Why would I lower my handlebars?

[sarahspins]

But, hearing "happy transition stories" makes me ready to go try out some new bikes.

I transitioned from a hybrid to a road bike about 4 months ago.. it was an easy move for me. Go out and try some bikes... it took me several months to find the "right" one for me, but I'm glad I took my time... I was immediately so much more comfortable on my road bike than I had been on my Hybrid.

[trista]

I've only had it for a month but I really love it - definitely a happy transition. I was lucky that the 2nd bike I sat on was a perfect fit - the Trek Madone. On the first bike I tried, I felt like you said you did on your step-dd's bike - everything felt weird and wrong. But on the Madone it all felt right. So definitely try a few different bikes and maybe you'll find one that feels like butter.

The first several rides I was kinda like "whoa.... whhhhoooooaaaaa" all shaky and scared. But that feeling didn't last long. This morning i was approaching 30 mph down a hill and did not feel shaky at all.

[aicabsolut]

As I've become more limber in the lower back over the season, I've been itching to take out a spacer, but I didn't want to change things up too close to a race. I might start playing with it now that the season is winding down. I just feel like I want to stretch out more. I find myself hanging my hands over the tops of the hoods when I want to set a steady tempo. I don't think this is an uncommon thing, particularly for people newer to road bikes. I lowered the bars in my first and second seasons. Then I moved to deeper drops for the third. I kept the tops the same due to shoulder problems. Now I feel comfortable enough to go for some more reach. I also think being lower makes me feel more stable for corners and descending so long as I'm not so stretched out that I can't scoot my weight back over the saddle for those activities.