Originally Posted by
cyclotoine
I think it depends on the fit too, if the frame is on the small side for you then I think drop bar will work great as they extend the reach. If it is on the large size you'll have to go with a super short stem and the handling might be weird or you might be just too stretched out. You might want to use on of those clamp on seat tube extenders.
Drop bars do extend the reach, but I've found that dirt drops need to be set up a good three or four inches higher than road drops. Unless you're really flexible, you usually need a really tall stem, or a really tall frame. In my experience with dirt drops, it's height that's the issue, not reach.
The classic dirt drop set-up has the
LD stem (to escape the censors, I won't say what the 'd' stands for, only that the 'l' is for limp.