Drops….modern or old school?

For a bike with a pretty high front end.
Stick with old school, even radius drops for a bigger range of movement?
Or something shallow, more chance I’m going to change position?

If you’ve switched, which did you prefer?
Tried ‘ergo’ bars with the flat section on the hooks – not a fan, tbh.

Thanks.

I’ve tried all 3 and prefer a compact shape as I tend to have a pretty aggressive position on the bike and use the drops more if there’s not quite as bigger drop. Egro style didn’t work for me at all, always felt the flat part was in the wrong place. Deep drops work well if you have a high front end though, assuming you have the flexibility to use the dropped section.

These are a nice shape and are cheap if you want to try compact.

Medium drop with ergo. I have small hands and the ergo fits just right. If your hands don’t fall naturally in this place, chances are your stem is too short/long and you are really a hoods rider 😉

I ride about 1/3 to 1/2 the time on the drops.

Dawes Concorde bars sound about the right shape for a high front end.

If you can find a set…

(And don’t mind ancient bars)

I really like a traditional drop. Something like the 3T Rotundo.

Personally I find the main factor is having a comfortable position in the drops, which depends on (a) how wide your hands are, (b) how long your fingers are and (c) whether you have your hoods at an unusual angle.

I think, other than that, you could argue a case for shallow or deep drops depending on just personal preference. Personally, I have big hands and on the road I use the drops for aero reasons, so I quite like a deeper drop on a road bike. Off-road I find shallower works a little better because it gives a marginally less head-down position for the descents and my hands feel nicely wedged in by the bend. YMMV.

I have two road bikes: I find I use the drops more on the bike with shallow(ish) drops, as it’s more comfortable. Not much point having drops you use 5% of the time.

If you’ve switched, which did you prefer?

went from a deda newton shallow (trad drop) which i liked and regularly used the drops.
however the tops were just a little too close and a bit upright so on the next bike i had made i went to a zipp bar that had a very short reach and extended the tt a tiny bit which put the bars further away so comfortable on the tops but hoods were in the same position (because they have a quick return on the bend than a trad bar and drops were in the same position but a nicer bend.

to my way of thinking all positions should be comfortable and usable, you see so many people who never touch the drops because they are either inflexible or the set-up isn’t right. with the variety of bars available now it’s not difficult to find something to suit.

i like the slightly shallower drop so i can use them for a greater percentage of the time and not just for chewing my stem off.

i like ritchey logic II shape (ergo type)

compact feel cramped to me. compact on high front end means you can spend longer in the drops. (it’s all very personal)

I’d like to find a compact drop bar that was 80 mm drop…

My middle aged spread means I’m much happier on compact drops.
Feels less of a strain on my back and my stomach podge isn’t pounded by my thighs quite so much…

Compacts it is then Matt.
🙂

Can get a decent deal on FSA stuff, so I’ll give it a go.

Thanks everyone.

FSA Vero compact bars are quite similar to the Deda Rhm shape for reference, I get on pretty well with both. Only issue I kinda have with some compact bars, even though I prefer the shallow drop, is that the curve can sometimes be more pronounced on the section your hands rest on when using the drop so there’s nothing to support the middle of your palm which can be a bit annoying after a while… but ergos are butt ugly so they’re not an option.

I started off on a bike with traditional drops, I think those bars might be on my commuter now. I find the difference between the hoods and the drops a bit much.

I ran shallow drops on my old roadie and put the same bars on my cx bike. The shallower drops mean I spend more time in them as it is more comfortable. I’ll spend the majority of time down there racing, CX or road as I like the extra control. These are the FSA vero

Latest road bike has shallow ergo drops. Seem ok but nothing revolutionary compared to the generic shallow drops.

I tend to use the drops for control and sprinting rather than for an aero position. My default aero position is forearms on the hoods.

I’m fit, Slim but not very flexible. Personally I’d suggest the setup so the hoods and tops are reasonably low and then put shallow drops on.