How To Hold Your Handlebars Like A Pro
How To Hold Your Handlebars Like A Pro
It might sound straight forward, but knowing the correct times to hold each position on your handlebars makes riding faster, safer, and more comfortable.
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We start with the drops, the best position for fast riding. It’s lower, so you’re more aerodynamic, but you also have more control, particularly as this is the most effective position from which to brake.
Next we tackle the hoods, the best position for all day comfort. It’s not quite as aerodynamic, but it’s great for climbing out of the saddle.
Finally, holding your bars on the tops is perfect for long, gradual climbs as it sits you further back on the bike, opening up your lungs and recruiting your glutes.
Watch this guide, and you will always be in the right position on your bars.
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Wow, I’m here from March of 2017. They have definitely improved over the years.
I can ride my bike with no Handlebars
Tip: putting notations in a place where it’s impossible to reach the "X" button, leads to people turning annotations completly off. Why? Just why?
Your channel helps clear all my queries regarding cycling. Thanks for the good work. Appreciate your effort.
I just started riding a road bike and its great im having so much fun and im 15. If there are any tips anybody can tell me please tell me im still new 😊😊
I love the Specialized bikes
Pantani used to climb in the drops.
GCN Torqueback brought me here
sometimes in a downhill road i always handle in the fork
Don’t order us to not ride tops because we look idiots. Your sci fi helmets looks idiotic too. Geez ever heard of freedom in cycling!
so much helpful. thnx GCN 😊😊😊 sunday ill rocking roads.
Got into a road accident yesterday on my new road bike..got hit by a scooter , got 5 stitches on my left eyelid in the emergency ward…wasnt wearing a helmet as it was close to my house (so stupid of me) & my hands were an inch far from the brakes (was just used to my mtb & its easy braking) couldnt reach them on time.. (so the position on the bars in traffic has to be perfect)..Just telling riders my experience so you can learn from me..:)
Guys, I love your channel! Ever since I subscribed to it, I’ve had loads of questions and each one has so far been answered with one of your videos. Thank you so much for doing what you do!
According to researchers, it’s faster riding on the hoods. What do you think?
http://road.cc/content/news/133598-want-ride-faster-hunker-down-hoods
"Tops", "Hoods" and "Drops". Been riding non-professionally but intense for several years on the road, on a MTB. Never new what these terms referred to handlebar-wise. Might be adding a road bike to my riding training workouts; nice to know I won’t totally ignorant when talking to road-bike bicyclists or that future salesperson… thanks GCN.
never ever down…. :s
I’ve been riding like an idiot all along!
who kept reapeating from 0:00 to 0:04
Pretty much, as you speed up, move your hands further forward and closer to the ground.
What song is in the background?
What if my handlebars don’t have drops or hoods?
submotion orchestra!
simple, straightforward and evidenced by experience / bio mechanics. Great vid.
old school peoguet triathlon for me 12 speed
does me well please
I feel pressure and pain while I use top while climbing
Put subtitles on your videos, not everyone can understand strong English accent.
Hello GCN, I am an XC mountain biker. I have a question for Simon (who is also an XC affictionado). A couple of days ago I rode a road bike for the first time. Since it was my friend’s bike, the setup was not fine-tuned for me. In relation to my XC bike setup, I’ve felt that road bike tops were 1-2cm closer to my body (and I was quite happy with it). On the contrary, I was not comfortable to climb on the hoods while I was sitting on the saddle, it felt like they were too far from my body. Does it takes some practice to get used to that position (the hoods)?
In relation to a XC MTB handlebar, how would you chose the position of the road bike handlebar? In other words, would it be ok to chose a road bike stem length in order to get the tops a few cms closer to the body (in respect to the MTB) and the hoods a few cms farther?
Can’t reach the brakes when on the drops. Small hands.
Bought a road bike then the next day i broke it by crashing into a metal fence or something… My frikin saddle is bent, my handlebars are bent and my shifters are busted… fml
I can ride my bike with no handlebars, no handlebars
You didn’t mention aero position on drop bars. That’s the one I want to know about, but no one covers it?
so if I already did all of these naturally does that mean I’m a pro?
Been riding mtb for 11 years i gotta say prefered road bikes better
i cant hold the bar with aero pose coz i have big belly i cant breathe 😂😂😂
Cool
And corners for palm relief
That’s good but what about wider and straight handle bars?
Dude got some attitude
Seems I need to practice using the drops more, to me they feel far less stable than using the hoods, and I’m not too confident using them on fast descents, especially when it’s a rough road surface and bendy. I think it’s just a matter of getting used to it but when things get sketchy I always feel safer on the hoods and tucking my body in. (Still fairly new to road biking)
the number 1 tips is get the feeling of your bike until you could fully trust it
These tips are great for a hybrid bike as well. I’m about to make the transition and buy a road bike, went out and tried as mentioned in this video, and the scare is gone!
"Because you look like an idiot" – I really like the brutal honesty.
Watching this video I think my shifters are positioned way too far up. Is there any videos you would recommend about how to properly position your shifters? I have always felt unstable in the drops, and I think my shifters are not positioned even remotely correctly.
As a new cyclist, I cannot express how much this channel has helped me out
Just bought a new Orbea Avant can’t wait to get on it
I’M A PRO AND I DON’T USE HANDLEBARS
anyone know where I can get s-works frames?
On my first day on a road bike i fell on the road. Made me look like an idiot. Now i know why. Thanks GCN.
Pros dont hold bars…..Drop downs with tape…Thats a joke…Fucking ape horn bars no tape going strong 27 years…cycled across the USA twice without this junk…horn bars…One front brake ..7 speed xtr shifter rear is all one needs…Leather gloves that are made by Bomber Cycle in up state New York is what you need…looking like a clown wearing that tight shit like your going fast like a race car , when you hit the ground from a bad drop or a door your skin comes off like a banana peel and it hurts like a mother Fucker….I wear street clothes and after 27 years of cycling ..its about the rider not what he wears skin tight clown clothes and those drop downs in 10 years of riding day after day …good luck on your neck and back…I stick with my bar horn ape style as a fly by those clowns with heads in each others ass….On your left mother fuckers….lol….
I can’t hit the brakes when I’m on the hoods