Things that should have been obvious, but I've recently discovered

[mariacycle]

5) Reaching the brakes/shifters from the drops is a challenge. I have very long fingers and it never occured to me that it would be an issue.

Maybe compact bars with shorter drops would help (as opposed to standard bars which have longer reach and a deeper drop).

[OakLeaf]

That would still present lever positioning issues though (although it would likely be easier to find the sweet spot on shallow bars than deep ones). No one brakes from the drops, she's talking about braking from the hooks.

[ny biker]

I brake from the drops.

[OakLeaf]

How in the world do you reach the levers???

[murielalex]

I can break from the drops. Compact bar.

[Owlie]

I can brake from the drops on both bikes. Compact bar for sure on the Charge, and I'm about 85% that the Avail also has a compact bar. And I have shorter fingers.

ETA: Wait, are we debating a vocabulary question? Where are we talking when we say "drops?" The vertical part below the hoods, or the horizontal part where the plugs are?

[OakLeaf]

ETA: Wait, are we debating a vocabulary question? Where are we talking when we say "drops?" The vertical part below the hoods, or the horizontal part where the plugs are?

Heh. Either that, or you guys have insanely long and flexible fingers! As far as I know, the drops are the lowest part that points back at the rider, and the hooks are the part that parallels the levers.


But that brings me back to the original point. Depth and reach of the bar should not have any effect on the ability to brake from the HOOKS, except that it might make it harder to find a good position for the levers that makes them accessible from both the tops and the hooks, and except if the bar is in the way of your forearm when you move your hands from the drops to the hooks.....

[OakLeaf]

I'm still not getting it. Do you at least have your thumbs up in the hooks? Or do your first two fingers actually cross your thumbs???

I mean, I just went back to my bike and tested to make sure I'm not crazy. I've got nice short-and-shallow Ritchey Biomax bars. R700 brifters with the shorter wedge in them. My hands aren't THAT small, I have no trouble with the throw shifting my triple FD from either the hoods or the hooks. From the hooks, I can get the levers comfortably, securely with three fingers and the fourth touching to add power as soon as I bring the lever in a little. From the drops, there's over an inch between the tip of my index finger and the tip of the lever. I am really not getting how you guys are doing it!!!

[Boudicca]

+1 to the men's gloves. My hands are sort of square, and mens small/medium mostly fit better than women's large.

My riding takeaways.

1. Drink more than you ever thought you would want to drink, especially when it's hot. Camelbak tabs (not available in Canada) taste better than Nuun tabs.

2. The more you spend on a bike helmet, the less helmet you get, the cooler you will be, and the happier you will be.

3. A sweatband really does mostly stop the sweat getting into your eyes.

I just realise all three of these are closely related to staying cool.