Shifting challenged...bar-ends that is

[Catrin]

My thought: Don't make a judgement on the shifting until you get the fit right. If you aren't comfortable holding in the drops it's obvious why you'd be uncomfortable shifting down there.

Sounds like you have some pretty significant bar positioning/fit issues to work through and they are ABSOLUTELY effecting your comfort and ability to shift, no question.

Focusing on using your core (abs) to hold your body up on the bike (rather than your arms) will help in the long-run, especially if your goal is a lower/more aero position. But it does sound like your bars are too low and potentially too far out in front of you, especially for right now.

One thing you could potentially do is work on "moving" on the bike on the Trek you are more comfortable with. Ride one handed (both sides), try no handed, one handed and lean/bend over to reach something, reach for bottles, reach for imaginary bar-end shifters, sit straight up and stretch (that's way more advanced than it sounds, don't try to do that all at once!), etc. Balancing a bike while doing these things is a learned skill, and it's by no means easy.

You'll have to practice again when you transfer to the LHT because the bikes will handle differently, but you'll be more confident and it will come easier if you can already do it on the Trek.

This makes perfect sense, and I have been wondering if the bars are just too low. I don't THINK they are too far away, I don't feel stretched or anything.

After reading your post, I got to thinking about it and realized that I am comfortable moving around on the LHT about the same amount as on the Trek. I should be practicing new movements on the bike I am most comfy with (and has been fit to me) than a bike with a different geometry that still needs fitting. Never thought about that in my "full steam ahead" normal fashion (must be part of that combined Carpatho Rusyn/Scottish ancestry)

So instead of focusing on one very specific movement, do more work on moving my hands/arms when safe to do so on my country roads. I need to do that anyway. Hopefully I can make some progress on this before my May 15th Traffic 101 class!

Still don't think I will fall in love with the shifters where they are, but you have given me more things to consider that I had not thought of - which is why I love TE

So I think I will spend more time on the Trek and get more used to moving around before I try those bar-ends again - get some trainer miles on the LHT (and practice shifting) and use it as a single-speed (off the trainer) for fun right now. There are some middle gears on that beautiful bike that I have found well on both hills and flats - so I don't have to mash gears or walk as much as I would have to if I tried that on the Trek