I'm doubling tripling down on the drop bar racing Platy. I've lost count how many Platy's Leahs has, 2,3.4 ? IDK. I think the World won't stop rotating to spare a drop bar Platy to try, at least initally, especially since Leah has never even ridden any drop bars. Nor has she ridden a "real road bike". So to buy one without even knowing if that's what's wanted isn't the wisest thing to do, from my perspective. I see a certain categorical ignorance/limiting going on here, which is ironic given the Riv pitch of frame versatility.
For example, I hadn't ridden my Bombadil in about a year as it had Albatross bars on it set a few inches above saddle height. That no longer works for me at all. So rather than let it just sit, or sell it, I decided to try some drop bars on it with a very negative rise stem. I have some rollers to ride indoors so I've been doing that as I dial in the positioning. One thing for sure, it is very different experience being stretch out and low rather than sitting up more and back. The weight distribution and handling is very different, not to mention the different muscle groups involved in such postions. It's very much a "real road bike" experience as I define that more by position than frame specs alone. I disregard any so-called "limits/intentions" of given frame design. It is what it is, a frame. Ride/adorn it any way that works for you given what'll fit on it. Picture all those 80's mtb's being used as drop bar commuters. Oh the humanity ! The bottom line is to not make this more difficult than it has to be to familiarize herself with the different positioning and muscle usage of a lower-forward drop bar experience. On Thursday, April 25, 2024 at 1:17:29 AM UTC-4 Joe Bernard wrote: > Putting myself in Leah's place to answer your question, if I had her > plethora of Platys I would choose a new/different bike for drop bars > because it would be more interesting. Popping drops on one of my Platys > with wide tires and a dynohub ain't gonna do the roadie thing for me. > > Joe Bernard > > On Wednesday, April 24, 2024 at 6:39:13 PM UTC-7 ttoshi wrote: > >> --What if I flip the question on its head and say could I do club riding >> with my Cheviot, and what would I gain from getting a road bike? >> >> I've not ridden a Platypus, but I would assume that it would be similar >> to a Cheviot. >> >> If I stripped down my Cheviot, then I am confident that I would be >> perfectly fine on club rides. I have Albastache bars, and basically use 2 >> positions. My brake levers are on the curves up front and it is probably >> similar to my drop bars. I have an upright position at the end of the bar >> where the bar end shifters are. I think rides up to a century or 200k >> would be fine. I think I might prefer a drop bar for longer rides because >> I have more hand positions that I use (I'm sure there are more usable >> positions on the Albastache, but I don't use them...). >> >> For my drop bars, I found this site to describe various hand positions: >> https://www.roadbikerider.com/dropped-bar-hand-positions/ >> >> I probably use position 3 (curves of the flat front bar) for 45% of my >> riding. 30% in position 7 in the drops and the other 20% in position 9 >> (end of drops) and 10% on the flats or in the hoods (2,5). >> >> I actually don't use the hoods too much because I set up my drop bars so >> that I am most comfortable in the drops and a bit stretched out when my >> hands are in the hoods. >> --I would definitely recommend TRP levers if you want to brake from the >> drops because they are angled out to make it easy to grab when you are >> braking from the drops. >> >> Aside from more hand positions with a drop bar, there would be more >> responsive steering from the handlebar. I think that if I had a bmx setup >> without brake or derailleur cables, then I would be able to spin my front >> wheel 360 degrees without falling on my Cheviot. >> >> If I tried to spin my Roadeo front wheel 360 degrees, then I'm pretty >> sure I'd fall flat on my face as I angled the front wheel too far to the >> left or right. >> >> My Roadeo has the best handling via steering input. This responsiveness >> to steering gives me better descending capabilities when going down curvy >> roads. I wouldn't otherwise need the responsive steering if I didn't >> descend hilly/mountainous roads, and would be perfectly fine going slightly >> slower on my Cheviot. >> >> If I had a racing Platy/Cheviot: 1. Albastache bars to have the hand >> position with the brakes up front to tuck down in the wind. 2. Supple >> sidewall tires. Yes there is a greater risk of sidewall damage, but if I >> store my bike indoors (I do) and do periodic inspection of my tires (I need >> to do this before big rides for sure), then I am comfortable with the risk >> benefit tradeoff. The improvement in ride quality and speed was tremendous >> for me. 38-42 mm is ideal for me (Hetre EL or Babyshoe pass EL or parimoto >> 38 mm are tires I have used and are wonderful). I think Jan >> Heine/Compass/Rene Herse's research showed that 42 mm supple tires are no >> less efficient and can be more efficient than 28 mm road tires. >> >> I wouldn't worry about the weight of the bike unless I was just hanging >> on by a thread and needed to lose a pound or two to keep a margin of >> comfort, or unless I were actually racing (I don't) and seconds might >> really count. Besides, I know there is a certain amount of satisfaction >> when a racing Platy keeps up with the carbon fiber pack! >> >> Toshi in Oakland, CA >> >> -- 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-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/b2031c0f-fc15-4a8a-bc17-da8b3b8cbbc2n%40googlegroups.com.
