queerpunk

Track drops were made when bike frames were made so that proper fit involved "a fistful of seatpost." If you wanted to get into a low sprint position, you needed either very deep drops, or a deep-drop stem, or both. Now, bike frames are made to generally fit a rider with a lot more seatpost - most headtubes are pretty short, especially for track bikes, so that a rider can set up both a mass-start or sprint position, AND a position with aerobars (usually involves mounting a stem quite a bit lower). So, when you see high-level riders using sprint bars, they often have a positive rise stem. Because they like the bars, but their bike doesn't require them to use those bars in order to get a low position. [there are tons of examples but here's one of nothstein and a guy whose name i'm blanking on, and it's a funny picture to use for example because of their faces. but look at their stems.]

Anyway, track sprinters use track drops for forearm clearance - mostly for standing starts. And now, the trend is going over to super shallow bars like the Scatto, which offer a ton of clearance and you can use it with a more ordinary stem.

If you rarely or never do standing starts you're better off with a standard road bar.

I use a Ritchey Classic, and I wish it came in a 38. Very occasionally I get "sprint bruises" on my forearms. Another good bar is the Pro Vibe 7S Round, which also has a criterium bend.