braking in the drops

[jessmarimba]

Alright, so I've been riding around for two days on the first bike with drop bars that I've ever felt comfortable on. But I'm not sure how the bars are supposed to feel. Basically, if I'm riding in the drops, my wrists are put at a pretty painful angle in order to reach the brakes - I don't feel like I have the option of riding in the drops AND being cautious/able to stop. Is this the depth of the drops? Would it help to swap bars? (These are, I believe, a 144mm drop).

Also, the brake levers are Tektro RL-520s. The reach doesn't seem to be adjustable, or am I missing something? They're stretching my reach in the drops. Any suggestions?

[Becky]

It could be a bunch of things...do you have a pic? Bonus points if it shows your hands on the bars... It could be as simple as needing to move the levers on the bars. It's also possible that the bar is just too big (wide, long, or deep) for you.

[margrette]

First things first, make sure your shifters are positioned correctly on the handle bar and check your handle bar angle.

You can get on a trainer and untape your bar and start working different combinations of handle bar angle and shifter position.

The old rule of thumb was to take a straight edge and place it along the underside of the drops and line up the bottom of the shifter lever with that line...so that is a place to start...know though that with some of the ergo bars and such that goes out the window.

[jessmarimba]

Sorry, bar end shifters.

I'm sure the position of the levers probably isn't helping.

Becky, here's a photo. I don't have anyone to take a photo of me riding (the cats aren't that skilled) and the light is terrible so the focus isn't so great b/c I took it with the phone. But it should give some idea:

12699

Bars are Salsa moto-ace bell lap.

Thanks!

[Becky]

My gut reaction from the photo is that the bar angle is ok, but the the levers are too high on the bars..... Take that with a grain of salt...photos aren't as good as in-person eyeballing....

What's the bar width? For me, too-wide bars can skew my reach, even if the rest of the bike fits well.

I think that I would start by untaping the bars partway, moving the levers down a touch, and then retaping. I like to have a nice flat transition from the bar top to the lever's hood and that puts my wrists in a relaxed neutral position. See if that makes things any better...

Start with the free stuff first, right? :)

[jessmarimba]

Supposed to be 42cm bars? I have pretty narrow shoulders but they don't feel too wide...I don't think...not sure how they should feel.

I tell ya what, my back loves the different positions these bars allow. Heaven. Now to make my wrists as happy...haha.

[margrette]

shifter levers/brake levers same idea...

[malkin]

Is it comfy to brake while your hands are perched on the hoods?

Is it too big of a reach no matter what? ( If no, you might need smaller reach brakes.

Is there a place in the drop where it is a comfortable reach to to brake lever (even if it isn't a realistic position for riding)? (If yes, you might want to move the levers so you can reach them from a realistic riding position.)

[malkin]

I just reread your OP...to reduce strain on your wrists, you might try dropping your elbows and thus your entire upper body. This will require greater ab/core strength.

It's always something.

[jessmarimba]

It isn't strain so much as an impossible angle, which would be cured by lowering the brakes as margrette and Becky suggested. My back actually feels better on the flat part of the bars or bent over lower in the drops...halfway up with my hands forward to kinda try to reach the brakes, the muscles pull over the screws in my back.

The brakes are unreachable on the hoods as well, I generally use them by wrapping my entire hand around the little plastic brake support thingies (what are those called?)

[OakLeaf]

If you can't reach the brakes on the hoods either, even when they're that high, you probably just need shorter reach levers. Expensive ... but you need to be able to brake.

[DebW]

Looks to me like the bars are tilted up too much. Try making the bottom of the drops flat and see how that feels.

[LivetoRide]

Looks to me like the bars are tilted up too much. Try making the bottom of the drops flat and see how that feels.

I second this and Becky's suggestion of moving the brake levers. If neither helps your problems, consider getting some different handlebars as a different one may allow you to get things set up to where you need.

[Eden]

I agree with Deb - it seems to be trendy these days to tilt the bars way up - I have no idea why.... but that is how shops put them together now.

I prefer the bottom of the drops to be horizontal (otherwise I always feel like my hands are sliding down them) and the brake hoods to be level as well.

It also may take some getting used to. Many people feel like they have a hard time with the drop when they first start riding a road bike. I have small hands and I have always used regular levers (as old as I am, there was no such thing as short reach anything when I was learning to ride....). I don't feel like I have any trouble reaching my brakes ever, probably because I am accustomed to it.

[roadie gal]

3+ on moving the brake levers down or rotating the handlebars so that the hoods are flat across from the top of the handlebars rather than above the bars.

Do you have a bike shop that you can bring the bike into that can do a fitting for you? They may be able to look and see if there are other problems in the fit that is making it difficult for you to reach the brakes.

[Trek420]

I agree with Eden who agrees with Deb. ;) :) My LBS built the bike with the brake hoods level. I'm rarely in the drops unless climbing or accelerating but even then I mostly ride from the top of the bars or the hoods. I'm comfortable braking from the hoods with just two fingers. It's a rare day that I have to grab a handful of brake but if so I do I can do it from there. My hands are very small and yet this works for me.