I ride less in the drops because I can’t cover the brakes from my normal position and would be in bother if I had to slow / stop in a hurry.

Yeh, as I posted previously; I don’t think the Shimano lever design is good for small hands, even with the reach adjustment wound in. Or maybe, the placement of the units is much more critical.

Campag or Sram feel much more “natural” to me. I also have big hands.

What about some different bars? I use these Ritchey Neo Classics that are comfy in the drops.

I thought that was exactly the idea of being on the drops? Flatter back, engage the glutes more, more aero, more even weight distribution, better access to brakes.

I get this for on road, but off road casual riding I would rather have my body head and neck where it is comfortable and be able to brake than one or the other. I also hope that mini vees will give me more confidence to one finger brake, as the cantis on my tricross give massive brake judder on the front to the point of almost losing control.
Mine are older 9sp 105 so I assume won’t have any lever adjustment

What about some different bars? I use these Ritchey Neo Classics that are comfy in the drops.

Those would certainly do the trick.
I’ll see what I can do first though, as I’ve already bought one new set of bars because I wasn’t 100% happy with those supplied and I do like the feel of the FSA Compacts.

“….if I spend any length of time low enough to cover the brake levers fully, my neck kills me. “

That suggests to me that your bars are too low.

This article may be of help to you:

BEHIND BARS – bar and brake lever positioning

Too lazy to read the whole thread. In the pic of the bike by the gate: I reckon that the levers are a touch high. Tops of the hoods should be horizontal.

Try some Midge bars. They suit my small stubby hands perfectly

Too lazy to read the whole thread. In the pic of the bike by the gate: I reckon that the levers are a touch high. Tops of the hoods should be horizontal.

Lots of CX riders angle them up though, for better control from the hoods. I like this position too, but it’s not helping my problem.

Try some Midge bars. They suit my small stubby hands perfectly

Thanks, but I’m trying to move away from flared bars, as I don’t like the feel from the drops.

I *might* have a setback seatpost you can have. If I remember, I’ll have a look when I get home.

Hi

I know this isn’t answering your initial question but I’m thinking about trying some flared drops as they are supposed to be better off road than normal … but still not sure … what was it about yours that you didn’t get on with?

Iv’e tried Midge bars but way too small for my hands!!

Looking at your new bars they seem to have a shorter drop … does that work better?

don’t know whether this will help but I read somewhere that your seat height and the top of your bars should be about level(for off road stuff) … bars slightly higher encourages you to get on the drops more often?

Changing the stem for one with more rise might do the trick.

Hi Sleigh62.

I liked the feel on the hoods, with my hands sloping outwards, but on the drops I found my hands fell where they would on a regular drop bar and my fingers had to support most of the weight. When standing up, they just felt a bit vague – maybe they flexed a bit, I’m not sure. They were ok off-road, but for long road sections, the wider stance was not ideal IMO.
The drop is a little less on the new bars, which I find more comfy as well as the narrower width at the ends.

When I had the bike, the stem was flipped the other way up, so it had a lot more rise.
I’m much happier with the bars a bit lower – just need some fine-tuning I think. As I said earlier – I’m happy with the position, other than the brake reach issue.

1) sore neck? Take the peak off your helmet.

2) why do you want more than 1 finger on your brake levers?

3) if you spend most of your time on the hoods, then you’re doing it wrong.

Next!

Yeah, very helpful ahwiles.

1) I’ve got a new helmet now for the road with no peak, but it was never an issue.
2) I’d be happy if I could get one finger on the levers without a painful stretch!
3) I’m guessing you haven’t read much of what I posted. 😉

TimP

I had a tricross before I bought a London Road.
Great bike but mine did exactly the same … so swaped the canti for some trp mini v …. perfect after that.

3) if you spend most of your time on the hoods, then you’re doing it wrong.

Yeh maybe. Or at least if you’re racing round a flat tarmac’d circuit. Otherwise, I think the hoods are the best place to be!

BTW franki; I checked for a seatpost and it’s gone. Must’ve given it to someone else

BTW franki; I checked for a seatpost and it’s gone. Must’ve given it to someone else

No worries! Thanks for the offer anyway! 🙂

Maybe CX riders lift the levers slightly but then you can’t use the brakes on the drops as well. You can’t have it all ways.

Setup looks fine, move the levers closer to the bars using the reach adjust (I can’t even slightly pull the brakes from the drops without doing this as I have short, stumpy fingers)

Setup looks fine, move the levers closer to the bars using the reach adjust (I can’t even slightly pull the brakes from the drops without doing this as I have short, stumpy fingers)

Turns out that’s all it was. Screwed the reach adjust in a bit and all appears fine. Will give it a proper ride tomorrow morning. 🙂