Drop handlebar vs aero / bullhorn - A question of practicality, long distance & mixed

Hello folks,
First of all, I use my bike alot (don't we all) and in very mixed usage - city - traffic - commuting and long distance (20-60 miles) and leisure. I flip flop alot and have two brakes. Its a drop handle bar with typical drop brakes. I guess it does the job just fine.
I am however considering or even wondering if i should change to proper aero handle bars a la - http://www.wiggle.co.uk/images/profile-airwing-os-08.jpg ..
Reasoning my usage of the current drop. I do use the drop - mostly for sprinting etc. but probably use the rest on top of the brakes bit more - for resting my arms and aerodynamics, esp for longer distances and such - even shorter stretches of city roads. So maybe i would have more advantage of an aero bar? Or maybe i should just save that bit of cash..

What advantage do you have of your drop or aero? Or is it bullhorn? I get confused..
Anyway a question of practicality and not æsthetics - they both look fine.

Appriciate any feedback

H

drops are sexy if they are narrow & deep

why not put some areo bars on your drops for test rides?

Well i want to keep it simple so i'm staying away from the mounted ones. And i think they both can be sexy.. I guess i'm asking if any folk who do longer distances can recomend the bullhorn/aero for comfort speed what not.. whats the benefit? Just fashion? I can dig that.. H

I find drops better for sprinting, as you mentioned, but they're not so handy for climbing and for starting off at the lights - I get better leverage from a pair of bullhorns, so tend to think those are better for stop-start city riding. Longer distances, the drops are probably better for the different hand positions.

I think you have answered your own question! Keep your drops. Loads more hand posisions and more comfortable over distance.

I used to have the standard Charge bullhorns on my Plug, but i found them a little to wide in traffic, and a bit long for my liking too. so i got a set of ol Raleigh drops for free off damo, cleaned them up with some lighter fluid and wire wool, chopped and flipped them. i find the suit my needs perfectly. i even managed to recycle the brown bar tape off my Charge bars.

Well i want to keep it simple so i'm staying away from the mounted ones. And i think they both can be sexy.. I guess i'm asking if any folk who do longer distances can recomend the bullhorn/aero for comfort speed what not.. whats the benefit? Just fashion? I can dig that.. H

Bullhorns aren't particularly fashionable at the moment, but I use a profile airwing and I love it. Plenty of hand positions to shift around to. I ended up switching to them because I spent most of my time previously riding on the hoods of road drops, which is a comparable position.
Down to personal preference really, so I'd suggest just try it out if someone could lend you one for a week or so?

If you use the hoods of the brake levers and you use the drops then by switching to bullhorns all you're doing is getting rid of one position, the drops. Riding on the hoods is very comparable to bullhorns. The only reason to switch is if you never used the drops.

Hello folks,
...wondering if i should change to proper aero handle bars a la - http://www.wiggle.co.uk/images/profile-airwing-os-08.jpg ..

I changed to those exact bars earlier this year from drops.

I like the extra positions it gives my hands, and I didn't have levers on the drops so this simulates those positions. I very rarely got on the bottom of the drops, and I find that with these I have much better leverage when climbing.

They come in a range of widths, so you could always get one of the narrow ones for clearance in traffic.

All points taken - thanks. I do use the hoods quite alot to be honest and the drops now and then. I guess the horns are more comfortabel than the hoods, hence my consideration. I'm planning on cycling from London to scandinavia in september.. (300miles) and also having this in mind. Nice Fuji btw..

Mike is spot on. Bullhorns have one less hand position than drops with two brake levers and do not offer anything in addition. Drops are good for sprinting and also for riding into a headwind. If you're riding to Scandinavia then chances are you'll hit a headwind and those drops will come in handy. Just make sure that they aren't so low as to be practically useless. On my rivendellenger bike I have the tops of the bars a couple of cm below the saddle which means i can comfortably use the drops for quite a long time.

Stompy - What kind of brake lever are you using there?

To repeat myself slightly - even compared to hoods, I think you get more leverage on bullhorns - but that may be because I have big hands and I can only grab the hoods with a couple of fingers. But on a long ride drops are always better, bullhorns are only better for when you need a lot of power to start quickly - like at the traffic lights, or on a time trial with aero bars to tuck into..

Stompy - What kind of brake lever are you using there?

Dirt Harrys

i use the Profile Airwing bars as well, and I reckon they're great. Very comfortable, give good leverage when sprinting, i like them.

i use a cane creek TT brake lever:

i like this combination, but obviously drop bars give a bit more variation in positions.

Looks good Badtmy.
I will stick with the drops for now and the scandinavian adventure. Makes sense while i have the two brakes. Might consider the bullhorns if i make this bike a dedicated city bike with a fixed wheel and one brake.

I used to have an aerowing with the can creek bar end combo like badtmy but didn't really get along with it. I find myself both on long distance rides and city commutes up on the handlebars, and with the front brake on the end of the bar and my inability to skid i opted for a change.
After a few different set ups i've settled on a narrow flat bar with a dirt harry lever so most of the time my hand's within easy reach of the brake. Just received bar ends which i'm fitting tonight to help me with leverage when climbing...

just a quick question - how did you wrap your tape while fitting the TTs on your bullhorns? does it tuck into the ends of the bars and then still have room to fit the lever plugs in? it looks like you have just wrapped around without a tuck in the pic..

cheers for any help.

matt

well, you could always try a bullhorn like the cinelli tempo, then you get the nice forward, not particularly upright positions going on, and you have nice big bits to lever against in a headwind.

they're reealllly light as well. also, for distance riding, a decent set of clip ons are a good extra set of positions, I got on with them.

For longer distances the number of positions available is proportional to comfort... the more positions you have the better for long distnaces... that said when it comes to climbing you have an advantage with horns but drops would probably have the edge for sprinting...best advice is to try both though, I'm sure someone here would have a set of bullhorns to loan you for a test run...

just a quick question - how did you wrap your tape while fitting the TTs on your bullhorns? does it tuck into the ends of the bars and then still have room to fit the lever plugs in? it looks like you have just wrapped around without a tuck in the pic..

cheers for any help.

matt

My brake lever was too tight a fit to tuck the tape under. Also the brake cable gets in the way. I wrapped it halfway round the bar, then round the bar + cable. For the left side I did tuck it under the bar end plug.

It worked out ok... the tribars on the otherhand are a pain and the tape looks shit.

i been thinking alot about bullhorns, i also want the profile airwings(how i found this thread) for me the benifits of bullhorns seem more than drop bars for my style riding, i also do a bit of long distance but i still never realy used the drops, i dont have brake levers to rest on though but i often use the side of the drop bars like im holding bullhorns when i accelerate or climb, but the bend makes my hands ache after to long, would think with a bullhorn i could grab the bars alot more than the brake levers where i always find on other bikes(roadbikes) my hands just rest there

i do have some oldschool bullhorns on my old TT bike, there nearly as low as my drop bars, but i do find climbing easier, but i dont know if im not used to the bike and it isnt a fixed gear but high speeds down hills arnt as easy, but maybe i am going faster i dont know

oops, last comment in 2009! did't know the thread was so old...

Bit of a bump, but an interesting read.
I was running drops with road brakes and a dummy rear. I’ve gone back to a bmx lever and drops for simplicity and on Bryan Chapman I loosened one of the road levers whilst pulling up hill. I’ve never liked the look of bull horns but just ordered some Cinelli Lola to see if they will give me simplicity and strength when climbing……….