From drops to flat bar bike

[tzvia]

I am 50 and travel in L.A. traffic too (west SF valley, to be exact) and find drop bar works just fine. And I will mirror what was already said, have your fit checked. No reason to suffer on your bike. None.

When I started commuting, my new commuter bike had drop bars but was uncomfortable so I thought I needed a flat-bar bike. I converted my commuter to flat bar. Mistake. It was slower and I now had only one hand position. I had blamed drop bars, when the problem was how that bike was setup. I switched back to drop bar, getting a bar in the same shape I found works well on my road bike- and in the correct size. I got shims for the brake levers to bring them to my stubby little fingers, set the bar height a little higher than on my road bike and used a shorter stem and found it to be much more comfortable than with the flat bar. It was also a world away from how the bike originally was with drop bars. I picked up about 3mph and have multiple positions on the bar which helps with hand/upper body fatigue. The drop position is great for headwinds, I have the hoods for general use and the bar tops to rest/stretch my back on.

[channlluv]

Thanks for the advice. I'll have DH help me size the bike again. We went through a pretty exhaustive sizing when I got it -- he's got all the tools and followed the directions on a training Website. At least, it seemed exhaustive to me. We'll see. I'll try the different arm positions, too. I do tend to lock out my elbows. I think it has a lot to do with my size. I don't have a very strong core, and it's a lot of weight to hold up.

Roxy

[MartianDestiny]

Thanks for the advice. I'll have DH help me size the bike again. We went through a pretty exhaustive sizing when I got it -- he's got all the tools and followed the directions on a training Website. At least, it seemed exhaustive to me. We'll see. I'll try the different arm positions, too. I do tend to lock out my elbows. I think it has a lot to do with my size. I don't have a very strong core, and it's a lot of weight to hold up.

Roxy

Be careful using a fit system like that. Especially on a training type website it may be gearing for an "optimal performance" type fit based around an exceptionally flexible very fit athlete that's looking to race.

That's not a practical fit for an average rider. An extensive fit will also include (and actually start with) an extensive assessment of your range of motion, flexibility, fitness level, gait, etc, etc, before ever putting you on the bike and measuring angles. A good, trained, fitter will use all that info plus the "ideal" fit angles from fitting "systems"/theory/practice to get something that's right for YOU, not trying to shove you into the "if you were Lance Armstrong THIS is where you'd be on the bike" mold

That's not to say you can't work fitting out yourself, but it is quite a bit harder than making sure your numbers and angles match what they "should be" online.

If you can find a general fitting guide geared towards an average cyclist (something like a "performance" fit rather than a "pro" fit) that could be a good place to start. But expect to have to "tweak" it, and don't be afraid to throw it out completely if it's not working for you. There's a reason people train to do this professionally

[deerblue]

Thanks for all your replies!. It looks like I should fiddle around with the fit and handlebars of my Trek. I also live in the San Fernando Valley. Any recommendations regarding a good fitter?