And the verdict: not for me.  Initially it was fun.  Felt very different 
from drop bars or flat/mtb bars.  I had a good fit with a longer stem I 
used, was sized up by the shop and the fit was probably as good as it would 
get.  First ride was 30 minutes and I made a couple of tweaks as my wrists 
were bent awkwardly.  Second ride was over an hour and I felt myself 
wanting to change hand positions, but really couldn't.  I'm just used to 
drop bars, level with the saddle, where I can rest my hands on the levers, 
ramps, tops, and drops; slight bend forward, and that slightly different 
posture that comes with the different hand positions that keeps me loose. 
 When I got back on my Roadini with its drops it initially felt strange, 
but after a 2+ ride I was back in heaven (zero upper body discomfort).

I'm glad I tried it though, because I would always be wondering if it was 
for me.

On Saturday, July 20, 2024 at 11:21:15 AM UTC-4 Jay wrote:

> Update: I'm swapping the bars on my Salsa Fargo.  Going with the VO 
> Granola.  I can use them with stems I have on hand, just had to add brake 
> levers, grips and a Sram Apex flat bar shifter.  Need hew cables/housing 
> anyway, so all-in-all the experiment won't break the bank.  I'll report 
> back in a couple of weeks after it's built up and, hopefully, dialled in.
>
> Very little chance I'll switch the bars on my Roadini.  I'm really happy 
> with that set up and feel like I will *not* be making any changes to it 
> for a long time (which is a delight, for someone who's always making 
> changes to dial in fit).
>
> On Sunday, May 26, 2024 at 7:33:52 PM UTC-4 Jay wrote:
>
>> I ended up sticking with drop bars, but making some changes after a good 
>> conversation with my chiro and a few rides on the three bikes where I paid 
>> a lot of attention to where I had pain, and my posture on those rides.
>>
>> On the Roadini and Salsa, I was using 42cm bars (at the hoods hoods) with 
>> 12 degrees of flare.  First time I went up from 40cm.  In previous fittings 
>> I was told I can run a 38cm as I have narrow shoulders.  It's a trend these 
>> days to run wider, I tried it, but it really backfired given my 
>> pre-existing neck/shoulder issue.  When on the hoods my arms were not a 
>> straight line from my body, they were out a bit, and this was a minor 
>> (major at times) pain.  I replaced those bars, have ridden each bike once 
>> (1.5-2.5 hours) and it was instantly noticeable.  Pain gone.  Both of those 
>> bikes have the bars upright (tops level with saddle, hoods higher) and not 
>> stretched out.  Road bike has 40cm bars, but the reach is long and drop is 
>> 2.5cm below saddle (making the drops unreachable for me).  That's being 
>> rectified next.
>>
>> I may try swept back one day, but for now I do love drop bars and the 
>> varied hand positions, and it was much cheaper to replace two bars and 
>> re-use the table (success on both counts).
>>
>> On Wednesday, May 8, 2024 at 9:28:41 PM UTC-4 Jay wrote:
>>
>>> I was always aware of bikes with a very relaxed geometry / setup, and it 
>>> wasn't until I started seeing Rivendell bikes and watching youtube videos 
>>> of people riding them that I really thought about it - is it more 
>>> comfortable than drop bars, even if I have a more neutral (not aggressive) 
>>> position on the bike (i.e., bars close to level with saddle)?  Would this 
>>> be a good option for just cruising around, but for 1-2 hours?  If I didn't 
>>> get along well with flat bars on mountain bike, would swept back bars be 
>>> better?
>>>
>>> I'm going to ramble a bit here, my apologies in advance.  I haven't 
>>> thought long enough about this to formulate my question succinctly. 
>>>  Hopefully you get where I'm coming from.
>>>
>>> *Quick background*
>>> - been riding a little over 20 years (closing in on 50!)
>>> - started with mountain biking (hardtail, singletrack); moved to road; 
>>> tried mountain biking two more times (I love being in nature) but didn't 
>>> like the thrill/danger, and hated the idea of driving to the trail head; 
>>> have been mainly on the road for last 15 years, though with 10 years of 
>>> 'gravel' bikes/riding
>>> - I've had ongoing issues with my cervical spine (nothing serious) and 
>>> this leads to some problems when riding in any sort of aggressive position 
>>> on the bike; I see a chiro regularly; stretch a lot; workout / strength 
>>> training; have had numerous bike fits
>>> - I have a Roadini, Salsa Fargo and a road bike (25mm tires, but custom 
>>> made and really does fit like a glove, for road)
>>> - I don't care about performance at all, I just love riding bikes, in 
>>> particular when roads are not busy, or on trails, gravel roads, etc.
>>>
>>> On a good day (75% of the time), I can ride any of these bikes and 
>>> during the ride I feel pretty good (little to no pain), maybe a bit of pain 
>>> after (could be neck/shoulders, but anywhere else really), and after 
>>> stretching I feel great in a 1/2 to full day.  I ride 4-5x a week, workout 
>>> 1-2 times spring-fall and more in the winter.  
>>>
>>> But at least once a week, and maybe twice, I'll be riding, sometimes 
>>> tired as it's after work, and within an hour I'm running low on energy and 
>>> probably start to develop a bad posture on the bike, over-using my arms 
>>> which causes problems in my neck and shoulders, leading to upper body 
>>> aches/pains (while riding, and after).  Takes a lot of stretching and 
>>> awareness to reset.  *This is what I'm trying to resolve (move from 75% 
>>> to 99%)*
>>>
>>> My guess is that even with a bike like the Roadini or Salsa, with bars 
>>> about level with the saddle, and even with a professional fitting on each, 
>>> when I want to ride but I'm lacking energy, it goes poorly.  But is that 
>>> because these bikes are "kind of" aggressive (when compared to say a spine 
>>> angle closer to 70% and swept back bars)?  Or is it simply a combination of 
>>> age, history of some 'issues', low on energy and thus bad posture kicks in, 
>>> and would any bike be a joy to ride, or should I just go for a walk on 
>>> those days!?
>>>
>>> I would love to hear from those who ride both drop bars and also swept 
>>> back (or similar) in a way more relaxed geometry, or those who transitioned 
>>> to mainly this style, because it almost fully resolved your issues, if 
>>> they're anyway similar to mine.  *On a day when you're not feeling it, 
>>> but you have to commute or just love to ride, do you leave the drop bar 
>>> bike in the garage and hop on your more relaxed bike, and thus avoid most 
>>> of the issues you would have had on the other (slightly more aggressive) 
>>> bike?*
>>>
>>

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