The modern trend for high drop bars.

[Rob3rt]

...

You are a triathlete?

 

[Peteaud]

.

Feck me those bikes are big, just look how close they are to the ceiling

 

[subaqua]

So doesn't that prove they sell them like that?

nope. I have a catalogue of a wheeled vehicle that says "model shown unavailable to purchase". its a marketing special for a catalogue pic

 

[Ningishzidda]

Feck me those bikes are big, just look how close they are to the ceiling

Naaa. The live on the top bunk.

What's interesting to note. Both bikes have the same 'Standover' height. The SWorks is a 54 cm size, and the Shiv is XS.
There is a 52, 50 and 48 cm SWorks but the XS is the smallest Shiv.

The Shiv is legal for United States Triathlon, but NOT legal for UCI events. ( The downtube has an illegal profile ).
Other differences include the effective seat angle, reach and head angle.
The Shiv has a much shallower head angle, is more stable in a straight line, but needs working round a corner.
The Shiv is 3 lb heavier than the SWorks, but hey, it don't half move.
Both bikes have Conti 20mm 'Supersonic' tyres at 145 psi.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

um... who cares?
um two... what % of the time do folk ride on the drops, rather than hoods/tops, when not actually racing
um three... what % of the time do road race bikes sold to their target demographic (MAMIL) actually spend getting raced? (even raced to the next lamp post or village sign)

No MAMIL me, I'm an OMIL

 

[Fab Foodie]

Half the fat git mamils I see on bikes these days couldn't even get into low drops anyway..... myself included.

It's why I ride a compact frame these days, with the bars several inches below the saddle I need some swing room for the aerobelly ....

 

[GrasB]

Handlebar position is dependent upon the posture of the rider to get maximum Watts per heart rate.

In which case they may have got it wrong! It's the maximum power:drag ratio for a given heart rate. This ratio normally does not coincide with maximum power for a given heart rate.

A group of torso muscles working when they needn't be takes Watts out of the legs. Also, the most predominant spine position for ergonometrically perfect riding is somewhere between 40 and 45 degrees from the horizontal.

Making some fairly large ergonomic assumptions here, mainly based on the UCI rule book. These assumptions may or may not be applicable to the bike in question. Eg. One of my bikes has an 82 deg seat tube angle this. This would make the 40-45 degree angle assertion invalid & make it closer to 30-35 degrees.

 

[Ningishzidda]

In which case they may have got it wrong! It's the maximum power:drag ratio for a given heart rate. This ratio normally does not coincide with maximum power for a given heart rate.

This is indeed true.
I could not afford to take my bike into a wind tunnel, so opted for an ergometer / chassis dynamometer fitting session.
It just so happened that with hands on drops, my power output was higher than with hands on hoods, so with the 'tuck' position instead of the 'crouch', its a double whammy win-win.

It might be interesting to mention aerodynamic 'drafting'. In the peleton, unless the riders need to produce the power to attain the out-and-out speed, they will be on the hoods to increase their body area to take advantage of the swirling air behind the rider in front. As soon as they hit the front of the pack, they go to the drops to reduce frontal area AND produce more power to keep the speed.
Having handlebars above the saddle on a sports or race bike is IMHO, not conducive to efficient motion against a headwind.
Those pros who have their stems and saddles near level, probably like to bend their elbows when holding the bars

 

[GrasB]

This is indeed true.
I could not afford to take my bike into a wind tunnel, so opted for an ergometer / chassis dynamometer fitting session.
It just so happened that with hands on drops, my power output was higher than with hands on hoods, so with the 'tuck' position instead of the 'crouch', its a double whammy win-win.

You don't need a wind tunnel. You can do cost-down or powered run which give very sensitive results, you should be able tell which set of runs you had your jersey open & fully zipped!, given a good test venue; a ~1 mile traffic light loop with open corners, close to home/base & wind sheltered is a real bonus (it's about controlling the variables, wind sheltered isn't a problem if your loop is on your door step, you just have to wait for a still day).

 

[Cyclist33]

Naaa. The live on the top bunk.

What's interesting to note. Both bikes have the same 'Standover' height. The SWorks is a 54 cm size, and the Shiv is XS.
There is a 52, 50 and 48 cm SWorks but the XS is the smallest Shiv.

The Shiv is legal for United States Triathlon, but NOT legal for UCI events. ( The downtube has an illegal profile ).
Other differences include the effective seat angle, reach and head angle.
The Shiv has a much shallower head angle, is more stable in a straight line, but needs working round a corner.
The Shiv is 3 lb heavier than the SWorks, but hey, it don't half move.
Both bikes have Conti 20mm 'Supersonic' tyres at 145 psi.

That's not particularly interesting to note!

 

[Ningishzidda]

That's not particularly interesting to note!

Oops. The 'Standover height' debate is on the CTC forum,,,

 

[Ningishzidda]

You don't need a wind tunnel. You can do cost-down or powered run which give very sensitive results, you should be able tell which set of runs you had your jersey open & fully zipped!, given a good test venue; a ~1 mile traffic light loop with open corners, close to home/base & wind sheltered is a real bonus (it's about controlling the variables, wind sheltered isn't a problem if your loop is on your door step, you just have to wait for a still day).

Yeh.
I'm fluent with 'equilibrium velocity' of object falling through a fluid. ( pun intended ).
That tells me how much power is required to achieve x speed.
What the ergonometer test tell me is how much power I can produce at various body positions.
The coast-down tests need to be done with the various body positions to deterrmine which position has the most advantage in association with power production to get to the end of the 10 mile TT quickest.

 

[Rob3rt]

To satisfy my curiosity, why did you choose the non-UCI legal Shiv?

 

[Davidc]

Comfort first!

40 years ago I had the tops lower than the saddle, and spent a fair amount of time on the drops.

I was very fit and didn't have a beer belly then

Now the tops are roughly level with the saddle, and I don't spend all that much time on the drops. (I do still use the drops, just not as often. Last night going home into a 15 mph 4 deg C wind they certainly came in useful for 20 minutes.)

Now I'm fitter than most people my age, do have a moderate beer belly, don't do time trials, etc.

 

[Shortmember]

I couldn't get comfortable with the drop bars fitted to my bike, probably because my arms are too short,my legs are too long and my arse is too fat, so I took a hacksaw to the drops, turned the bars upside down, added a stem raiser and pushed the saddle as far forward as possible.Setting it up like this may be a form of cycling blasphemy, but it's a perfect riding position for me.