Originally Posted by
Tourist in MSN
I am not sure why the drop bars on bikebacking bikes initially were angled out more, as that was not a big aero advantage. But I can see how the extra width on those bars is needed for bikepacking handlebar harnesses, especially when brifters are used.
being in the wider drops is nice on rougher or technical downhill sections, wider gives more steering control, or easier control with bumpy stuff going on.
The drop bars on my Troll have a moderate flare out, there were more flared out ones even back when I built that bike up in 2016, but I preferred a shallow flare for the majority of my riding.
Pretty much why mtb bars have gotten wider and wider over the decades. The 90s mtb were really narrow and folks figured out wider was better. Ive ridden both old and new and wider is nicer.