Originally Posted by Quijibo187 View Post
"Looking at Merckx' setup, also note that his hoods are halfway down the drops, whereas many hoods now are level with the tops of bars."

"That would make sense if you're riding in the drops a lot wouldn't it? That is, the brakes would be easier to grab with your hands down there...."

There's another issue here, IMO, and that's the fact that shifters are on brake levers and it makes a lot more sense to ride on the hoods these days, therefore a higher position of the levers on the bars. I watched "A Sunday in Hell" (Paris - Roubaix documentary from 1976) yesterday, and rarely will you see any of those riders riding on the hoods except when out of saddle - implying not that they didn't do it, but not nearly as often as it is done today.

Excellent topic & thread btw.