What is it about drop handlebars?

[Rhythm Thief]

I had flat bars on a commuter bike for a bit. Even over an eight mile commute the "range" of hand positions (two, with bar ends) was limiting. I prefer drops, even though like many others on here I rarely reach for the curly bits. I'm even going to fit drops to my roadified MTB.

 

[Sam Kennedy]

I've found even on the hoods/tops, I am lower down than on my flat bar bike.
I find flat bars uncomfortable, and prefer to use the bar ends the whole time, but it is annoying since I can't brake or change gear from the bar ends(unless I get some bar end shifters, but it still doesn't solve the braking problem).

I find drops much more comfortable, they put my hands in a natural position, and the brakes and gears are easily accessible, I can also change hand position on longer journeys, flat bars are just painful.

IMO: Drops >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Flats

 

[Bandini]

What about butterfly bars. Lots of hand positions for those who choose ne'er to stoop.

 

[Gerry Attrick]

As I suffer from arthritis in my hands and wrists, multiple positions on any style of bars are vital for me. I always favour drops on the road, whether touring on my Yates or "serious" riding on my road bike as getting down out of the head wind or doing a hooligan down hill is important to me. However, if riding towpaths or off road trails, then only a flat bar will do. I have sorted out multiple positions by fitting Ergon bar ends to my hybrid which give me as many positions as drops.

Horses for courses.

 

[MacB]

What about butterfly bars. Lots of hand positions for those who choose ne'er to stoop.

Excellent bars but very difficult to position the controls on, or accessible from, the sides. I've been through, flat bars, flat bars + bar ends, flat bars + bar ends positioned inside grips, butterfly bars in every orientation and with brakes/gears fitted all round, butterfly bars with bar ends fitted, north road style bars, north road with inboard bar ends, drop bars(3 different types), moustache bars, H-bars, back to butterfly bars and am currently on the Dirt Drops. The latest Dirt Drops are my favourites but butterfly bars are still second to these. I would also consider bullhorn style bars in the future.

 

[Rhythm Thief]

Butterfly bars look ridiculous as well. I know it's hardly the most important factor, but drops just look right.

 

[Bandini]

Butterfly bars look ridiculous as well. I know it's hardly the most important factor, but drops just look right.

I beg to differ. Mine look mint.

 

[MacB]

Butterfly bars look ridiculous as well. I know it's hardly the most important factor, but drops just look right.

biggest load of tosh ever posted

 

[alecstilleyedye]

if there was no advantage to drop bars, the pros would use whatever was better; their bikes are there to win races, not look cool (even if they do).

any sort of wind and i'm straight onto the hoods, but, as the op says, i don't actually use the drops very often. even though my mtb has bar ends, it still is not as good in terms of hand position as my road bikes with drops and i usually find my hands get sore after about 20 miles when i can ride well over 100 miles on the road bikes with no such problems.

 

[Davidc]

I have flat bars on the bike I use round town. Fine for that but if I do more than about 10 miles on them I get pins and needles in my hands, then cramp, then I need at least half an hour recovery before I can ride again. They are however the best option for round town.

With bar ends its better but not good.

I have drops on the tourer. 4 positions, 3 used most of the time. No discomfort - I can go on all day on them, but not the best for start-stop riding in town.

The OP questions whether the drops are of any use. For 80% of the time they just improve stability, but when riding against the wind, or fast downhill, they are by far the best position to be on.

 

[just jim]

I have FSA shallow drops on two bikes - I really like them - before I had regular drops which were too far down to be comfy. If you've just slogged up a big hill on a loaded tourer it's a relief to tuck down into a descent on the drops.

 

[Rezillo]

I started off with flatbar bikes but did convert to drops, mainly because in the exposed flat countryside near me, cycling upright into the wind for miles was no fun. Now, I wouldn't use anything else for long trips and my only flatbar is a turbo trainer.

I would take issue with the 'multiple positions' advantage argument for drops, though. I could happily cycle just as far with a flatbar (fitted with ergon grips) and feel no need whatsoever to change the position of my hands. With drops, though, it's a very different story, and I switch from bar to hoods to drop fairly regularly because no single position is really comfortable for a prolonged time.

The top bar position on drops is not really comparable - for a start, for me, flatbars are at their most comfortable with a stem 30mm longer than one for drops, plus your arms are further apart. Ergon grips stop your wrists bending to extreme and make a real difference to comfort.

John

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

Me too. I get problems with my wrists on flat bars. Drops allow one to move the wrists about in the differing postions so I can ride all day with no wrist problems. No way would I use flat bars for anything other than the shopping trip of 5 miles.

 

[ComedyPilot]

I've just got a frame and wheels to do a SS conversion, and fancy these bars.

 

[MacB]

I've just got a frame and wheels to do a SS conversion, and fancy these bars.

They're ok CP but you may find you miss a straight flat bar position with them. That's the main reason I went to the style I'm on:-