Originally Posted by e0richt

I tend to like the bars rotated high as its more comfortable to ride with, but I also have to admit that its harder to get to the drops for a strong break... with my winter bike I have riser bars with bar ends which I have grown accustomed to... I am actually considering replacing my road bars with a set of moustache bars which would give that bar end feel but also allow for a strong grip on the break levers...

Originally Posted by PatrickGSR94

When I first started out on my road bike, I had the bars rotated too high. I thought getting the hoods higher was a good thing. But then I never could reach the drops very well. I felt like I didn't have much leverage on the brake levers from the hoods, but then I couldn't reach them in the drops very well, either.

Finally I rotated my bars down a bit, to bring the ends of the bars closer to level with the ground. Reaching the drops became much easier, as did the brake levers (and shifting since I have the combination "brifters").

Also, when I started out I tended to try to brake from the hoods using only my index and middle fingers. I believe that was part of my problem. If I apply 3 fingers on the brake lever (adding my ring fingers) I can get more force on the levers from the hoods, and braking is much easier.