Want to buy a road bike

[hnil84]

I have a 1980's road bike with stem shifters. I want a new road bike but have not found one that is comfortable. I usually ride on the top part of the handlebars, sometimes ride on top of the brake lever and rarely ride on the bottoms. The combination of the stem shifters and my riding on the tops make this old bike comfortable. The old bike is not in great shape so I need something new. The road bikes I have looked at have the shifters located where you need to be on the bottoms to shift. I don't ride on the bottoms so this is not convenient. Does anyone have any suggestions on what to look for? Thank you!

[DaveM]

Most new road bikes have "brifters" (combined brake & shift levers). These are made to be shifted from on top of the levers (hands on the "hoods") or from the bottom (in the "drops").

If you like to ride on top of the bars a lot you might also want to consider "interrupter levers". This is an extra set of brake levers so you can brake from the top of the bars (the shifters still have to be somewhere else). You can add these to almost any road bike and "cyclocross" bikes will usually come with them stock.

Finally, if you really want a "race bike" you can ignore this. But if you find that riding on the upper parts of the bars is really how you like to ride, you might consider something more of a city bike style. They aren't as all out fast as real road bikes, but are often a lot more comfortable and practical. I'm a big fan of the Linus Roadster 8, Torker graduate, and similar bikes. But again, it depends on what you're looking for.

[GeorgeET]

Consider the, marathan type handlebars. I made mine by reversing the curved bars, finding a good hand position and than cutting them. I have since added padded handlebar wrap. Comfy and several hand positions.

[ghost]

The bike is very nice George, but I really love the way you have modified the bars. Really nice.

[GeorgeET]

Thanks Ghost. Ye I was good at geometry, looked like it would work el cheapo, and saved me time for looking for a bar.

BTW the bike is an 85 Fuji del Rey.

Love it , rides great after going through it. It started at 24.2 lbs and with all the gear is at 27lbs steel quad Valulite frame. Sweet and nimble. Big difference between it and my Schwinn MB.