Do I just need to force myself to lean over my bike?

[KnottedYet]

My brakes don't feel squishy.

but now that I think about it, my hybrid had v-pulls and my 2 road bikes have cantis... so I actually don't have a real road brake to compare.

Did the other road bikes you tried feel like they had squishy brakes? If it's only *yours* that feels squishy, I'd be concerned that something is awry.

[DebW]

Squishy brakes are low quality brakes. Compare the bike you test rode to a bike with Shimao Ultegra or Campy Chorus brakes and see if those feel the same or different to you. Ask the dealer to let you test ride something with higher end components so you can compare. The LBS should be able to upgrade the brakes or other parts if these really make a difference to you. Squishy brakes can be dangerous if the calipers bend so much that the lever contacts the bar even when the brakes are properly adjusted.

[VeloVT]

The "squishiness" you refer to could just be a matter of adjustment. One of the first maintenance jobs I learned how to do on my bike was how to adjust brake travel (on both the caliper brakes on my raod bike and the cantis on my cx bike). Both have decent brakes (Ultegra on the road bike, 105 on the cx). But I learned through trial and error that there's a huge range of responsiveness that can be produced depending solely on how you set up the travel -- from "bike doesn't stop all the way even when you squeeze levers all the way back to the bar" to "pull levers back half and inch and come to a dead, flying over the handlebars stop." (I never actually rode my bike in either of these condition , thankfully).

You want some "squishiness" or you lose the ability to modulate your slowing -- it becomes either "no brakes" or "stop." Between the extremes, though, to some extent it's a matter of personal preference exactly how much you like.

[Livin the Dream]

I'm late to this thread, not sure if this will be helpful, Karen, but here's my experiences with leaning. I bought a Trek Pilot this summer after four or so years on a Trek 7100 hybrid. I was hesitant about making the switch as I was worried about placing too much weight on my hands and about getting used to the riding position. Four months later, I would never switch back to an upright riding position. I am so much more comfortable on my Pilot; I like stretching out to ride, and the different hand positions keep my hands so much more comfortable. We went on vacation recently and I took the hybrid instead of the Pilot because I knew we'd ride on paths & fire roads. I didn't ride much at all because I was so uncomfortable on the hybrid.

Enjoy your new ride!

[equus123]

In terms of not wanting to be upright anymore, here are suggestions that come to *my* mind....

An upright position is attributed to 3 factors (2 major, 1 minor):
1) stem height (above the headset as well as the stem's angle),
2) stem length, and
3) handlebar tilt.

Of course a proper saddle fit is a prerequisite. But in adjusting those three factors, you will have any combination of your upper body sitting high, low, close, or stretched. From my experiences, I've found that if my bars are too close OR too far away then I will have more pressure on my hands. When you find that sweet spot then you should be comfortably balanced.

In order to bring your stem down a bit and flatten your back - so there's more of an offset between your saddle height and your bar height - then you need to be aware of two things: 1) FLEXIBILITY and 2) core strength. If you're not too flexible in your hamstrings or back and you don't work your core then a lower setup is NOT going to be good for you.

But after a lot of time goes by from doing micro-adjustments and letting them stand for a week or so EACH, you should dial in to a comfortable position. When I'm riding on my hoods in an aero position (my back's just as low as when I'm in my drops), my shoulders and elbows are both at ~90 degree angles. It's so comfortable in this position for me that I feel like I can ride it all day. I have a perfect balance on the saddle in relation to pressure on the pedals and upper body "heaviness". What also makes this position comfortable for me is that in riding this way on the hoods, my wrists and a portion of my forearms are resting on the bars. This pretty much takes all of the weight off of my hands completely and distributes it to my arms whereas the rest of the weight is absorbed by my strengthened core.

Here's a shot of my fit. I'm at the front in the CSE uniform (red, blue, white, black) on the LEFT side of the picture (my teammate Carol is looking down).