Originally Posted by
chaadster
is simply not true, and I can't understand why you keep making the assertion.
He keeps making the assertion because it's true.
Those attributes come by virtue of the setup, purely and simply. It's quite easy to set up drop bars very aggressively, such that nothing is relaxed, or conversely, close and high, such that no grip is low and aero. It's the same for a flat bar.
No, they come from having at least four places to put your hands. No matter how you have drops set up, the hooks are lower and farther foward of the tops. The hoods are foward of the tops, but not usually much lower. the drops are lower than the tops, but not forward. That's true whether you have the bars three inches above the saddle, it's true if they're even with the saddle, it's true if they're six inches lower. yes, if you have bars set high, the drops aren't going to be as aerodynamic as if they're lower, but they're still lower than 95% of the flat bar bikes I see.