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Anybody ever try one of those trekking or butterfly handlebars?


Dottleshead

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1 hour ago, Dottie said:

I have done that on occasion but I am ok with just ducking low and going 85% of my max speed downhill too.  In other words, I find riding in a more upright position for longer periods of time is the way to go... even if that takes me a whopping additional 15 minutes longer or whatever on a ride.

Here is a quick read that might explain some things. 

Jan Heine's 12 myths of cycling

Separately, what is your existing set-up that you will be adapting? A touring bike with standard drop bars?  You are just considering the change to the bars, not any other mods like a flipped or longer stem?

In the touring & trekking worlds, there are tons of folks (often Europeans) who go flat bar for their rigs. On the flipside, more Americans go with drop bars for their touring bikes.  Considering folks travel around the world, up and down the coasts, over mountains and through valleys on BOTH types, it clearly is a personal choice.  

Tom

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1 hour ago, Dottie said:

 

My wife on the other hand, she definitely needs a more upright position and I may actually pay for her to go get fitted for that.  My other option is to fly you up here and let you do it.  The former sounds a little cheaper.

...wait until you price one of those "professional bike fit" places before you make that call.

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2 hours ago, Dottie said:

I am always surprised about the comments I get from pro drop bar fans.  Hey, I like them too.  But folks just don't seem to get I'm no into the 'ride for speed' posture.  With the type of riding I do, drop bars make zero sense.  I read a piece from a guy that trekked for over 10 years before he figured out that he didn't need them either.  You bastards should cut me some slack and realize it only took me 5!

I will confess that my road bike has drop bars because I like the look of them.  I very rarely use the drops either - occasionally for a break while riding into a headwind, or on those rare occasions when I'm going downhill and I really want to conserve speed (i.e. I can see the upgrade coming).  On most descents I'm happy to sit up and coast, or else I'm on the brakes.  Probably 80% of the time I'm on the hoods.

And on long rides, yes, hand discomfort is a problem, so I'm taking notes on this thread.  I will occasionally get a little numbness/tingling that lasts into the next day and I don't imagine that's a good thing.

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2 hours ago, Page Turner said:

...the guy I met here who has done the most miles on a bike (he was taking a break from doing an around the world by bike tour) had a straight bar setup on his bike, with bar ends IIRC.

Every time I see someone go by me out on the bike trail hunched down low on a set of aero bars, I feel sorry for them.  Part of the reason I'm out there riding is to look around at the scenery, not down at the ground.

I did this for years on the MTB even when I disliked grabbing the bar ends for climbing.  It seemed that there were lots of hand positions available.  The current bike just has flat bars with grips however.  I've been looking in all my stuff drawers for my old Sterling mini rod ends (one hand width tall)............and I just found them in a toolbox.  Yea.

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7 hours ago, Razors Edge said:

and Here is a quick read that might explain some things. 

Jan Heine's 12 myths of cycling

Separately, what is your existing set-up that you will be adapting? A touring bike with standard drop bars?  You are just considering the change to the bars, not any other mods like a flipped or longer stem?

In the touring & trekking worlds, there are tons of folks (often Europeans) who go flat bar for their rigs. On the flipside, more Americans go with drop bars for their touring bikes.  Considering folks travel around the world, up and down the coasts, over mountains and through valleys on BOTH types, it clearly is a personal choice.  

Tom

Tom, that was a good article but honestly I don't think it told me anything I didn't already know.  You drop for power and you sit more upright for casual or longer rides.  For me I'm thinking of change for basically more hand positions.  But what I have works fine for now.  I'm still thinking I'll probably buy one to try because it's fun and the only way your will truly know is to try.  I trust your opinion and others -- I know Page is a junky and always has good advice on bikes.  But this really is more about my wife.  She had neck surgery and loves to ride but her neck is indeed causing problems.  She says whenever she's stooped low, it aggravates her neck terribly but if she is upright it's not a big deal.  I personally have witnessed times we went on more demanding hill rides and flatter rides.  Her bike was professionally fitted for her and this is all new after her surgery.  So the real issue I'm trying to solve is what to do about her bike situation.  Since we ride now trying to pick the lowest elevation routes available, I'm not to worried about power and getting up a hill.  If we need to dismount neither of us is too proud to walk that final 15 yards or whatever.  A person pushing a bike up a hill gets a hell of a lot more exercise and health benefits than somebody sitting on their coach watching TV.  

So honestly, I'm not sure where the best place to go is for her neck and riding.  She doesn't want to give it up, and I don't want her to give it up.  Getting advice from a web site like this -- while insightful -- just doesn't instill a lot of confidence in me about the best action to take.  I think maybe the first stop we should go is speak to her surgeon.  He might have some good ideas about where to go as surely he's had biking patients -- especially here in Seattle.

 

But I do appreciate every one's thoughts -- especially to jsharr and paige for their value added guitar photos.  Nothing says more than "We've got you covered" with Spinal Tap and Rick Nielson guitar photos.

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14 minutes ago, Dottie said:

.  I think maybe the first stop we should go is speak to her surgeon.  He might have some good ideas about where to go as surely he's had biking patients -- especially here in Seattle.

 

 

...the majority of spinal surgeons consulted in a professional capacity will tell you to just get a recumbent.  Which might actually work out well for your wife.

There are a lot of people arouind here that I see riding them.  They all seem to be having a reasonably good time.

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5 minutes ago, Page Turner said:

...the majority of spinal surgeons consulted in a professional capacity will tell you to just get a recumbent.  Which might actually work out well for your wife.

There are a lot of people arouind here that I see riding them.  They all seem to be having a reasonably good time.

Yeah, i know.  We may have to result to this but she wants to try.  Recumbs blow for many reasons.  1) difficult to ride hills, 2) require wider paths, 3) are/seem dangerous to ride on the streets/roads, 4) you can't haul them around unless you have a truck or van, 5) they're a bitch to store.  But they are wonderful for your heart and back. 

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9 hours ago, Dottie said:

Yeah, i know.  We may have to result to this but she wants to try.  Recumbs blow for many reasons.  1) difficult to ride hills, 2) require wider paths, 3) are/seem dangerous to ride on the streets/roads, 4) you can't haul them around unless you have a truck or van, 5) they're a bitch to store.  But they are wonderful for your heart and back. 

Recumbents can be carried vertically on a hitch rack.  Two wheelers aren't any wider.  3 wheelers like CATRikes can go up hills because no matter how slow you gear them you won't fall over.

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11 hours ago, Dottie said:

Yeah, i know.  We may have to result to this but she wants to try.  Recumbs blow for many reasons.  1) difficult to ride hills, 2) require wider paths, 3) are/seem dangerous to ride on the streets/roads, 4) you can't haul them around unless you have a truck or van, 5) they're a bitch to store.  But they are wonderful for your heart and back. 

You are 100% correct in all of these except the wonderful for the back part since that is a case by case situation. Recumbents are crazy in their variety. I'd also add that many require some skill to get rolling.

11 hours ago, Dottie said:

So honestly, I'm not sure where the best place to go is for her neck and riding.  She doesn't want to give it up, and I don't want her to give it up.  Getting advice from a web site like this -- while insightful -- just doesn't instill a lot of confidence in me about the best action to take.

Certainly seems like you need to have a clear picture of your new "normal" for rides together (or her alone).  Honestly, hybrids are inexpensive, relatively quick & light nowadays, and certainly upright enough that most weight is on the saddle.  They also have wider tires (lower pressures are nice), can have added flexibility in an assortment of places - seatpost, fork, stem, etc - that will smooth out any jarring bumps. Add in some curved bar ends, perhaps tilted up instead of mostly horizontal, will give those two extra hand positions and further offer upright positions. From a forum perspective, most of us are familiar with our own experiences and a few others they interact with, but most likely folks who have had similar back or neck issues are where you will get your best advice.  I rarely trust a doctor's advice outside of their specialty, but some are cyclists too, so may know.  Likewise, an e-mail to someone like Leonard Zinn might solicit some good ideas.

GOOD LUCK!

Tom

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2 hours ago, Razors Edge said:

You are 100% correct in all of these except the wonderful for the back part since that is a case by case situation. Recumbents are crazy in their variety. I'd also add that many require some skill to get rolling.

Certainly seems like you need to have a clear picture of your new "normal" for rides together (or her alone).  Honestly, hybrids are inexpensive, relatively quick & light nowadays, and certainly upright enough that most weight is on the saddle.  They also have wider tires (lower pressures are nice), can have added flexibility in an assortment of places - seatpost, fork, stem, etc - that will smooth out any jarring bumps. Add in some curved bar ends, perhaps tilted up instead of mostly horizontal, will give those two extra hand positions and further offer upright positions. From a forum perspective, most of us are familiar with our own experiences and a few others they interact with, but most likely folks who have had similar back or neck issues are where you will get your best advice.  I rarely trust a doctor's advice outside of their specialty, but some are cyclists too, so may know.  Likewise, an e-mail to someone like Leonard Zinn might solicit some good ideas.

GOOD LUCK!

Tom

Yeah, she has a hybrid.  My friend has a longer stem that is her bike size so we'll try that and adjust her seat. Not much else we can do.  I'm a wee bit optimistic only in that she had some success on her current configuration riding on flatter surfaces.  Plus she does have a tendency to lean forward and tense up when riding hills that she is aware of -- so it may work yet.  If it doesn't, well really have to set our routes to be quite conservative and boring or go the recumbent option.  Or she just gives it up. 

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37 minutes ago, Rattlecan said:

I put a set of them on my commuter bike just to try them out. Have not done anything longer than about a 40 km ride with them. They're ok, but for that style of bike, I think I prefer the swept back style. I will probably change them some time.

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Thanks for the feedback.  What do you mean by swept back style?  

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48 minutes ago, Dottie said:

Thanks for the feedback.  What do you mean by swept back style?  

What they used to call touring bars or North Road type. Sorta what they used to put on the old English 3 speeds.

I have that type on a couple of my bikes, and I like them better than the butterfly bars.

Also have bikes with drop bars and bull horns, so I gots variety.

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