Drop bars on my mountain bike - JP Fitness Forums

Lost Dog · 08-25-2006, 10:17 AM

My hands do so much better when I can be on the drops, periodically, so I'm considering swapping my bar for drop bars.

My bike's a little old, but the derailleurs are Shimano Deore XT and my brakes are low profile calipers (low in the day, anyway). They're aftermarket, and the best ones of their day, but they're center pulls.

Can modern road bike shift and brake handles work with these? I think the derailleurs will work, but I'm not sure if the brake levers will provide enough travel for center pull calipers.

Anyone know?

ODB · 08-25-2006, 10:42 AM

Confused? Are you talking about putting drops on a mountain bike?

Lost Dog · 08-25-2006, 10:45 AM

Yeah. Swapping my straight handle bar for one with drops, like a cross bike or road bike.

ODB · 08-25-2006, 11:14 AM

Check the geometry of your frame first. It could be really uncomfortable.

Mark57 · 08-25-2006, 11:16 AM

If they're center pull calipers they should work, but you could look at Travel Agents if not. No idea on the shifters, though. Might be a pricy conversion, you might be better off with a cross bike.

Mark57 · 08-25-2006, 11:38 AM

LD, I have a flat-bar road bike for commuting, the Specialized Sirrus Pro, and these Cane Creek bar ends made a huge difference for me. Drops would still be nice, especially on windy days, but these help alot with hand position.

http://www.performancebike.com/shop/...egory_ID=5252#

Kaiser · 08-25-2006, 12:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ODB

Check the geometry of your frame first. It could be really uncomfortable.

Ditto to what Joe has said. Your hands may be more comfortable, but other parts of your body will likely pay the price. Not to mention the fact that improper body positioning will launch you into many endos on singletrack. So the question is (if you ride your mtb on the trail), are you willing to hurt the rest of your body to give more comfort to your hands? As Mark noted, if it is just an issue of the parallel hand grip causing fatigue on flat sections or climbs, add some of the Cane Creek bar ends he has pictured. The will allow you to shift positions 90 degrees and give your wrists some relief. I have a pair on my mtb and they are great for relieving hand fatigue on all the flat sections I have to ride here in Illinois.

Lost Dog · 08-25-2006, 01:09 PM

I do have bar ends (sans that padded grip).

My problem is more one of pressure on the palm and wrist. In a drop position, my back holds me up more and my hands merely guide the bars, with little pressure.

If I ride a rode bike or a beach cruiser, it's cool. Opposite positions. The mt. bike is just the wrong angle, so you (well, "I") end up resting on the bar.

With a cross bike, are you more over the rear of the bike, then with a mt bike?

Back when I was following mt biking, I remember some pros making hybrid cross/mt. bikes to make what they thought was the best of both worlds, but they had all sorts of access to custom frames and parts that I don't, obviously.

I did a little looking. Seems like cross bikes are pretty pricey...

ODB · 08-25-2006, 01:36 PM

Notice also that although they had all that access to design and labor from the bike companies they never really did it and you don't see it now. If your palms are hurting that bad, I would question the fit of your bike. I've done 100 mile races on mine and that's the least of my problems.

Kaiser · 08-25-2006, 03:12 PM

Again ditto to what Joe said. If your palms are hurting that badly on a mountain bike, something is not right. With all the movement around the bike, the weight shifts, etc that you do on a mtb, your palms should not have that issue unless you are in the wrong position and weighting them all the time (something that would adversely affect your control and riding position). Numb hands are usually a problem on a road bike where you tend to get into a groove in the same positiion and forget to shift your hands around.

If you're getting less pressure on your hands in a drop position. something is definitely awry in your fit. It should be the other way around.

Also, do you ride with cycling gloves? If so, is the padding worn? If not, why not?

Lost Dog · 08-25-2006, 03:36 PM

My numb hands are related to a few things. Carpal tunnel syndrome & ulnar nueropathy, primarily. I gave up riding for years (hence the old bike).

With Bill Hartman's help in ART and stretching, it's gotten much better, but gripping ANYTHING for an extened length of time causes numbness. Even resting my palms (with my brand new, heavily gel padded gloves) causes numbness.

It could be that the bike fit causes me to lean on my hands for than I should. Always a possibility.

On this same bike, however, I've ridden many 20-50 miles rides (before the CTS) and had only the periodic normal numbness that cyclists get. Shake the hand and you're good again...

ODB · 08-25-2006, 03:54 PM

I assume you're not planning on doing any technical riding on this bike with drop downs. You'll lose all kinds of control. Another option (and I have seen this on long mtb races where there is a lot of pavement or dirt road involved) is aero bars. That would allow you to still have the control of the wider bar and give you the ability to tuck in for long flat rides. You can get ones that can be bolted on and off easily and won't get in the way of your brake levers or shifters. Just another idea.

Lost Dog · 08-26-2006, 01:25 AM

That's an idea for the bars. I used to have an aero bar for commuting. That did help quite a bit.

bmph8ter · 08-26-2006, 11:28 PM

A drop bar (WTB dirt drops or an On-One midge bar) is a bad idea but aero bars would be OK? I totally don't get that. CX guys race some gnarly stuff, so I think as long as your saddle to bar drop wasn't too extreme you would be fine with a drop bar.

You could actually use road levers (Ultegra or whatever) with your MTB derailleurs with no issues; it's how our new Cannondale road tandem is setup and it works great. Brakes may be a little touchy, but with some travel agents (also called problem solvers) you should be able to line it out.

I also noticed you mentioned your "heavily gel padded gloves". This could be causing more of the trouble than it helps. I personally can't wear a thick glove without my hands going numb. Even just a little padding is sometimes too much for me. Ususally during a MTB race I won't wear them at all. I guess the adrenaline makes me grip harder causing the padding to bunch up or something. Oh well, I find it's just easier to rip them off if I started with them and ride bare. Good luck!!!

Lost Dog · 08-26-2006, 11:40 PM

Thanks. I've actually tried with non-padded gloves, too. They feel much more secure that really padded ones. Plus, you don't have to squeeze as hard...

I don't think they meant for me to use the aero bars on dirt. I think they don't want me to ditch the width of a mt bike bar.

My frame may be a little small for a drop bar. I'd definately have to stick with my higher angle mt bike stem.

I forgot that tandems often use mt bike brakes with road levers. Thanks for the reminder.

ODB · 08-27-2006, 07:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lost_Dog

Thanks. I've actually tried with non-padded gloves, too. They feel much more secure that really padded ones. Plus, you don't have to squeeze as hard...

I don't think they meant for me to use the aero bars on dirt. I think they don't want me to ditch the width of a mt bike bar.

My frame may be a little small for a drop bar. I'd definately have to stick with my higher angle mt bike stem.

I forgot that tandems often use mt bike brakes with road levers. Thanks for the reminder.

Yeah Aaron, what he said.

bmph8ter · 08-27-2006, 10:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ODB

Yeah Aaron, what he said.

My bad, I'm still kinda new to the reading thing!