George, Wait, is this Annie Oakley stuff directed at me? If so, I find your comments bordering on mean, but I’ll try to remain objective here. The point of my club ride posts is meant to be that one does not have to conform to the preconceived notions embraced in bike clubs everywhere: that if you don’t look the part and ride a certain bike, you can’t keep pace.
For a rider like me, joining a club ride can be uphill battle, right from the time you roll into the parking lot. Despite the “experts” saying you can’t hang with a group and ride a heavy bike, a bike with swept back bars, flat pedals, blah blah blah, I’m doing it and I’m not slowing us down. I’m not saying drop bars are bad and should be tossed out. I AM saying you can ride Billie Bars and still be fast. The point is not to negate drop bars and carbon bikes; the point is to show that there is room for variety in club rides. It might even be healthy. The club riding crowd can be awfully dogmatic, and even condescending (though most of my fellow riders are kind souls). I would hope my exploits might be a bit refreshing. But to your point, who here has ridden both types of bikes and can honestly say which is faster? Maybe it *is* the drop-bar, short wheelbased bike, but I’ve never ridden one, so I can’t say. > On Jul 28, 2022, at 6:06 PM, George Schick <bhim...@gmail.com> wrote: > Maybe I was too unclear in my previous post because it was getting too > lengthy, but what I was trying to underscore is that one cannot simply > elevate a rider with upright bars to the same level as one riding with road > bike drop bars without taking into consideration the level at which the road > bike bars are set, the stem length, etc. I'll wager good money (not that any > money is worth much these days) that a well positioned rider with drop bars > would blow the socks off any rider on a long wheel-based bike with upright > bars in an out and out competition. What I seem to see in the club ride > scenarios posted here lately is a kind of Annie Oakley "Anything You Can Do > (I Can Do Better)" with upright bars and that's just a one-off comparison. > Did you read orthopedic physical therapist and exercise physiologist Bob > Gordon's article? What's the point of all this, anyway? > > > On Thursday, July 28, 2022 at 4:21:11 PM UTC-5 Joe Bernard wrote: >> I agree that position on the bike matters, but I don't understand how the >> young lady relates to the rest of your post. We're talking about bar height >> and you mentioned her saddle was too low and she seemed nervous (which she >> explained) and shifted a lot. >> On Thursday, July 28, 2022 at 1:51:54 PM UTC-7 George Schick wrote: >>> I clearly recall riding in an organized 100K group ride that took place in >>> Central Indiana in 1994 where a young lady and I had somewhat separated >>> from some of the other clusters of bikes and she asked if I wanted to join >>> her the rest of the way. She said she was a triathlete. I agreed and rode >>> along side for while on my "ancient" '73 Fuji 5-speed while observing her >>> riding style. Although obviously a very strong rider on a very up-to-date >>> bike, she seemed very nervous and kind of jittery on her bike and, by >>> virtue of the all too accessible brifters, was constantly jumping from one >>> gear to another on even the mildest elevations. She said that she had >>> crashed on a few occasions, which made her somewhat apprehensive. She >>> couldn't even remove one hand from the bars to drink from a water bottle >>> and, though she had flexible tube running from a very tiny bladder-like >>> water vessel mounted at the rear of her bike, I never saw her take one sip. >>> She announced that she had become dehydrated during one triathlon and I >>> could easily see why. >>> >>> Although I never said anything, I also noticed that, given her long legs, >>> she rode with the saddle in way too low a position. So, at one point I >>> asked her if she had ever drafted behind another cyclist and she said no, >>> so I offered to take the lead and instructed her about where to place her >>> bike behind mine in order to get the best wind break. After a while she >>> remarked, "Your peddling is SO smooth." A little while later she asked, >>> "Do you ride rollers? You ride perfectly straight!" Well, I did ride >>> rollers during the off season back then and my pedaling had developed into >>> that "ankle drop" at the bottom of the down stroke, something (and I'm >>> sorry about this for you platform pedaling folks) can really only be >>> perfected with some type of pedal retention. So, on we rode to the end of >>> the route, never giving her any advice one way or another about riding >>> position, constant shifting, or pedal retention (I learned the hard way not >>> to do that with anyone). As strong a rider as she was, I always hoped that >>> she developed a better riding style as time went along. >>> >>> The whole point of mentioning this is to underscore that position, >>> position, position is of ultimate importance. But not the position you >>> have to buy into at a shop with a Fit-Kit. Having encountered Grant and >>> his Readers in the mid-90's I soon began to understand that in a different >>> way that I had previously and, though I still used road drop bars, I >>> adopted a much higher bar height as a result. After all, I was aging and >>> was becoming much less flexible that I used to be. If you want ride higher >>> bars in a more upright position, good for you. But don't automatically >>> discount those who use road bars positioned in a way that supports their >>> riding style; consider instead this article from Page 28 of an old reader >>> http://notfine.com/rivreader/RR04.pdf and at least give it the benefit of >>> the doubt. The author is, after all a physical therapist and does have >>> some worthy credentials. Consider instead what Nick Payne so clearly >>> underscores in his very accurate post above about the multi-position >>> availability that the road bars offer a cyclist that upright or flat bars >>> simply cannot. >>> >>> On Wednesday, July 27, 2022 at 10:58:04 AM UTC-5 amill...@gmail.com wrote: >>>> I’ve got Boscos, Toscos, Rene Herse Maes os, and Some HWY onecos. I’ve >>>> ridden albatross, bull horns, fun3s, high risers, etc. >>>> >>>> They’re great. Having strong feelings about a handlebar seems strange to >>>> me. I like the multiple positions on a drop bar as much as I like the >>>> upright position on albatross’. >>>> >>>> Just like cruising can be as much or less fun as a group ride. >>>> >>>> I admire Leah for not letting preconceived notions prevent her from trying >>>> new things. I’ve been shunned by roadies at group rides and hipsters at >>>> critical mass. Laugh it off and eat some tacos. >>>> >>>> Best, >>>> >>>> Aaron in El Paso >>>> >>>> On Jul 27, 2022, at 08:13, Tom Wyland <tomw...@gmail.com> wrote: >>>> >>>> OK, I used to be all against the idea of riding in circles for sport. >>>> I'm all about riding to get somewhere or do something, not just riding >>>> loops. Then Covid lockdown hit and I didn't bike to work, there was >>>> nothing open, and I didn't want to be exercising my lungs in the grocery >>>> store after riding there. So I found myself riding in circles. So I >>>> guess it's not that dumb after all. I just wish people would take a >>>> relaxing ride once and a while instead of sprinting everywhere. >>>> >>>> I'm 100% with the comment from Max S on Chilling/Cruising/Jamming >>>> positions. All bars should have them. >>>> >>>> Tom, who recently switched to Bosco Bars >>>> >>>> >>>> -- >>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >>>> "RBW Owners Bunch" group. >>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >>>> email to rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com. >>>> To view this discussion on the web visit >>>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/811650dd-5b30-4a28-adb3-46e396c83af0n%40googlegroups.com. > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the Google > Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this topic, visit > https://groups.google.com/d/topic/rbw-owners-bunch/bycr4qzomKk/unsubscribe. > To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to > rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/7c22387e-c3db-4498-b1e1-a97fb25bb92dn%40googlegroups.com. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. 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