Educating Peachy - Drop bar MTB’s

Retro Spud":f7tmh2qe said:
OMG LGF once built bikes like THM :shock:

How many brake levers have you got on one bar :LOL:



I know Canti's need more pulling power than Discs but four levers ...are you lord Vishnu :shock:

dropped bars are getting more silly by the moment

Some of us can carry our style.
 
Peachy!":1hwypme3 said:
So, more for fast trail/gravel riding than for rock/root bashing?

Yeahhhhhh...... kind of. Wide bars/short stem probably better for modern trail centre type riding.
See many of the 70's/80's mountain bikes , and the type of terrain they were riding.
But of course, you can ride anything , anywhere, if you have the skills, or are suitably insane :LOL:
 
Or suitably insured...
 
Re:

So far I’m surprised to se that not a single contributor has hit the nail squarely on the head.







You get to justify having another bike.
 
Re: Re:

legrandefromage":1se3ej7y said:
The History Man":1se3ej7y said:
You get to justify having another bike.

I think his Peachyness has a story to tell about that

What? Hey! Shhhhh! you'll get me shot! :shock:
 
Peachy!":2vx3g2l4 said:
Serious question..... (inspired by this months BotM)

Can someone please explain the thought process behind dropbars on MTBs?

I understand the following;

A. Drop bars on road bikes for aero where the required force/control is minimal on a smooth road surface. And on “gravel” bikes and wider tyre touring bikes

B. Wide straight/riser/flat bars on MTBs where maximum force/control is required on a whole range of surfaces. And on commuting/hybrid bikes

Is it a real thing putting drops on MTB’s or is it more of a compromise?

Discuss... :)

It's a compromise. Nothing more to discuss. ;)
 
One extra benefit of drop bars is that the hunched forward position might increase your power output because it allows your bum and lower back muscles to contribute to the pedalling more efficiently. It probably won't work for everybody, especially on retrobike where many of us have dodgy backs, but in my case being hunched forward (on bar ends rather than drops) has proven to give me 5-10 % extra power for the same effort, in addition to an unquantified improvement in aerodynamics when on fast flat sections or road.

On my marathon / bikepacking bike I use a modern wide bar with old school nza ski bend barends fitted inboard of the brake and shift levers. I find this setup great on long rides because it gives me some extra hand positions, including the classic 90s one the barends climbing position, but also lets me fold forward into a tri-bar style position for a few minutes when I need to power through a quick road section.

I see recently a company has "invented" bar ends, after "discovering" some of their sponsored riders show improved power output with them. Their plastic bar ends retail at thrice the price of a decent set of retro alloy bar ends.
 
legrandefromage":2qz37pd8 said:
And they make great pre-gravel gravel bikes, here was what I was riding around 2006 for long on-off road rides

That's an epic bike. Basically you're a gravel pioneer.

But whatever you do, don't walk into my LBS and announce you made a gravel bike using a 90s MTB. And definitely don't say your 90s MTB frame has virtually the same angles as the plastic fire-road bikes they're hawking to roadies who want to do a bit of off road riding. Unless you want to see the owner do this:

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_MnyV-HH3U[/youtube]
 
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