many people do this as shown on cyclefitcenter.com web site :
>>
>>http://www.cyclefitcentre.com/pdf final docs/backyard positioning_julu_aug_2004.pdf
>>
>>But does anybody know when is the time to do this or if it's just
>>a matter of personal preferences ?
>
>Dear T.,
>
>Here's the working link:
>
>http://www.cyclefitcentre.com/pdf final docs/backyard positioning_julu_aug_2004.pdf
>
>Cheers,
>
>Carl Fogel

Which browser do you use ? I have Internet Explorer and Firefox and
they both convert " " into "%20" for me.

 

[[email protected]]

On Sun, 20 Aug 2006 01:10:54 GMT, [email protected] wrote:

>
>[email protected] wrote:
>>[email protected] wrote:
>>>[email protected] wrote:
>>>>Do any riders really grip drop bars all the way back at the end?
>>>
>>>I've seen many people do this as shown on cyclefitcenter.com web site :
>>>
>>>http://www.cyclefitcentre.com/pdf final docs/backyard positioning_julu_aug_2004.pdf
>>>
>>>But does anybody know when is the time to do this or if it's just
>>>a matter of personal preferences ?
>>
>>Dear T.,
>>
>>Here's the working link:
>>
>>http://www.cyclefitcentre.com/pdf final docs/backyard positioning_julu_aug_2004.pdf
>>
>>Cheers,
>>
>>Carl Fogel
>
>Which browser do you use ? I have Internet Explorer and Firefox and
>they both convert " " into "%20" for me.

Dear T.,

Here's what your original post looks like in Google Groups:

http://groups.google.com/group/rec.bicycles.tech/msg/2c89fcd0bddbdfad

Do you see blank spaces in your link where the three %20's and the
three underscores should be?

I do, when I view it with Internet Explorer and with Forte Free Agent.

Your link appears to end at the first "pdf" before "final".

I'm puzzled, too.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

 

[[email protected]]

"What are the ends of the handlebars for?"

They are to keep the handlebars from being too long.

 

[[email protected]]

[email protected] wrote:
>[email protected] wrote:
>>[email protected] wrote:
>>>[email protected] wrote:
>>>>I've seen many people do this as shown on cyclefitcenter.com web site :
>>>>
>>>>http://www.cyclefitcentre.com/pdf final docs/backyard positioning_julu_aug_2004.pdf
>>>>
>>>>But does anybody know when is the time to do this or if it's just
>>>>a matter of personal preferences ?
>>>
>>>Dear T.,
>>>
>>>Here's the working link:
>>>
>>>http://www.cyclefitcentre.com/pdf final docs/backyard positioning_julu_aug_2004.pdf
>>>
>>>Cheers,
>>>
>>>Carl Fogel
>>
>>Which browser do you use ? I have Internet Explorer and Firefox and
>>they both convert " " into "%20" for me.
>
>Dear T.,
>
>Here's what your original post looks like in Google Groups:
>
>http://groups.google.com/group/rec.bicycles.tech/msg/2c89fcd0bddbdfad
>
>Do you see blank spaces in your link where the three %20's and the
>three underscores should be?
>
>I do, when I view it with Internet Explorer and with Forte Free Agent.
>
>Your link appears to end at the first "pdf" before "final".
>
>I'm puzzled, too.
>Cheers,

I guess Google Groups doesn't recognize spaces as parts of the URL
and only puts the link over the front part of the URL.

 

[[email protected]]

On Sun, 20 Aug 2006 06:40:09 GMT, [email protected] wrote:

>
>[email protected] wrote:
>>[email protected] wrote:
>>>[email protected] wrote:
>>>>[email protected] wrote:
>>>>>I've seen many people do this as shown on cyclefitcenter.com web site :
>>>>>
>>>>>http://www.cyclefitcentre.com/pdf final docs/backyard positioning_julu_aug_2004.pdf
>>>>>
>>>>>But does anybody know when is the time to do this or if it's just
>>>>>a matter of personal preferences ?
>>>>
>>>>Dear T.,
>>>>
>>>>Here's the working link:
>>>>
>>>>http://www.cyclefitcentre.com/pdf final docs/backyard positioning_julu_aug_2004.pdf
>>>>
>>>>Cheers,
>>>>
>>>>Carl Fogel
>>>
>>>Which browser do you use ? I have Internet Explorer and Firefox and
>>>they both convert " " into "%20" for me.
>>
>>Dear T.,
>>
>>Here's what your original post looks like in Google Groups:
>>
>>http://groups.google.com/group/rec.bicycles.tech/msg/2c89fcd0bddbdfad
>>
>>Do you see blank spaces in your link where the three %20's and the
>>three underscores should be?
>>
>>I do, when I view it with Internet Explorer and with Forte Free Agent.
>>
>>Your link appears to end at the first "pdf" before "final".
>>
>>I'm puzzled, too.
>>Cheers,
>
>I guess Google Groups doesn't recognize spaces as parts of the URL
>and only puts the link over the front part of the URL.

Dear T.,

I haven't noticed any problems clicking on links in thousands of posts
viewed through Google Groups or Forte Free Agent, both of which show
your post's link as bad.

You seem to be using News Xpress Version 1.0 Beta #4.

Perhaps it's a bit buggy?

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

 

[Matt]

[email protected] wrote:
> Given all the fuss about weight, I'm wondering if some of you are
> secretly sawing an inch or two (or three or four) off your handlebars.
>
> Are the last few inches of drop bars the bicycling equivalent of
> earlobes, ornamental but useless? Would you miss them if they
> vanished?
>
> Do any riders really grip drop bars all the way back at the end?
>
> Carl Fogel

I use the ends of the bars as a cruising position during races quite a
lot. In fact, my favorite bars ever were the Scott 'Drop-In' bars, with
the aero extensions. I really never cared for the aero extensions, but
the corner that occurs where traditional drop bars end was a mighty
comfortable place to rest my hands for hours on end.

I think a major part of the problem is that riders keep their bars so
low, that they hardly use their drops at all.

 

[[email protected]]

someone writes:

>>>>Do any riders really grip drop bars all the way back at the end?

>>>I've seen many people do this as shown on cyclefitcenter.com web site :

http://www.cyclefitcentre.com/pdf final docs/backyard positioning_julu_aug_2004.pdf

>>> But does anybody know when is the time to do this or if it's just
>>> a matter of personal preferences ?

>>Dear T.,

>> Here's the working link:

http://www.cyclefitcentre.com/pdf final docs/backyard positioning_julu_aug_2004.pdf

>> Cheers,

> Which browser do you use? I have Internet Explorer and Firefox and
> they both convert " " into "%20" for me.

Then if you can't make that URL work, try:

http://tinyurl.com/rjfyl

Jobst Brandt

 

[Steve knight]

I have avid bb7s on my recumbent and this problem just started out of
nowhere. When I brake hard it sounds like there is a bad patch on my
front rotor. (Later on at slow speed I found it sounded like a
grinding noise rather then the usual squeal) but I would get some of
it after I let off the brakes. Then it would be gone till I brakes
hard again. Most of my rides are gentle braking so for the most part
it is not there.
I took the wheel off and felt the rotor I could not find any bad
spots. The rotor has a slight warp that has been there since I have
had it. It’s less then the rear wheel one is. The brakes have about
1500 miles on them and they are on the second set of pads.
Well after I inspected them and could not find a problem I cleaned the
rotor well and it was gone for a couple of weeks.
Well it came back if not a bit worse and it seemed to take longer for
the sound to go away.
Now I could check the rotor out while the bike is stopped and it is
rubbing the inside pad. But it does not always do it.
I have no clue about why it happens the qr is very tight as I have had
the wheel shift a tiny bit with hard braking. The LBS had a spare
rotor that some customer complained about the noise from so they gave
it to me. It seemed to do the same thing but far less but it needs
some use to really get grabby like it should be. But it stops after
some seconds too.
I checked the bolts holding the rotor and the brake body.

I fist replaced the rotor with a slightly used older model as the LBS
gave it to me. though the brakes don't grab well yet it seems there is
still some of it. I changed the pads today they are only about 1/2
worn and only look a bit rough.
but it would take seem breaking in to really know but it seems like
it is still there though right now it's only a tiny sound.
it's like the rotor bends for a bit on that one spot with hard braking
then goes back to normal.

 

[dvt]

[email protected] wrote:
> And I even sometimes
> do the "I wish I was a pro cyclist" forearms resting on the tops thing.

Me too. I wonder if the flattened shape of some carbon bars makes this
position more comfortable. Someone mentioned on this NG that there are
doohickeys that fit under the tape of round bars to approximate that
shape; I'm interested in trying those to see if they improve the comfort
of my forearms when in that position.

--
Dave
dvt at psu dot edu

Everyone confesses that exertion which brings out all the powers of body
and mind is the best thing for us; but most people do all they can to
get rid of it, and as a general rule nobody does much more than
circumstances drive them to do. -Harriet Beecher Stowe, abolitionist and
novelist (1811-1896)

 

[dvt]

[email protected] wrote:
> Are the last few inches of drop bars the bicycling equivalent of
> earlobes, ornamental but useless? Would you miss them if they
> vanished?
>
> Do any riders really grip drop bars all the way back at the end?

No, yes, and yes. Like Joseph, I use that position for a quick
out-of-the-saddle burst when I'm in the drops. Don't cut my bars off!

--
Dave
dvt at psu dot edu

Everyone confesses that exertion which brings out all the powers of body
and mind is the best thing for us; but most people do all they can to
get rid of it, and as a general rule nobody does much more than
circumstances drive them to do. -Harriet Beecher Stowe, abolitionist and
novelist (1811-1896)