Quote:
Originally Posted by Pancham Thanks I will check them out.
Has anyone heard of XMR helmets? I saw one in Matt black at Track n Trail. Looked really good. Was retailing for 999. |
Bought one XMR Volcano medium sized helmet recently.
Checked the size at a local store.
Bought at a good price online.
I am bald, so comfort / softness is is critical for me - this helmet was the best in terms of comfort, at it's price point.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ventoman Hi Ganesh and all,
I've a request similar to that of Amitwlele, except mine's for Bangalore. To introduce my situation, I accidentally resumed cycling (after a gap of about 20+ years) around 4 years back when I and a friend walked out of Decathlon with RockRider 5.3 MTB. I had no idea of road, hybrid and mtb when this happened. Since then I started cycling to work once or twice a week. Its a considerable stretch of around 21kms one way in about 1 hour, with 60% bad roads and potholes, fair mix of up and downhill on both ways. This has now become a norm and I've covered about 6k kms which is not much when compared to most of you here, but I've just been riding to work 1/2 a week.
I recently started interacting with few riding groups and planning to join them for longer rides apart from the work commute. Additionally smitten by the road bike upgrade on seeing few overtake me with ease. I started hunting around and not sure whether to go for a proper road bike (concerns over bad roads all along my work commute) or an endurance bike (learnt about these over last few days) or a slicker Hybrid.
Appreciate any inputs on this.
PS: I'm 41 years old, 178cms tall and weigh about 78kgs. I generally average around 17-20kmph on rides so far. |
With those stats (both your ride and yourself), you are my twin !
I used an MTB initially, then moved to a hybrid and now use a road bike.
Bad roads mean a road bike is out of question (there are road bikes which can take the bad roads too but I can't afford them).
If I were you, I would go with a slicker hybrid.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ebonho Thanks for those great inputs guys. I'm sure the drop bar on my roadie will be all you guys claim it to be. But I'm currently still fixated on my flat bar hybrid.
I'm a bit confused with one part of your post Prabuddha.
Where you say a flat bar with bar end extenders will possibly have more positions than the bullhorn bar?
Shouldn't they be exactly the same, just that the bullhorn is a single piece?
You can change the tilt of the horns by rotating the bar on the stem clamp. On the flat bar you can do the same. Or you can adjust each barend angle individually as well.
I guess the big advantage I saw in the bullhorn bars I saw recently in Geneva was the curved corners. Those would be more comfortable to rest the base of your palms on - against the pad of the thumb ... As the thumb either hooked around the outside or the inside of the horn (that's actually two different hand positions, with subtle difference in pressure points).
In the flat bar with bar end extenders, that's my go to cruising position, as I have my bar set quite low, as the frame is small, and it gives me a good driving aero position (at least, my body has adapted to it). Only thing is, the sharp round end of the bar, and the overlapping clamping ring of the bar end provide a sharp edge which bites into the flesh if the palm over distance, even with padded gloves.
I've found a workaround which is a foam tube cover over the bar ends, which I've cut at the ends of the clamps so that they can slide over and under it and give some extra cushioning.
Another option I've not yet tried is taping around that sharp corner edge. Though I've been told that drop bar bartape will just get cut there.
Hope you guys get what I'm describing without a specific foto to point out the exact offending region.
Cheers, Doc
P.S. I prefer narrower bars too Graaja. My urban bar on the ACT has barely an inch of unused space on either side after barends, grips, brake/shifter, computer/light, and center clamp. As a result of which the default hand position described above is more comfortable for longer, than the hands straight on top of the actual grips (I use that only as a change relief). |
Ever since I moved to a road bike (June 2018), my observations are as follows :
1. The Bull horns on my drop bars provide phenomenal improvement in
control on steering; if you want a figure, I would say 3X of my hybrid.
2. The bull horns feel like a couple of machine guns in your hands (
![Cool](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/images/smilies/cool.png)
, ready to fire away. very confidence inspiring.n
3. Your hands never slip off, due to the shape of the horns.
4. Biggest advantage : the brifters - With no change in hand position, you can brake
and shift gears - very useful in traffic.