KtecR

I just built up my compact Bianchi frame and the drop is roughly 5 inches. I'll post pics soon, but I was wondering how big most of y'alls drops are and what purpose you use the bike for.

toucci

4.5 inches on the road race bike and 6.5 on the commuter. The commuter is really pushing the limits of comfort but it is fast.

ridethecliche

Why would you have more drop on a bike meant for commuting?
That sounds counterintuitive...

grahny

saddle to bar drop is around 4-4.5" on my R3... I use the bike to kick my own ass

toucci

Because I can get away with it on shorter rides

KtecR

I'm guessing you ride a fixed for commuter? I also have a drop on my fixed but it is probably closer to 3-4" as the stem is bottomed out.

gabdy

Mines approx 3 inches, my saddle to bars is 3 inches also.

Machka 

My saddle is about 1 inch below my handlebars.

I use the bicycle for long distance riding.

Spin Cycle

Only 2 inches (feeling inadequate... ). Seriously though, I'm at around 45% back angle when on the hoods, and flat back when on the aero bars, so wouldn't want to go any lower.

old and new

Why IS a good question, it doesn't seem counter intuative .. more like just plain IS illogical. Then again "commutor bikes "..a newly invented phenomenon ..the criteria's set by whoever's posting at at any given moment, no guidelines really. The depth of the drop is/was more based on tradition. Twenty or so years ago, aside from suiting those with large hands, deep drops were favored because one could lower one's forward riding possition. 3T and to a somewhat lesser degree Cinelli offered deep and shallow. Deep drops look impressive and have their virtues I suppose. I alway felt that shallow drops offered better control and could be manipulated better by my hands which aren't small. Handlebars started to be made
in anotomic bends, extra shallow,as well as the drop-in and many other aero type bars and add-ons. Actually the Randoneer/ midge, slightly splayed and shallow design first used in Europe as tourers are
trendy and sought after. After LeMond and those who followed him using radically different bars ,the old style bars that had prevailed from 1895 to 1985 became two of many choices, along with bars exceeding
40cm wide becoming the norm rather than oddities. Deep drops like the old TTTs aren't made anymore.

Pendergast

Was about 4", but I've recently changed to about 2". I'm averaging around 2 mph faster now because I rarely used the drops before the change. I have two road bikes, both used for general cycling on rides usually of 30-60 miles. Not a tourer, not a racer.

Bob Dopolina 

That be a personal question. Be it not? Arrgg!

merlinextraligh

about 5" The bike's used to race,and train for racing.

waterrockets 

7" saddle top to bar top
13.25" to the drops

Racing and training.

geraldatwork

Somewhere between 1 1/2-2". I am 59 and not as flexible as I used to be.

CharlieWoo

11 cm on my road bike

palesaint

My bike is stretched out a bit I guess... I have no problem being in the drops for 30+ minutes and can sprint OK, cruise on the hoods and climb on the top without any issues. However, my drop is only like half an inch.

toucci

You inspire me. Do you have any pics of this?

waterrockets 

No, but I do need to take some at some point. It's a 62cm frame, and I've got a lot of seatpost sticking out. Stem "flipped" with no spacers under it.

I had to do a bit of hamstring stretching to get it down there, but it's all good now.

alanbikehouston

The crucial measurement that controls the ideal amount of drop is the length of the "cockpit", the distance from the rear of the saddle to the front of the stem. Riding with a saddle two inches that is too high or too low will cause knee pain, and having a "cockpit" that is two inches too long or too short will cause pain in the hands, wrist, neck, and back (too long) or just in the back (too short).

So, all of my bikes have the "back of saddle to front of stem" measurement set at 31 1/2 inches. Combined with a tall frame, that 31 1/2 inch cockpit results in a zero to one inch drop, on a frame that is one inch shorter, a two inch drop, and on the frame that is two inches shorter than ideal for me, it results in a three inch drop.

Although I prefer "zero" drop, switching from a bike with zero drop and a 31 1/2 cockpit to the bike with a three inch drop and a 31 1/2 inch cockpit feels comfortable. Although my hands are moved to a lower position, my torso and arms are in an identical position on either bike, so both bikes have a similar fore/aft balance, feel, and handling.

Unless someone knows his "ideal" cockpit measurement, the common result of dropping the bars four or five inches lower than the saddle is to get overly stretched out. A guy will have a bike with a 32 inch cockpit, with a two inch drop. The bike fits him perfectly. Then, he sees a time trial on TV, and thinks "that looks cool". He drops his stem five inches lower than the saddle. Now he has a cockpit size of around 34 inches, he is too stretched out, and he has shifted his weight forward onto his hands...not comfortable on a two or three hour ride.

waterrockets 

+1 My position got to where it is over months of working on it. I never made a change until my comfort level had me yearning for it. I would find myself bending my elbows more to get lower, so I'd drop the stem another 5mm for a few weeks. I find that it has worked well for me to leave my saddle in the same fore/aft position through these changes, and when I get into the drops to hammer, I just slide forward on the saddle, much like for a TT.

KtecR

Is the 32 inch cockipt standard sizing for most people? Going from a 58 cm traditional geometry frame to a 57 cm compact geometry frame, I had to work on a lot of adjusting at a local bike shop who helped fit me. The seat post sticks out quite a bit now and the stem had to be extended 20mm, but now the cockpit size is 33 1/2 inches. My 57cm traditional geometry cyclocross bike which has a 1" seat to bar drop has a 33 inch cockpit (fitted by the same shop).

MIN 

6.5" drop to my bullhorns on the fixed gear. I use it for rides 15-100 miles. I am flexible (palm to floor) and the drop has been increasing progressively.

alanbikehouston

I'm "Joe Average" in terms of height, leg length, torso length, and arm length. A 31 1/2 inch cockpit gives me perfect fore/aft balance on a bike, and a good weight distribution between the saddle and bars.

But, a guy who is my same height, who has a torso a inch longer than mine plus arms a length longer than mine would likely get his ideal position with a cockpit of about 33 inches.

Unlike leg length versus saddle height, more than a yardstick is needed to find your best cockpit size. First, you have to dial in your "ideal" saddle height, and that takes a period of trial and error. After you know your "best" saddle height, to within 1/4th inch, you can dial in your ideal cockpit length.

It takes some experimenting, involving riding different size frames, using different saddle positions, and different stem postions, until everything comes together and you feel perfectly comfortable on the bike, no matter how long the ride.

When you have found the "perfect" cockpit length, you will be able to ride for six or seven hours without the slightest discomfort in your hands, wrists, neck, or back. You come back from a long ride, feeling like going for another long ride.

When that happens, measure your cockpit size down to 1/4 of an inch. Write it down. When you buy a bike, if it is the correct size frame, dialing in that cockpit size should be an easy five minute task, using your best saddle height, a standard saddle position and a standard size stem. If a frame does NOT make it easy to dial in your ideal cockpit size, it is the wrong size frame.

There is NO perfect amount of drop. But, if someone is using six inches of drop on a bike they use on public roads surrounded by motor vehicles, and NOT on a bike track or closed course, that "boy racer" time trial position is so absurdly inappropriate that passing motorists probably burst out laughing.

MIN 

There is no one-size-fits all perfect size Alan. If I'm loafing around the 6.5" drop is extreme but if I am mashing with every pedal stroke then the drop is not so much of an issue and there is no discomfort. A level saddle-to-bar is appropriate for a 60 year-old tourer but it's not necessarily suitable for a flexible individual putting out a lot of power.