"I have to look up what “on the ramps” means. " Five hand-positions, defined and illustrated, by the lovely "Lovely Bicycle":
http://lovelybike.blogspot.com/2012/06/drop-bar-hand-positions-introduction.html BL in EC On Monday, April 22, 2024 at 11:16:35 AM UTC-7 Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! wrote: > All of these replies are interesting. And when I read one I think, “Yes, > that’s right” and then read another which conflicts and change my mind. > This is going to be a journey. I can’t even believe how much there is to > know. > > I’m later getting here than the rest of you, I think. It was 2012 when I > first realized there were better bikes than the Walmart Schwinn I was > pulling my preschoolers around with. I got a Betty Foy with the biggest > racks and baskets money could buy and away we went. So happy! Still knowing > nothing! > > Now those boys are in high school, and I live in a vibrant bike community > and suddenly it’s a whole new world for me. Every riding season I end up > learning and being stretched. I’m doing new kinds of rides, meeting lots of > people, volunteering on bike committees, and venturing a lot further from > home. 5 years ago I would never have believed I’d ride a metric century or > enjoy club riding. This is all wonderful, but I’m hamstrung by my lack of > experience. I always thought drop bars would have to be uncomfortable. It > wasn’t until this thread that I even considered trying them. Are they a > rite of passage? “Oh, you’ll never use them forever but just scratch the > itch now so you can say you have.” Or are they the gold standard “They’ve > been used for 100 years for good reason.” I worry I’m too late to start > using them after all this time on albatross and Billies. I have to look up > what “on the ramps” means. I don’t know what the “right” geometry is for a > road bike belonging to a devoted Rivendell rider would be. I dread being > uncomfortable. I fear screwing up with the new drop bars and crashing in a > peloton. I have no idea what shifters I’d put on drop bars. I thought > albastache might be a good compromise but heard they aren’t wrist-neutral > and then that they are. So.Much.To.Know. But everything I do now scares me, > so let’s go. > > Keep your replies coming! I read every one, even if I don’t respond, I am > definitely thinking about them and chatting with other RivSisters who have > similar questions. > > Thanks for taking the time! > Leah > > On Monday, April 22, 2024 at 1:31:40 PM UTC-4 cz...@sonic.net wrote: > >> Hi Leah - >> >> I would generally agree with what Ted said. Riding position and fit are >> very important. But I don't think that's the only criteria I would use. I >> have ten bikes. Five are Rivs. I have a Custom, Quickbeam, Roadeo, Ram and >> Hubbuhubbuh. I find that geometry is important in my riding. Some bikes can >> be more "twitchy" and/or less stable because of their geometry. Things like >> trail, head and seat tube angles and bottom bracket drop can affect the >> handling and stability of a bike. I don't get hung up on numbers, and judge >> the handling and stability based on how a bike rides. >> >> All of my Rivs are rock-solid stable and handle exceptionally well. I >> know that the low center of gravity, trail and angles contribute to this. >> Stability and handling are very important to me because I ride lots of >> hills. Going uphill depends on gears, fitness and leg strength. The >> stability and handling come into play going downhill. Rivs provide a level >> of confidence I don't get on other bikes. You can be sure the bike will go >> where you point it. >> >> About Albastache and Mustache bars - I have five bikes (some of them >> Rivs) with Mustache and Albastache bars. I find I can get every bit as low >> on Mustache and Albastache bars as on drop bars. The rest of my bikes have >> drop bars. The main thing I like about drop bars is riding the hoods. On >> drops, I find there are primarily three hand positions: 1) on the hoods, 2) >> on the ramps (slightly farther back than on the hoods) and 3) on the flats >> on either side of the stem. I rarely get into the drops. With the >> Albastache and Mustache, I find I have more riding positions. >> >> Have fun on your road bike, whatever you get. >> >> Regards, >> >> >> Corwin >> On Sunday, April 21, 2024 at 2:07:47 PM UTC-7 Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! >> wrote: >> >>> I promise not to be offended by a great wave of advice coming my way >>> here - I have asked for it and you all have kindly delivered. >>> >>> Ok, ok….I really will consider drop bars. But I do wonder…everyone says >>> they offer so many hand positions; but I only see people with their hands >>> on the hoods. Are riders really utilizing different hand positions? >>> >>> Also, I saw a pic of an albastache with brake levers in the middle of >>> the bar. Would this mimic the freedom of hand position changes a drop bar >>> offers? >>> >>> I practiced tonight on my ride by grabbing the front of my Billie bars. >>> It felt nice to be stretched out like that, but with no access to brakes or >>> shifters from there I didn’t like to stay long. Unnerving. >>> >>> >>> Sent from my iPhone >>> >>> On Apr 21, 2024, at 4:54 PM, Patrick Moore <bert...@gmail.com> wrote: >>> >>> >>> >>> This is going to be a fun thread. Please don't take a great volume of >>> advice as condescending; I think that this thread will elicit a very large >>> amount of love for road bikes as a distinct genus of bicycle. >>> >>> I think you very particularly will benefit a great deal from the right >>> road bike and that once you get things basically sorted you will find that >>> you enjoy it immensely for the kind of riding you describe. There is a >>> perfection of fit and feel and a real pleasure in riding a well set up >>> traditional road bike -- I don't mean racing bike -- that you don't find >>> with other combinations of frame, saddle, bar, and their relative >>> positions. Really, this sort of setup on the right sort of frame is >>> *more* comfortable, *more* natural, *more* pleasant for energetic >>> riding than other setups; at least, I've always found it so, and there's a >>> reason why the traditional road bike was developed so quickly after the >>> chain-driven safety was invented and why it has remained largely the same >>> for going on for 150 years. >>> >>> Note: I don't say that *everyone* who rides energetically should have a >>> road bike, but everyone who does so and can try ought at least to give one >>> a try. Again, there is an efficiency and comfort -- really, a "fit" like >>> that of a custom suit or perfect tool -- offered by an intelligently spec'd >>> and set up road bike that, you don't -- or at least, *I don't,* -- get >>> with any other sort of bike. >>> >>> Me, based on my experience, I'd certainly start by keeping my eye out >>> for a used Roadeo or Riv Road or LongLow or Ram or Heron. But for the final >>> and perfect version, I'd not close my mind a priori to other makes. I am >>> guessing, but I would not be surprised if, after your usual rapid learning >>> cycle, this time with a road bike, you end up with a custom. My favorite >>> bike of all time out of several scores is a custom Riv Road, but I've owned >>> 2 other Riv Road customs plus a Ram (and the Sam) not to mention many other >>> road bikes, and I've sold them all on to finally get what for me is belated >>> perfection in the 2 Matthews customs -- tho' these used the Rivs as >>> general design templates. >>> >>> I rode the gofast Riv fixie road bike to and from church today with the >>> usual annoying NE winds while inbound N and E and the usual SW winds on >>> return N and W. For the umpteen millionth time I remarked to myself at how >>> pleasant it was to be able to drop "intuitively" into the hooks when >>> turning into a wind, or to grab the long (Maes Parallel) ramps when >>> pushing, butt-back and elbows bent, up an incline, or sitting up and >>> holding the flats or the flat/ramp transition and spinning when the wind >>> became a tailwind. >>> >>> I've certainly passed my speed demon days, but there remains a very >>> distinct pleasure in riding energetically -- for me, particularly on hills >>> and against winds -- on the perfectly set up road bike, and I have enough >>> experience to know that I would not enjoy this nearly as much on anything >>> else. >>> >>> *Bon chance!* >>> >>> >>> On Sat, Apr 20, 2024 at 1:33 PM Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! < >>> jonasa...@gmail.com> wrote: >>> >>>> I’m starting to wonder about a roadbike. But it has to be a Rivendell >>>> roadbike because I’m loyal and all that. Anyway, I don’t know that the >>>> Roadini really offers enough of a change for me. I have no idea what is >>>> going on with the Gallup. Then there’s the Roadeo - that one looks great >>>> but there’s a 2 year wait, unless I can find one used. Which would be >>>> ideal. >>>> >>>> Who rides their Rivbike in club rides and what do you ride? Who has a >>>> Roadeo that never gets ridden and wants to sell it? I don’t even know what >>>> size I’d be but I’m an 81 PBH. Must I ride drop bars? I never have before. >>>> I know nothing about any of this. Clearly. >>>> >>>> Note: I still like my raspberry Platypus for club riding but it does >>>> take a toll on me in wind. I recently got a shorter-height, longer-reach >>>> stem which marginally helped, but our high spring winds are taking it out >>>> of me. I did a club ride yesterday with my women’s group and my heart rate >>>> was in the 170s the whole 26.3 miles. It was brutal. Everyone else agreed >>>> it was a hard ride, but I felt like it was harder on me than them, and I’m >>>> the youngest and probably the most fit. >>>> >>>> Leah >>>> >>>> -- >>>> 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/fab5132f-e8ca-4a76-842d-9b994853e099n%40googlegroups.com >>>> >>>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/fab5132f-e8ca-4a76-842d-9b994853e099n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >>>> . >>>> >>> >>> >>> -- >>> >>> Patrick Moore >>> Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum >>> >>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> >>> Executive resumes, LinkedIn profiles, bios, letters, and other writing >>> services >>> >>> >>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> >>> *When thou didst not, savage, k**now thine own meaning,* >>> >>> *But wouldst gabble like a** thing most brutish,* >>> >>> *I endowed thy purposes w**ith words that made them known.* >>> >>> -- >>> >>> 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/uXZ6OSH6T-s/unsubscribe >>> . >>> To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, 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/CALuTfgt2zr1c-C1mVdfZT7Pmw8beof8ym%2BaKo2ECu1HyNFVFtg%40mail.gmail.com >>> >>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/CALuTfgt2zr1c-C1mVdfZT7Pmw8beof8ym%2BaKo2ECu1HyNFVFtg%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >>> . >>> >>> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. 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