Just so i am clear what i am trying to achieve!!

Not saying these are ‘right’, but they are right for me. Shifter hoods are a little higher on the commuter as it just puts me a little higher up which is handy in Derby city traffic.

so flat of the bar in line with the top tube and then the brake lever at 90 degrees to the ground?

Set up on my training bike….poor phone image. Race bike would be about the same.

A rather awful photo, but here’s how I have mine:

Edit:

An old, but better photo

And an old photo of the how I have them on my town bike. A little higher up, but they tend not to get used so much.

The drop being horizontal to the ground works for me, top tube can be a bit of an angle with compact frames etc. I think lever posistion is a bit more of a personal thing and can be influenced by the shape of your bars. I spend a lot of time in the drops, so it’s whatever is most comfortable for me for that. This is just my take anyway.

Audax / touring set up – nice and relaxed.

whatever is comfortable is good, the levers just looked a little high in your picture. Which could lead to pain after a longish ride.

I have mine way higher than that, but then I’m not a proper cyclist

You can just about see in these pics, seems comfortable enough

No pics but just pointing down slightly seems to work for me. If I have them in line with the stem angle they seem too pointed up and makes my hands ache.

You only have to take 5 mins of looking at pros bikes to see that they very so much person to person.

Generally if you ride the drops more then angle your levers down. ride the hoods then angle them up.

Get your bars to the position that feels right, then ride up and down the street trying diferent lever positions before you bar tape.

(or go with fashion and trash your back)

I fiddled around finding a position as I was new to a road bike, I run my stem up and the top of the bars flat with the top tube, I then run the hoods of the levers almost like mini bar ends. This was after experimenting and finding I spend most my time on the hoods, this positioning allowed me to brake and change gear most efficiently in the position I’d normally be in, but also get the levers when in the drops on the quicker descents.

I tried several other positions but found these put weight on my hands leading to them aching after almost no time.

Other suggestions if you’re new to a darkside bike like me is double bar tape and a wide bar, doesn’t feel as unstable as the original one and far more comfortable.

Don’t “slam your stem” unless it’s comfortable or you are all about winning races. It can make road riding hell if you have the wrong/uncomfortable position.

Mine look a bit like coleman’s maybe the back of the hood being horizontal. Comfortable enough for centuries and still fine for crits and time trials (where I spend most of my time on the drops, not the hoods, anyway).