Road bike users, help me with hand positioning

YORKSHIRELASS

OK, excuse my ignorance, I am a complete beginner.

After years of mountain biking and after lots of umming and ahhing I have decided to buy a road bike. I tried a couple out in a bike shop at the weekend and really struggle with the hand position.

The sales assistant tells me that most of the time you will ride with your hands on the top bar but to be able to reach the gears and brakes I needed my hands in the drop position. It felt so strange. The assistant says it will feel completely different once the bike is set up for me. I am a petite lady with very small hands and now slightly worried about this.

I did try a road bike with a flat bar but I am not sure if that would be the right decision or whether (as the sales assistant says) its just such a completely different riding style that I would need to persevere with to get used to.

Advice needed please.

Moto2

For me (and most others) most time is spent on the hoods.

How I set it up is to sit on the bike with my hands on the hoods and feet clipped in so you'll need an assistant.
I then look to get the set up so that I can lift both hands just off the bars and hold it indefinitely.
So I play around with saddle position and stem length until I'm happy

Thanetia

Think about why you want a road bike and what you want to get out of it - going from A to B as fast as possible, getting fitter, or just because a MTB isn't the best tool to do road miles - this should help you consider hybrid/flat bar v more speed focused road bike with drop bars.

Drop bars allow flexibility to change your position on the bike - e.g. low onto the drops when going into the wind, or up on the tops when bowling along. You typically also put more weight onto your arms on a road bike v MTB, especially when using drops. So it can feel different for some time as you become accustomed to a different kind of ride

If you're small then bike sizing becomes pretty critical and you may want to consider 'petite' specific frames and components that will work for you. Spending some time in a decent bike shop will be time well spent.

Johnmcl7

As Moto2 has said, a lot of road riders ride on what's known as the 'hoods' although it's not an obvious position for beginners. Here's a picture showing a hand on the hood:

http://i.stack.imgur.com/O95Rg.jpg

It's sort of a mid position, you rest your hands on the top of the gearshifters/brakes giving a slightly more comfortable position on the bike but you can still use the brakes and gear shifters.

The other two main positions are the back position with your hands on the top bar or the drop position with your hands on the lowest part of the handlebars. When you're on the top/back part of the bars normally you can't use the brakes or shifters but if the bike uses normal mechanical cable brakes it is possible to fit a second set of brake levers which you can see here:

http://mos.bikeradar.com/images/news/2008/02/19/Saunier_Duval-Scott_Canada_top_mounts-480-90-480-70.jpg

Most bikes don't come with them aside from some CX bikes but they can be fitted to most bikes.

When I first tried a road bike I didn't like the drop bars as I didn't feel comfortable using the shifters and brakes but after a few hours riding I had no problem with it. Now I actually prefer the drop bars for the road bike as you tend to be in a fixed position (unlike a mountain bike where you're off the saddle and moving the bike around more often) so I like the choice of being able to move positions if my wrists or back are a little stiff.

I spend most of the time on the hoods, occasionally move to the back to ease off my back a bit or move onto the drops if I'm pushing into a hard headwind or sprinting.

When I was considering a road bike I hired one for the weekend which was a great way for me to get a feel for the bike and whether it was something I wanted to buy or not, if you can do the same and get a bike your size I'd definitely recommend it. As I said, I wasn't keen on it to begin with but once I got the hang of it, I was amazed at how quickly it could fly along and it wasn't a special bike either - just a fairly bog standard aluminium bike with a low end groupset. I'm still primarily a mountain biker but it's enjoyable being able to just eat up the miles with ease and it's good to get a nice, regular cadence.

John

spadoosh

On the hoods unless youre going full attack mode.

Itll feel much much lighter (like you dont control it) and youll be positioned much closer/over your handle bars. With your weight shifted forward make sure you make smaller movements when adjusting your steering or your bike will turn and you will not. Falling off is part of the fun.

Dont threat about it, youll be used to it in no time and it wont effect your mountain biking either. Im regularly between road, hybrid and mtb and never causes issues.

Go for a good long ride when you get it and by the end youll find its quite a natural position.

YORKSHIRELASS

Thanks all, thats helpful, especially the pictures Johnmcl7. I will still keep the mountain bike but we are finding a lot of tracks and trails around us are so popular now and doing rough single track was fun when I was in my 20s but now that I am heading towards 50 I want something a bit easier - at least some of the time!

Everyone keeps telling me to just go for it and in no time the old mountain bike will feel really strange. Back to the bike shop again at the weekend I think.

[Deleted User]

YORKSHIRELASS wrote: »

Thanks all, thats helpful, especially the pictures Johnmcl7. I will still keep the mountain bike but we are finding a lot of tracks and trails around us are so popular now and doing rough single track was fun when I was in my 20s but now that I am heading towards 50 I want something a bit easier - at least some of the time!

Everyone keeps telling me to just go for it and in no time the old mountain bike will feel really strange. Back to the bike shop again at the weekend I think.

Being a Yorkshirelass you will be able to visit Planet X in Sheffield and Barnsly where you can buy a bike which will show up the MTB for what it is, a heavy cumbersome lump of a bike. MTB s are useful in rough terrain like the Peak district but out there on the moors I think cycling looks mad ! we should all be on foot appreciating the wilderness and the hills.
Planet X have changed the face of cycling with their really keen prices ,you can buy an 8 kg bike with a carbon fibre frame and a top quality groupset, (Sram Rival ) for less than £1000 and if you search long enough on Ebay up will come a good used Planet X Pro Carbon for 3 or 4 hundred quid or less. These lightweight road bikes pedal so easily and are so nimble and responsive they are like Ferraris next to a Land Rover. The only drawback is that they are bit uncomfortable compared to MTBs and they will transmit the road surface direct to the bikes suspension- your bum on the saddle. Find nice country roads though, then they are the ultimate form of pedal transport and just glide along so easily on their 23/25 mm tyres. MTBs have their place but on my country lane runs around Doncaster its rare to see anyone on a MTB, they are all on road bikes complete with the Lycra lurid uniform.
I ride with my hands on the top bar close to the hoods where I can easily flick the gear s which hide behind the brake handles. On Sram its a short left hand flick on right hand lever for down gears and a longer left hand flick for going up to higher gears. The lever on the left gear change is for the chainring changer.

ab1982

Hoods normally I think but whatever suits you, flat bar road bikes are quite popular. Worth if anything buying bike slightly small for you so you can adjust reach etc more easily.

Johnmcl7

I recently gave my sister a road bike as I was upgrading mine but I was a little concerned how she'd get on with the drop bars and controls as she only really commutes by bike and her own bike had been a classic Raleigh lady's hybrid. However I needn't have worried, she's never mentioned any problem with the controls and she adores the bike for how fast it is.

It is odd switching back and forth between Road and mountain bikes but only for the first little bit, you quickly kick back into the feel of it and not a problem.

One point I would mention is that I find the road can be tougher on your body (depending on your off road riding style) as narrow, high pressure tyres and a stuff frame make you feel more of the road unsurprisingly. The road bike position I find can be a bit hard on my neck and back if I'm a bit stiff already.

YORKSHIRELASS

Thanks all, really helpful. I have had trouble with my knees after years of running (which I dont do any more) so it will be interesting to see if the road bike makes any difference. I will just not have to go mad when I get the new bike I guess.

I do weights in the gym and pilates which helps my neck and back, I used to suffer a bit with my neck due to the jarring of mountain biking. Doing a desk job doesnt help.

I have been told that I am between sizes and would be better with a slightly smaller frame. Even doing a little test ride it was hard to tell if I have got the sizing right because it all feels so different!

Nasqueron

Get the bike properly fitted, if you're still in Yorkshire, go see Andy Bishop, really nice guy and did a fit for me for £50, 2 hours or so of tweaks and testing in Worksop