24
I used to think flat bar gravel bikes were silly, now I've tried one I know they're silly, but I'm into it
(www.cyclingweekly.com)
this post was submitted on 27 May 2026
24 points (96.2% liked)
Bicycling
3357 readers
16 users here now
A community for those who enjoy bicycling for any reason— utility, recreation, sport, or whatever!
Post your questions, experiences, knowledge, pictures, news, links, and (civil) rants.
Rules (to be added on an as-needed basis)
- Comments and posts should be respectful and productive.
- No ads or commercial spam, including linking to your own monetized content.
- Linked content should be as unburdened by ads and trackers as possible.
Welcome!
founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
Honestly I don't know how people ride drop bars. I have a bike with them but using the lower bars is incredibly uncomfortable and feels like I have very little control...kinda wish I had just stuck with my flat bar bike...
I have an old road bike with drop bars. Still feels more natural to have the flat bars, but I do really like being able to switch my grip around so my wrists don't become fatigued. You can hold drop bars in one of 4 or 5 ways.
4 or 5? I can only think of three... Up on the hoods, down in the drops, and relaxed on the flats (relaxed perhaps a misnomer - I don't like not having my fingers on the brakes).
Normal hoods position
further back at the bend (more relaxed)
flats
drops (on the horizontal part)
drops (hands on the inside bend for fast descents with maximum braking power)
and sometimes I put my palms on top of the brake horns, to be as upright as possible
I'm more than comfortable with having the breaks be a bit away, which is probably why I counted a few more. I can think of two positions in the drop and two up on the hood, but one of each has no way to reach the breaks without moving your hands.