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Thread: drops/brakes

  1. #1
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    Sep 2007
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    orygun
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    drops/brakes

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    Are those f you who have drop bars able to reach your brakes from the drops?

    I can't.....
    Discipline is remembering what you want.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
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    Riding my Luna & Rivendell in the Hudson Valley, NY
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    8,408
    I got short reach brifters with the shims installed on my new bike.
    BIG difference. What a relief!!!
    Lisa
    My mountain dulcimer network...FOTMD.com...and my mountain dulcimer blog
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  3. #3
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    Minneapolis, MN
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    I can, but I have long fingers. I also have Campy brakes and that seems to make a bit of difference from what I've heard.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
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    Seattle
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    Small hands, Campy brakes, and I can reach them in my drops . . . but I don't really spend much time in that position.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
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    Vermont
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    I second Lisa's suggestion of short-reach brifters, and also, what bars are you using? Some anatomic bends can "fall away" from the levers too steeply, depending on hood placement and hand size.

    I recently put FSA Wing Pro compact bars on my bike, and the round bend puts the curve of the bar much closer to the levers than most of the anatomic bends I've had. It might be worth taking a look at different bars too.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
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    Uncanny Valley
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    I can actually brake better from the drops because my fingers are extending directly toward the levers rather than trying to wrap around them from the hoods. I can only really reach them with 2-1/2 fingers, but that's plenty.
    Speed comes from what you put behind you. - Judi Ketteler

  7. #7
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    San Jose, CA
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    463
    I've never used the drops, it makes me bent over too far. I'd like to drop the drops right off my handlebars, since they're dead weight to me.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
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    orygun
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    BRAKESET
    Tektro forged
    alloy cantilevers
    with Shimano Tiagra STI levers and Tektro
    safety levers

    HANDLEBAR

    Ritchey BioMax II Road, 380mm (47),
    Discipline is remembering what you want.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Switzerland
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    2,032
    oh but you should be able to use your drop position, especially for descents - much more power on the brakes, and control of your bike!!
    It's a little secret you didn't know about us women. We're all closet Visigoths.

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  10. #10
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    orygun
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    Quote Originally Posted by alpinerabbit View Post
    oh but you should be able to use your drop position, especially for descents - much more power on the brakes, and control of your bike!!
    yeah! that's what I thought...so what are my options?
    Discipline is remembering what you want.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Washington, DC
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    1,315
    Try WSD bars or bars labeled as "compact" (like the FSA ones mentioned) or "short-reach". The bend in the bar will generally make it so the levers are a bit closer. Also take a look at where the hoods are positioned on your bars. If you can move them up or down a bit and then change the bar rotation to make them comfy on the top still, you *might* be able to get the levers a bit closer. I think SRAM levers have adjustable reach. Some people like Campy for its design too, though I think I'd have a hard time using the thumb shifters from the drops. There are also wedges you can get installed in Shimano shifters to bring them closer. Note if you install these, you may need to loosen your brakes.

    For me, the bar change was all I needed, but I have fairly long fingers.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Seattle, WA
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    423
    I had Tiagra levers and couldn't reach them from the drops for anything--I have really short fingers. I ended up changing my bars to the short-reach Bontrager FIT (similar in shape to the FSA bars that aicabsolut has mentioned), which helped a little but I still couldn't comfortably reach. Ultimately, I needed the combination of the short-reach bar and short-reach brifters with a shim (Shimano R700) to get enough reach to get a solid grip (i.e. more than one finger) on my brakes from the drops--descending became a far more fun and less harrowing experience after that.

    There's another discussing of this stuff here:
    http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=23110

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    foothills of the Ozarks aka Tornado Alley
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    4,193
    Quote Originally Posted by elk View Post
    Are those f you who have drop bars able to reach your brakes from the drops?
    I can--after I had shims installed on the brake levers. Me and Levi.....

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    Brooklyn, NY
    Posts
    820
    I thought Tiagra levers came with shims...

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Seattle, WA
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    423
    Quote Originally Posted by rij73 View Post
    I thought Tiagra levers came with shims...
    Mine didn't. *shrug*

 

 

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