Originally Posted by
USAZorro
Back in the day (1970's), the drop was not as extreme as it is today - either for competitive, or recreational riding. For competitive riding, 3" of drop was well within the normal range. For recreational riding - not so much.
+1 Back in the day (1970s), riders tended to be put on bigger frames. So if anything, much less seat post was exposed. So in the 1970s, I was put onto a 61cm frame (24 inch). I now ride a 56cm (22 inch). By any measure, a two inch difference in frame size is a lot. Needless to say, I had very little seat post showing at all on the 61cm frame. So on that bike, even if I had the stem down as low as it would go, seat was just about level with handlebars.