Speaking of old school: Scott Drop-in or Rakes?

[William]

Who ran these and why do you think they fell out of favor?

I never ran either of these but added hand positions doesn't seem like a bad thing, and they aren't the ugliest things I've seen either.

http://www.bikepro.com/products/handlebars/hndlbars_jpg/s1s_scott_drop_in.jpg

Bike Pro lists them in their catalog so they may still be available?

The other option was the Rakes...

http://cache3.asset-cache.net/xc/270003.jpg?v=1&c=IWSAsset&k=2&d=77BFBA49EF878921F7C3FC3F69D929FD6A4899AF3484947F 9AEABC782C2E6C93EF0100F9668A7BEC

Both seem fairly unobtrusive and again, not the ugliest things I've ever seen.

Just curious





William

[christian]

I ran Drop-Ins for a while. They snapped at the sleeve. That was exciting. Other than that, they were fine, but I never really used the lower position either.

I will admit that Rakes still strike me as a clever idea.

BTW: BikePro is a necro-site.

[Richard]

If I remember correctly, the drop ins broke and the results were ugly. Not sure why, but the concept was also banned in racing, I think. In both cases, drop ins and rakes, it may have been a safety thing for mass start racing as the brakes are pretty far away.

[William]

How about the Cane Creek version?

Anyone have a set of Rakes or the CC versions sitting in their parts box they don't mind parting with?


William

[William]

Btw, I had a pair of the Cinelli Spinachi's back in the day. I either gave them to a forum member or they are still packed away in a parts box somewhere? I seem to remember giving them away.

http://www.cinelli.it/memorabilia/big/022.jpg

I actually like using them.




William

[shovelhd]

I race with them. I've won with them. Lots of Masters in the Northeast use them. I was in a six man break last year and five of us had them. We lapped the field twice.

Mine are the oversize versions. Very rare. You can have them once USAC bans them, which they will, sooner or later.

http://i331.photobucket.com/albums/l453/shovelfl/bike/IMG_1382.jpg

[William]

I race with them. I've won with them. Lots of Masters in the Northeast use them. I was in a six man break last year and five of us had them. We lapped the field twice.

Mine are the oversize versions. Very rare. You can have them once USAC bans them, which they will, sooner or later.

http://i331.photobucket.com/albums/l453/shovelfl/bike/IMG_1382.jpg

Nice set up!:cool:

Due to the aero profile you can get into I'm surprised more folks didn't use them. Of course if they're banned a lot of folks wouldn't bother.





William

[FlashUNC]

I have a pair on my LeMond.

When in the lower drops, they can get a little sketchy. Preferred the Spinachis.

[shovelhd]

They take some getting used to. I only use them when I'm on the front, off the front, or bridging. I would never use them in the field. Too dangerous. Some guys mount them horizontally to create an "aerobar". That's USAC illegal, and was starting to be enforced last year. If you're going to use them, use them as they were designed.

[snah]

Rode many, many thousands of miles with my drop ins, still have them, in the parts box. Willing to pass them along if anyone's interested.:banana::banana:

[carpediemracing]

Drop Ins - They put your hands too close to the torso - your arms ended up vertical at best. If they came out by the drops that would be better because they'd be closer to "drops" position. Someone sold a bar that bolted on between the two sides of the bar that did just that.

The last Drop Ins with the built in aero bar thing put your hands at that "drops reach" area but weren't legal because they ended pointing up and forward.

Rakes - They never made it in Europe because they were immediately banned for some reason by the UCI or whoever they were. I think this was to help Cinelli with their Spinacis. I suspect that they'd have been used widely had both types of bars been made legal.

Cane Creek came out with the Speed Bars a short time later.

Spinacis (and 3ttt's version, I forget what they were called but I have a set sitting downstairs) were legal for pros in at least 1996-1997. Those were the two Telekom Tour years, Ullrich/Riis, and the sprints were insane because of every reason possible - massive doping (no 50% hematocrit rule) and road legal aero bars meant the leadouts were at speeds that had to be 40 mph or so.

Interestingly enough they were illegal in the US for USCF racing so they never took off here. People used Rakes though.

Tirimasuu, that's the 3ttt spinaci bars. They were longer, a bit more aero if you will, than the spinaci. Spinaci had the whistling-while-you-descend lightweight drilled out version too.

Rakes and Speed bars are still legal for mass start in the US, under USAC rules. The Speed Bars are made out of either better aluminum or at least much thinner aluminum - they're significantly lighter than the Rakes which were made with what feels like conduit tubes.

I used the Rakes regularly for a while in the mid 90s. It was possible to hold 40-42 mph seated in a tailwind at a windy race like Floyd Bennet Field and I could even hold 28-32 mph by myself (currently those speeds are a pipe dream). The current promoter of the races at FBF, Charlie Issendorf, used Rakes all the time when he raced with Breakaway Couriers. I remember him winning a race at New Britain CT solo, using the Rakes, with then Chevy LA Sherrif pro Jim Copeland among the racers he left behind.

When I was actually fit in 2010 I wanted to use the Rakes but in my preferred Rakes set up my thumb would jam between the Rakes and the front tire (in the old days the bars were just a bit above the tire so it was okay). Seeing as I like having opposable digits I went with the wider set up of the Cane Creeks. Now because I'm so unfit both sets of bars are being held in reserve.

[torquer]

Who ran these...?
http://www.cyclesportmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/LeMond.jpg
Typical poseur, probably would have been faster using old-school gear :rolleyes:
As I recall (but can't find any images to confirm), LeMond also used a version (Drop In II?) that had wire "struts" going down to the front fork ends, presumably to stiffen up the whole contraption.
Maybe those are due for a comeback, along with that perrenial favorite, bent crankarms.

[pbarry]

A buddy fabricated a straight Ti bar with clamps that runs left to right and attaches to the drops. Same position as the Drop Ins but with a center option. Tough position, but the advantage is there.

[William]

Who ran these...?

Typical poseur, probably would have been faster using old-school gear :rolleyes:
As I recall (but can't find any images to confirm), LeMond also used a version (Drop In II?) that had wire "struts" going down to the front fork ends, presumably to stiffen up the whole contraption.
Maybe those are due for a comeback, along with that perrenial favorite, bent crankarms.

I don't know about that. I just know that when I was racing I didn't run them but there were a few folks still around that did.

As I said, I was just curious. I think the Speed Bars and the Rakes make a little more sense for racing purposes and getting a little more aero when hammering along.




William

[donevwil]

I raced with Drop-Ins during the early-mid 90's. For me the position worked great. Road races in the Central Valley (CA) included a lot of wind and the bars were great for the occasional breakaway. They went away as I got older and needed to shorten my reach. Never broke a pair but did bend two at the sleeve.

[carpediemracing]

The last Drop Ins with the built in aero bar thing put your hands at that "drops reach" area but weren't legal because they ended pointing up and forward.

http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=150488&d=1273687800

Both young Lance and Lemond have them here.

[carpediemracing]

My bike in 2010:
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TbmplkIYLx8/TMgKatZAFfI/AAAAAAAADB0/jBpmMqew39A/s1600/2010-09-19_12-01-30_12.jpg

View from the nut that holds the seat down (2011):
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eKf3IsvbAIs/ThbkJvngJ_I/AAAAAAAADcQ/zfgd42TkI1U/s1600/20110629_Ninigret-NoGloves168.jpg

[54ny77]

carpe--remind me to not get in your draft, 'cuz it doesn't look like there's much to be had! that's just plain low & outta the way!

(unique tsunami by the way.)

;)

[shovelhd]

I've been in his draft occasionally, but I'm a little guy.

[54ny77]

from what i hear, it takes a lot to stay in that draft so bravo to you!

[William]

My bike in 2010:
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TbmplkIYLx8/TMgKatZAFfI/AAAAAAAADB0/jBpmMqew39A/s1600/2010-09-19_12-01-30_12.jpg

View from the nut that holds the seat down (2011):
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eKf3IsvbAIs/ThbkJvngJ_I/AAAAAAAADcQ/zfgd42TkI1U/s1600/20110629_Ninigret-NoGloves168.jpg



Now that's what I'm talking about!! Long and low.:cool:





William

[shovelhd]

from what i hear, it takes a lot to stay in that draft so bravo to you!

He's usually at the back so if I'm with him I'm resting.

[SpeedyChix]

How about the Cane Creek version?

Anyone have a set of Rakes or the CC versions sitting in their parts box they don't mind parting with?


William

Rakes here:
http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=123379

Planned to use them on a flat bar bike with some longish road sections. Never did.

[thirdgenbird]

I've got a set of rakes and spinacis

I've never side the rakes, but the cinellis were great. They currently are not on a bike but I don't have the heart to part with them.

[djg21]

I used both at various points. I didn't like the drop- ins because they were too flexy. I ended up breaking them in half during a crit.

I loved the drop-ins. I was faster on those than on clip-on dork (aero) bars that were the rage for time trialing at the time. They were awesome in mass start events.

The rakes were discontinued when UCI banned them from use in mass start events. My recollection is that Cinelli made one too, which it sold as the spinacci.