Lectron

Many of you never seem to be in the drops anyway. And for some others
their flipped sky high. Wouldn't it be better to choose a type of bar
that would give you a multiple position and a comfortable ride than
go for that 'real road racing bike look' that you obviously don't like anyway?

A 15 degree rise stem with 2 inches of pacers below it does not strike me
as a racing bike anyway. A touring bike, yes, and there's nothing wrong with
that. But if you're gonna have a touring bike why not save your bad backs
and go for, lets say, the Mustache handlebar instead. That would look sooo
much cooler. And it would probably be a lot more comfortable for you too.

waterrockets 

You can't use anything with forward-facing tips in a mass-start bike race. Too dangerous.

If your bike fits you, drops are a very comfortable option for going aero. If they're too far down for you, raise your stem until they're not. As you gain power, getting lower becomes more comfortable until you reach flexibility limits.

Drop bars with brake hoods have a wonderful array of hand positions to keep you comfy on a long ride.

Pros are tipping their brake hood high so they're comfortable when not involved in a serious breakaway effort. When they are in such an effort, their drops are low enough to make them extremely aerodynamic. They can further bend their elbows from there and get even lower.

cyclezealot

When riding with my hands about the hood, I find the drops very handy. I sometimes use the drops, when doing greater non stop distances.

EventServices

It's just one of those things that works really well.

The road is littered with failed attempts to find a better way.

ViperZ

The moustache bars face backward

cycle17

I enjoy the drops on longer flat sections or for a change of hand position. I find them quite comfy. I climb seated and use the flats, and use the hoods 60% of the time or more. But the drops are comfortable.

branman1986

also when sprinting, you can grab a whole fistful of handlebar to pull up on in the drops and still be aero

MrCjolsen

I have moustache bars on my fixed gear. The control they offer is excellent, but they are not as comfortable as my drop bars on long rides.

pigmode

I feel much safer in the drops during hard braking, and usually drop down when approaching intersections and in anticipation to similar situations. The drop position is also a good alternate position to the hoods, in that it relieves the pressure on shoulders and arms.

SaabFan

I don't!




Ok, I'll admit I have a road bike with drop bars, too. I like it - even though it is, as you're guessing, jacked up. Why use that instead of moustache bars? Well, a moustache bar's hand positions are all in a single plane. With the drops, I get the tops and hoods in (more or less) one plane, and the drops offering positions in a much lower plane. Honestly, I think the drops are more versatile than moustache bars, but I suppose it's all a matter of personal preference.

Oh, and I don't have an old, bad back.

EURO

How would the moustache bars work on a one-hour alpine descent?

Olebiker

I rarely get into the drops, but I like having that option when I want it. I alternate between riding with my hands on the flat area next to the stem, on the hoods, and on the outside top bend.

Moustache bars offer too limited a range of hand positions. I haven't drunk the Grant Petersen Kool Ade so I don't find drop bars lacking in utility.

wneumann

Heh. For me it's just the opposite. Drops are OK for short jaunts, but anything over 15-20 miles screams for the mustache bars, which I find so much more comfortable and versatile. And since I'm just a rider, not a racer, the only aero I really give a damn about is Aerosmith.

EventServices

That Atlantis is the College-Professor-Zooming-Across-the-Quad-Late-for-Class Bike-of-the-Year.

Retro Grouch 

You do what you think's right for you, I'll do what I think is best for me.

Mariner Fan

I mainly use the drops when I have a head wind. Since it's really windy in Indiana they really help.

Serpico

+1

kenny!

I like riding in the drops, for me it feels more natural than the hoods unless i'm climbing.

WCroadie

I ride in the drops a lot. I find it comfortable.

R-Wells

Two reasons for me.
1: Same reason I wouldnt buy a Corvette and put little bitty skinny tires on it,
just loses some of its sex apeall.

2: Never know when I might have to dial it up to 400whats and drop some granny on the MUP.

Just the other day I was riding down my residential street and some 8 year old on the side walk tried to drop me.
If I hadnt been able to get in the drops, he woulda had me.

munkyv22

Because I use them. A lot.

cydewaze

Lol, I think I know what started this thread.

btw, he's not asking why you use drop bars, he'a asking why do people install drop bars but then never use the drops, or put a deep drop bar on, then add tons of spacers to bring it up.

It's as valid a question as any.

jschen

Because I wouldn't want to hit 50+ MPH (and sustain 40+ MPH on long descents) without being braced against the drops. Because drops allow another set of positions that the hoods don't allow, giving options depending on factors such as effort level, grade of road, wind direction.

tc83

i'm on my drops all day unless i'm climbing, they're not jacked up, and they're real comfortable.

timmhaan

when i first got my road bike i never really used the drops. then i got the correct stem which put the bars at exactly the right height and angle for me. now, i find them extremely comfortable to ride in. sometimes it actually feels better to be in the drops than on the brake hoods.