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Most of the cycle lanes on my commute are only about the width of drop bars, so they are needed to get past the traffic. Hipster style narrow, flat bars are simply not an option.
well that’s me confused i reckon i can put out about 3km/hr more for same effort if switch from hoods to drops into a headwind
I'm sure that it has been tested that whilst in the saddle the most aero position is on the hoods with your forearms running horizontally. I also find it more comfortable than the drops.
Now I live in the flatlands with I hardly use the drops but they are essential for steeper descents.
I’m sure that it has been tested that whilst in the saddle the most aero position is on the hoods with your forearms running horizontally. I also find it more comfortable than the drops.
It is yes. I use bullhorns so get the same position and even more aero as I don't have the drops sticking down. That must be why I am so awesomely fast.
Hoods to drops I normally change up a gear, so go faster for the same effort.
Hoods and flat arms might be aero but it's far easier to hold the same body position with your hands on the drops.
CdA will be lower on the drops for normal riding. Your back will be about two inches lower and your head slighly more tucked in. Very few people can hold a 90 degree arm bend on the hoods with a flat back for very long, although it is my standard fitting for stem length (actaully about 100 degrees). That position is more aero, as the back and head are in the same position as on the drops, but it's really not very sustainable - used it racing but always go down onto the drops come hammer time.
A simple test next time you are riding on the hoods is have a look at your elbows. If there is no bend, the bars are too far away. Then you will have trouble getting down onto the drops, because you are relying on hip or back rotation. I beleive tha tthe love for disk brakes is down to riders not braking from the drops but expecting the same power and modulation on the hoods.
I probably ride about 33-50% of my time on the drops, more when racing, but my position is really not very extreme, even on the drops - elbow angle is more like 120 degrees rather than a a pro 90.
EDIT:
Shows us racing on the drops, one of the riders has a more extrme position look at the angle of the back - but he's much more flexible than me!
In a natural riding position, I find I get an extra 1 or 2mph for same effort on the drops.
Going to a more shallow drop bar myself as I'm not using them as much as I used to - and it is my preferred position for "making progress".
I give up - I can't post pics anymore!
Back when I rode only road bikes ('cause MTBs hadn't been invented back then) I reckoned that the most efficient riding position for me was to hook thumbs over the drops and have my forearms level with the front part of them resting on the upper, forward part, of the drops. Elbows tucked in. Sort of of halfway between that you'd use with tri/aero bars and Graeme Obree's aero tuck.
Probably similar to this:
if my calculations are correct a toptube superman would be the one really and 26% faster. Without the daft helmet possibly even 27%
I only ever use drops when going downhill in an attempt to go quicker. I’m always confused when I see anybody going downhill on roads or gravel and not pedalling like a lunatic to see just how fast they can go. It’s the fun bit!
Interesting thread. There are a couple of issues getting slightly confused here though:
1) Who rides in the drops?
2) Why bother with drop bars at all?
I can't speak for others, but I ride about 20% in the drops, mostly when descending or slogging into a headwind. I've tried to spend more time there as I've become more proficient on the road bike and can now stay in the drops for an extended period without feeling like I've been stuffed into a packing box afterwards. The rest of the time I spend on the hoods and, oddly for an MTB convert, I rarely ride on the tops. I'd never really thought about this until reading this thread, but I just don't ride this way. Odd.
But woe betide the rider at the Sunday cafe stop who dares to break the orthodoxy and ventures out with flat bars on his Pinarello. We’ll have none of this safety and comfort here!
I've picked out this quote as an example of the flat-bars vs drop-bars debate. There's one huge factor which I don't think I've seen raised and that's group riding safety.
When riding in a group of road riders who all have drop bars, it's actually very hard to get tangled with another rider's handlebars as the combination of the shape of the bar and the fact that the hand / arm is almost always on the outside edge (whether in the drops, or on the hoods) and this makes a natural guard that allows riders to bump shoulders and elbows without (hopefully!) coming to any grief. Throw a set of wide, flat bars into the group and suddenly all bets are off. Yes, a rider can hold the bar at the very outside edge (we get kids to do this in coaching when we have to deal with mixed bike types) and stick their elbows out to protect their space, but the truth is that if you're mixing bar types in a tight, road group, something bad will eventually happen.
In the real world, if you turn up to a group road ride with flat bars, the likelihood is that you'll find yourself riding on your own at the back of the group...
I'm drop-bar averse, but I see the need for varied hand positions on long rides.
On my road bike (1980's raleigh winner - more of a pub bike really) I converted the drops to bullhorns the same as I did when I was a teenager, but still felt too stretched out, so eventually stuck some North Rounder trekking bars on it.
For the dirty reiver last year, I put bar ends on my mtb - really wish i'd thought of putting them inside the controls like @jonedwards example above!
My compromise on the hipsterfixie****bike is bullhorns with tribar brakes levers ( no gears) You get the 3 positions equivalent to on the tops, on the curve and on the hoods - but when in the "on the hoods position" you have much better access to the brake levers
[url= https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1939/45196168831_05f55b436f_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1939/45196168831_05f55b436f_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2bRQboc ]DSC_0602[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/25846484@N04/ ]TandemJeremy[/url], on Flickr
a freewheel and two canti brakes on your fixie?
hmm.. :/
Hence hipsterfixie****bike. Ie ridden by a .........
BTW they are centrepull U brakes not cantis 🙂
My thinking is if you're not using the drops then your bars are too low or reach is wrong (either short or long) and maybe the angle isn't quite right.
I struggled for years on my roadie which never fitted that well. Bars up a bit with a flipped stem, tilted back a little and suddenly nicely tucked in behind the brakes.
As others seem to be alluding to, you should go with drops and ensure that you can put them at a height where you can use them, plus you definitely get used to it (if the bars are at a suitable height for you).
It gives you more control when you're used to it.