no1mad 

drool

Longfemur

Road racers and those who ride like them (nothing wrong with that) use drops for power and speed. More touring-oriented types use drops more for the hand position. It offers relief to both hands and back to change position to the drops once in a while, and it offers a more efficient way to ride into a headwind. As you noted, wind can slow you down considerably if you can't minimize its effects by getting lower. The secret is that drops can be used like this without being so low that they are uncomfortable to use. The whole bar just has to be higher than it would be on a road racing bike. If they are, they are not uncomfortable at all and using them actually does provide a nice relief from the other hand positions.

Prostreet71

The aerobars are made for 26-31mm bars. Mine are 22mm so I had to use a small radiator hose that I had and cut two pieces to the size and length I needed to make it work. I did 22 miles today with about 60% up hills. I dont think I could of made it with the upright position of the comfort bike.

caloso

Drop bars for me. If I need to see over traffic, I'll sit up and grab the tops. If it's windy or I'm sprinting for a stoplight, on the drops. Most other times, on the hoods or ramps.

filtersweep

Flat bars hurt my wrists --- I have them on my mtn bike, but prefer anything else--- drops, bullhorns, or moustaches that my other bikes offer.

Sci-Fi

It's personal preference and drop bars (as well as other types of handlebars) do come in various widths (typically 42,44,46, and 48 cm), so you can find a width that feels comfy for you.

envane

The chopped bars are popular purely for style and retro-justified by claiming its for clearance. I had a tight squeeze past a bus recently, and its was my shoulder that brushed the side, not my regular-sized drop bar. There is no point in making bars any narrower than your shoulders and in fact the narrow bars are dangerous because city pavement is far from even and you'll need leverage at some point.

Grim

Forté T2 Aerobar?

think it has enough rise to clear 2 inch riser bars and still get at a Airzound?


I like that it is a full loop so the head light can be used.

relyt

I prefer drops for commuting, and all other riding as well. If I didn't use drops, I'd use bullhorn bars. It just really tweaks out my wrists when I ride flat bars due to the way my hands are rotate relative to my arms.

JeffS

The one you feel the best on.

Lower a flat bar for improved aerodynamics.
Raise a drop bar for comfort.

It's only a handlebar.

ok_commuter

There's no "only" before "handlebar". It's where your hands contact the bike and has everything to do with whether or not your body is in a strong, comfortable position.

That's like saying, "It's only tires."

JeffS

I stand by my only. I'd hazard a guess that most people assume that a dropbar bike is very bent over and uncomfortable, while a flatbar bike is more upright and generally slow.

The handlebar is "only" one component and doesn't bring with it any stipulations as to rider position.

mrchaotica

You're using the wrong word: the important thing about a longer bar is not that it gives you more torque, it's that it gives you more precision. Or in other words, it makes the change in angle of the wheel smaller for a given amount of linear movement of your hand. The extra control comes from the extra distances, not the higher forces.

Steve in SLO

I'm surprised nobody has recommended the On-One Midge bar or WTB Dirt Drops--both are flared, shallow drop cyclo-x style bars that work really well for a commute where there is some wind.
Steve

thirdin77

I'm one more person who thinks the drop bar is best for commuting of any longer distance/duration, because it offers so many hand positions including the drop position which is very welcome when riding into a headwind.

It's easy enough to be upright when riding with a drop bar- just ride on the hoods or tops and if that's not good enough, raise the bars. If you want to brake while on the tops, get some inline brake levers.

I think the drop bar is ergonomically perfect. If the bike is set up correctly, the hands are set at shoulder width, the wrists are easily kept neutral and the hands always have access to braking and shifting (with dual control levers) when riding on the hoods, in the drops or riding out of saddle to sprint/climb.

robinthehippie

After commuting for a long time (7-8 months?) using a flat bar, my wrists started hurting so bad I need to wear a brace and couldn't do some tasks at work. As soon as I got a bike with drop bars that allowed me to use different hand positions (now I usually ride on the hoods) the pain went away. But, I'm the only commuter at work that uses drop bars, so it's a totally individual choice. The main advantage I can see to drop bars is the variety available.

ok_commuter

You wouldn't have to hazard a guess; people post here every day with incorrect assumptions about the discomfort or racing-orientation of drops. And I post most every day to correct them.

My basic beef is that people think flat bars and more "upright" posture are more comfortable. Watching people every day on hybrids and MTBs, what I see is people slumping in the lower back and mistaking a lazy position for a comfortable one. Riding a bike should be done from an athletic position, just like any other sport - broad chest, shoulders back, back long and strong. This can be accomplished on a bike with flat bars and upright posture, but I'm confident that drop bars promote that position better.

EDIT: even and especially when riding on the hoods, ramps or top/flat, which is the other myth I (and others) constantly try to dispel: drop bars don't mean that you ride in the drops often. For me it's only about 15% of the time, with most of the rest spent on the hoods, where I can shift or brake with equal efficacy.

qmsdc15

Good point. On my flat bar road bike, the bars are about three inches below the saddle. If I used drops, I could put the flat part level with my sadde to gain a more upright position.

huhenio

yup

envane

No, he's using the right word. Torque = force x lever arm. You have wider bars, you have a longer lever arm, you get more torque.

newbojeff

I rode flat bars for years and would sometimes develop wrist pain. 1 week of riding on a road bike and all pain was gone.

I have a hybrid, bad weather bike with flat bars and bar ends, and a road bike with drops. The way I see it, flat bars with bar ends give me about 4 hand positions and the drop bars give me about 9 (bar ends, drops, high in the drops, hoods, just above the hoods, hands pronated on the bends, hands supinated on the bends, flats wide, and flats narrow). More options, less pain. For riding in traffic, I'm on the hoods.

HOV

Torque isn't what is meaningful to the discussion. mrchaotica got it right in that the ratio of rider input to wheel movement is what is relevant.

MTB's have long, flat bars so the rider can have a wider range of motion and hence be more precise. For instance, to get a 15* change in wheel direction, a long flat bar may require an arc length travel of 10 cm. To get the same 15* change in wheel direction, a drop bar may require only 6 cm. That extra 4 cm ensures the rider can make precise, on-the-fly changes to adjust for rough terrain or maintain balance.

sean000

I love my moustache bars, but drops are better for high mileage comfort. The moustache bars are a great compromise between drops and flats though. Like flat bars, moustache bars offer excellent control for negotiating technical single-track... but with more hand positions. I ride a lot of logging roads and trails, and they are great for this. I also like climbing hills with them since the wide bar gives me leverage and also makes it easy to breathe. The only thing with moustache bars is that they are most comfortable when you can raise them higher than your typical bar...which may not be possible on all bikes.



Sean

tjspiel

Sorry, I think that's bogus. I doubt that's why flat bars are designed the way they are. You are forgetting stem length in the equation. Put a shorter stem on bike with flat bars in order to get a better fit and you've also shortened the travel of the bars required to to turn the wheel the same amount.

Steering isn't just a matter of turning the bars. It's also body lean. I ride both a MTB and a road bike. I can't remember a single instance where I've thought "I wish the steering on my road bike was a precise as my MTB". The feeling is definitely different. In fact it's different between the 4 different road bikes I've ridden in the last year. Cornering feels less nimble on my mountain bike but that may be due to the knobby tires.

I have a hard time saying that any one of the bikes I've ridden recently is better for commuting than any of the others because of the way they steer.

Rob_E

I don't care for drops, but my latest bike had flats, and I didn't care for them, either. I switched to trekking bars from Nashbar. They offer me three hand positions, and while they took some time getting used to, I found them far better than flats. I think my next bike will get some mustache-type bars, but my current bike keeps the trekking bars because I get a slightly longer reach out them which compensates for a shorter top tube than I should probably be using.