Originally Posted by
jlafitte
If your ride involves some random combination of trucks, busses, streetcars, taxis, automobiles, motorcycles, scooters, pedicabs, bikes, segways, skateboarders, inline skaters, runners, pedestrians, derelicts... who am I missing? ...all in various states of inebriation and degrees of indifference to traffic laws, you won't be spending any time in the drops
This is clearly anecdotal. I spend 70-80% of my time in the drops/deep hooks and I deal with all of the above. At the same time I don't weave through traffic, I don't jump reds, and I use brakes. Drops provide superior braking force, lower center of gravity, superior aerodynamics, and sprinting leverage. Bikes already have a higher vantage point than cars to begin with, so unless your obsessed with comfort riding or the roads you live in are filled with blood lusting ninjas, drops are advantageous in many street riding/commuting conditions.