Well, it was somewhat windy Tuesday and Wednesday in the SF Bay Area and riding the drops was the way to go to minimize my profile. I didn't have too many issues with shifting to a bigger cog, but when times were lucky and I was going downhill or had a sustained tail wind gust up from behind and I wanted to take advantage, the release shift on the brifter isn't as accessible.

It's always a debate how to setup the brifters. With some drops, if too deep, the brifter doesn't reach unless I mount in more forward on the curve. Then riding the hoods isn't as comfortable. And the reach is awkward unless I use a neutral horizontal tilt for the bars. If I setup, say a touring bike with randonneur bars, I tend to tilt the bars up, and mount the brifters higher up on the curve of the drops.

Overall, my compromise is to hunt down handlebars with a short/moderate drop so the inside bend is not anatomic and not more than say 4.5 inches metal-to-metal inside distance between top of flats to the drops. I avoid the anatomics because the flat portion that's sloped puts the hands in a way where you need super long fingers and thumbs to reach. A short drop with tight round curves lets me keep my hands in the front of the drop and reach the levers and still ride the hoods comfortably without feeling like my hands are going to roll over the handlebars in a panic stop. This isn't always easy when you ride 46cm wide handlebars.

I can live without the release shift to the smaller cogs. I can also live without shifting across more than 2 cogs at once. I'm too old to race. If I can simply shift one gear at a time and must do so from, say, the hoods on the release to a smaller cog, so be it. I like brifters because when sudden hills sneak up and I'm just casually riding, the shift to a cog higher up is so fluid and instinctive.

How about a different poll/survey? How many folks would like be able to shift from the drops without dropping more than $60/pr for a decent set of NEW brifters? Like dude, what's up with the monopolistic/patent protected prices? I feel like Shimano and Campy and SRAM are all the big Pharma for bike brifters - the prescription drug for multi-gear cyclists. It's gotta be 10% of the reason I ride a single-speed to work half the time. I'm just revolting. I want over-the-counter type prices.