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Old 03-28-09 | 09:45 PM
  #34  
Ken Cox
King of the Hipsters
 
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 2,128
Likes: 2
From: Bend, Oregon

Bikes: Realm Cycles Custom

Originally Posted by Redline 927
p.s. search next time. this has been discussed several times before.
So what if this subject has come up 20 or so times on this forum?

Almost every subject comes around scores of times.

I like to talk about them, and I learn something new every time I participate in a thread, whether the first time or the twentieth time.

And, for those subjects that come up again and again, and in which I have no interest, I do not participate in those threads.

So, thanks to the original poster for not using the search function (even if he did).

=====

Regarding the narrowness that bothered the original poster, I like narrow bars, and I find that if I ride with wider bars (for whatever reason) it takes me a little while to get used to the narrow bars.

Regarding the full dropped position, it offers only aerodynamic benefits.

If the OP felt more able to accelerate in that position, it probably means he had an inefficient fit in the upright position.

One could choose to ride with track drops in a track position for several reasons: all of them valid but not necessarily everyone's cup of tea.

Track drops and track frames put way too much weight on the front wheel for riding on the street, at least compared to a street-optimized bike.

Additionally, the weight-forward, spine-horizontal torso position provides an aerodynamic advantage at the expense of mechanical efficiency.

Track riders get away with this position because of the relatively short amount of time they spend in this position, and because they train for it.

And this represent a good reason for riding in a track position on the street: it helps on the track.

Otherwise, if a person does not race on the track, then riding in the weight-forward, spine-horizontal position has only an appearance benefit, in that it looks cool.

I don't say that to make fun of non-racers who ride in this position.

Different strokes for different folks.

For the street, it makes more sense to sit further back on the frame, so that the front pedal falls under the knee with the cranks in the horizontal position; and, further, for the street, the rider should have an erect enough torso position so that he or she could take his or her hands off the bars and keep riding.

And, as a matter of comparison, road racers ride with horizontal spines (when racing), but not all the time; and, they sit much further back on the frame than do track racers.

I ride with very narrow bullhorns, with my torso at about the same angle as the road racers when they ride on the horns.

When riding into a strong headwind, I bend my elbows and assume the drop position without any effort.

This works for me because I sit much further back on the frame than does a track racer, and so I don't need to mash, which means I don't need to pull up on the drops for maximum acceleration.
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