# road bike and drop bar shifter position



## scale (Mar 23, 2008)

im new to the road biking thing and i just setup a road bike for myself. 

Where do you want the shifters mounted on the drop bars? In the middle of the curve? DO you want the lever itself to be perpendicular to the ground or do you want the whole assembly up higher so you can take avantage of the hoods as handles?

are there any rules here?

I just taped my bars after the build and realized that i might have them too far into the curve but im new to road biking so perhaps that is the way they are suppose to be. Id imagine you want the ability to brake from the hood and also reach the lever from the curve in the drop position....


----------



## C-40 (Feb 4, 2004)

*brand?*

I'll assume Shimano, but their hoods are shaped a lot differently than SRAM or Campy. Regardless of the brands, the transition from the bar to the brake hood must be comfortable to you hand. Campy and SRAM should have a relatively flat transition with the bar and I insist that the portion of the brake hood, where my palms rest be horizontal or angled up a couple of degrees, otherwise your hand will want to slide forward, putting too much pressure on the crook of you thumb. With Shimano, the hood may form more of a V shape.

If you place the shifters too far down on the curve, it increases the drop and reach. Then you'll end up wanting a higher rise stem or more spacer under the stem and a shorter stem. Shimano brake hoods create a longer reach than Campy or SRAM, so you probably don't want to add even more by placing the shifter low on the bars.

Here's a picture of how NOT to do it. The levers aren't really mounted too low (notice the V shape between the bars and brake hood), but the bars are rotated down and these bars also have a lot of rampdown, which places the hoods lower than the top of the bars.


----------



## scale (Mar 23, 2008)

yes they are shimano sti shifters. My drop bars are about paralell with the ground if not tilted slightly outward. 

I think i want to bring my shifters up a bit higher into the upper parts of the curve so i dont have lean quite so far inward to reach the hand position. IM going to try moving my seat forward a bit too and see if that helps at all.


----------



## C-40 (Feb 4, 2004)

*moving the saddle...*

While it's OK to move the saddle as a temporary experiment with reach, in the long term, the saddle fore/aft position is supposed to be used to insure the proper knee to pedal relationship and rider weight balance over the saddle. If you have the saddle set properly and find you need less reach, a shorter stem should be used.


----------



## Wookiebiker (Sep 5, 2005)

Personally, I prefer a flat transition from the bar tops to the hoods. Most bikes these days are set up similar to this because it tends to be much more comfortable overall.


----------



## huckleberry (Jun 26, 2005)

Wookie -

What bars are those on the Scott?

Thanks


----------



## Wookiebiker (Sep 5, 2005)

huckleberry said:


> Wookie -
> 
> What bars are those on the Scott?
> 
> Thanks


They are PLT Compact II OS (Shimano Brand Componentes). You can see them here: PLT products just click on the handlebars and scan down until you see the Compact II OS bars.


----------



## logansites (Jan 4, 2007)

another example:


----------



## Andrea138 (Mar 10, 2008)

When I set my bars up, I'll get the bar rotation set where I want first, then adjust the shifter position so that it's comfortable- for me, that's in between the first photo (with the shifter tops even with the bar tops) and the other photos (flat across top w/shifters sticking up)

Looks like this...


----------



## MShaw (Jun 7, 2003)

I usually take a straight edge and grab it so it stays against the bottom of the bar, then using an 8mm allen, set the bottom of the lever so its barely touching on the flats.

Rotate the bars so that the lowers are pointed towards yer rear hub and presto! comfy.

At least for me. YMMV

M


----------



## Michelin Bicycle Tech (Nov 14, 2007)

MShaw said:


> I usually take a straight edge and grab it so it stays against the bottom of the bar, then using an 8mm allen, set the bottom of the lever so its barely touching on the flats.


That is the way most bike manufactures do it and the way I learned when working in the shops. Use a straight edge off the bottom part of the drop and put the tip of the lever on the straight edge as well. Sure, this is just a "guideline" but it is a great place to start.


----------



## pdxtim (Nov 15, 2004)

*what kind of bars are those?*



logansites said:


> another example:


logansites: what kind of bars are those in the pic? Thanks.


----------



## Camilo (Jun 23, 2007)

MShaw said:


> I usually take a straight edge and grab it so it stays against the bottom of the bar, then using an 8mm allen, set the bottom of the lever so its barely touching on the flats.
> 
> Rotate the bars so that the lowers are pointed towards yer rear hub and presto! comfy.
> 
> ...


A good, traditional way, but will put the shifters up pretty high, with the levers pointing away from the bars, with many compact or short drop bars.

My drop flats point halfway between rear brake and rear hub (for comfort), and then I set the levers to be pretty much perpendicular, which brings them closest to the bars when I'm in the drops. This is the best compromise between hoods and drops for me. 

The ends of levers themselves are then about an inch below the drop flats w/ 135mm drop bars. They were about even with my old full drop bars.


----------



## logansites (Jan 4, 2007)

pdxtim said:


> logansites: what kind of bars are those in the pic? Thanks.


https://www.competitivecyclist.com/...pro-compact-alloy-handlebar-4183_28_TRUE.html


----------



## rockcrusher (Sep 26, 2005)

Thanks for this thread. I was going to post about this but used the search function and low and behold there was my answer. 

This is my most common battle. As a mountain biker I find I can never quite get used to the position given by the drop bars. 

I noticed that a few of the pictures above are low drop bars. Is this throwback thing or is it a re-emerging trend in road bikes? I used low drop/shallow drop bars in the 80's and then deep drops became the norm. 

TIA


----------



## pdxtim (Nov 15, 2004)

*are FSA Pro Shallows and Pro Compacts same?*

In reviewing the FSA bars in the above post and checking out vendors, it seems that the FSA Wing Pro Shallow Bars and the FSA Wing Pro Compact Road bars are very similar. Does anyone know the difference, if any?


----------



## krisdrum (Oct 29, 2007)

pdxtim said:


> In reviewing the FSA bars in the above post and checking out vendors, it seems that the FSA Wing Pro Shallow Bars and the FSA Wing Pro Compact Road bars are very similar. Does anyone know the difference, if any?


I see nothing on their webiste that mentions a "shallow" bar. Only Ergo and Compact for the Wing Pro. My assumption is they are the same.


----------



## pdxtim (Nov 15, 2004)

*check out this site*



krisdrum said:


> I see nothing on their webiste that mentions a "shallow" bar. Only Ergo and Compact for the Wing Pro. My assumption is they are the same.


Check out this site:

http://www.universalcycles.com/shopping/product_details.php?id=14681&category=866

Wing Pro Shallow specs are almost, but not quite, same as Wing Pro Compact.


----------



## krisdrum (Oct 29, 2007)

pdxtim said:


> Check out this site:
> 
> http://www.universalcycles.com/shopping/product_details.php?id=14681&category=866
> 
> Wing Pro Shallow specs are almost, but not quite, same as Wing Pro Compact.


They also show the white version as having a different reach from the black version. I will always defer back to the manufacturer. I say the Univseral Cycles website is a typo.


----------



## scale (Mar 23, 2008)

wow....lots of opinions. Im having a hard time visualizing any of it........flats, level, perpendicular, rear brake, seat post, what? I didnt realize that so much went into it.


----------



## cyclin (Oct 30, 2011)

C-40 said:


> I'll assume Shimano, but their hoods are shaped a lot differently than SRAM or Campy. Regardless of the brands, the transition from the bar to the brake hood must be comfortable to you hand. Campy and SRAM should have a relatively flat transition with the bar and I insist that the portion of the brake hood, where my palms rest be horizontal or angled up a couple of degrees, otherwise your hand will want to slide forward, putting too much pressure on the crook of you thumb. With Shimano, the hood may form more of a V shape.
> 
> If you place the shifters too far down on the curve, it increases the drop and reach. Then you'll end up wanting a higher rise stem or more spacer under the stem and a shorter stem. Shimano brake hoods create a longer reach than Campy or SRAM, so you probably don't want to add even more by placing the shifter low on the bars.
> 
> Here's a picture of how NOT to do it. The levers aren't really mounted too low (notice the V shape between the bars and brake hood), but the bars are rotated down and these bars also have a lot of rampdown, which places the hoods lower than the top of the bars.


I agree. That is TOTALLY not how to do it. They are the most ****ed up looking bars I've ever seen. How would anybody even manage to ride that bike????


----------



## carveitup (Oct 25, 2008)

That was how they did it back in 2008 when this thread was created.


----------



## GDTRFB (Feb 12, 2011)

*Flat transition to hoods*

I like this arrangement.
It's easier with Sram hoods, which are flatter than Shimano's.
I can rest my hands anywhere on the flats, ramps or hoods without feeling any dips.
My other bike, which has Shimano shifters, does not have as flat of a transition area, but I rolled the bars back a little & mounted the shifters a little high up to minimize the dip.


----------



## FTR (Sep 20, 2006)

Andrea138 said:


> so that it's comfortable- for me,


I agree with this.
It is personal preference as everyone will feel comfortable in a different position.

Mine:


----------



## kbwh (May 28, 2010)

Seems to be ballpark with compact bars. Here's mine:


----------



## sherlock (Aug 6, 2011)

Bar/shifter position is definitely a personal preference. I've got some ergo+anatomic bars on my Felt right now, and the (Shimano) hoods are fairly high. Changing to some 3T Rotundo Pro bars as per Thor Hushovd:


----------



## minutemaidman (Jun 14, 2010)

This is how I have mine set up. Comfort is the most important, but, as we all know, looks are important too! Also, what youre using the bike for primarily, etc.








and


----------

