Originally Posted by mcatano

It constantly amazes me at how pissy people get when their aesthetic choices are pointed out as such. Look, the only rational argument for pista drops or deep drop stems on a road bike (ie, a track bike on the road) is aesthetics. Everyone's bike is a balance of aesthetics and performance and both are (at least in my mind) totally valid things to base decisions on. That said, trying to pass off the purely aesthetic aspects of your bike's set-up as anything more than that is just... ridiculous. The only thing pista drops have going for them over std road drops or ergo bends is the fact that they look cool. While you may not necessarily find them uncomfortable, unless your wrists and arms are unlike any other human's, they aren't going to be more comfortable or more efficient or more anything. They just look cooler. That's it. Accept it and embrace it. When mean ol' Dutret comes along and says, "your bars are a fashion accessory," just tell him, "indeed!" and live a happy life.

Hell, I spent $80 on a gold stem for my bike because I think it looks cool. I'm not going to pretend that it offers anything other than the fact that it's gold. It's a fashion accessory. I'm fine with it.