drop handle bars
 

What do you guys think about drop handle bars on your bike. Is it comfortable

yes.

Yup.

Yes, I find them comfortable. But before acidfast gets here to say so, let me tell you that most people in Europe don't use them.

They're useful when I want to do 'performance oriented' riding, like on my mountain bike. But for regular commuting a swept-back/city bar is more comfortable, and being upright is useful for traffic.

They're doable, just like anything else.

I personally don't like them over long distances though.

very comfortable

I don't like them. The braking position is completely uncomfortable and awkward feeling and I just don't feel like I have that much control over the bike. I've tried drop bars at two different times in my riding life and they just don't work for me.

I will say that most people do seem to like them, especially for longer rides, which I don't participate in. I ride more like a kid in that I do a lot of sharp turns riding around things, riding on narrow sidewalks at high speed, etc and almost never more than one hour. MTB bars with about 10 degrees of sweep back and however much rise is needed to get them a couple of centimeters above the saddle are my preference.

nope.

If i was in the middle of nowhere I'd use them. But in town with bumpy roads, high traffic and low speeds drops dont needed. In fact, upright posture is awesome.

The longer the ride, the better they work; the shorter the ride, the less useful they are.

I have 2 fixed gear bikes with riser bars and then I have a rigid forked mountain bike set up with drop bars. I am just waiting for somebody to try and correct me and say that it's wrong to have drop bars on a MTB.

I have drop bars on mine, but I am almost never actually in the drops. My commute is urban, so I prefer to be more upright.

Personally, I don't favor them, but I still have bikes with 'em. Fine tuning the riding position by swapping stems, heights, angle, etc. all helps, but I still find them less comfortable than other options, and so spend little time riding them.

But it really doesn't matter one bit what others think about handlebars. Find what works for you and be happy with it.

On the other hand, posting on handlebar threads that anyone who doesn't favor the same bar as you (usually drops :p) is wrong, can sometimes be fun. :lol:

About 25 yrs. ago, as I thought about geting a real bike I asked a friend (physical therapist) which hand position would be more comfortable. Her instant response was that the MTB ,horizontal pipe in front of you. was not a natural position. It requires many more muscles to maintane than the vertical palm position. Saying that you would never wake up with your hands in the MTB position. I'v wondered at the fortunes made, bar ends ,springey stems. ft. shocks, bar grips. I'm an bike fit anel 67 yr. old, riden ctc & border to border no gluvs brop bar, plane old touring bike. HOWEVER in city comuting I would want to be up using all my abilities to be as responsable for myself as posable.

I use 'em, but I have to bring the height up for a more upright position. A cross, top brake levers is a must, because the drop bar brake levers is hard to work well when I'm wearing thick gloves.

I commute in heavy city traffic and really like drop bars. But it does require more flexibility and core strength than a more upright position. In return, I get much better aerodynamics and a position that I'm used to from sportbikes, so I feel right at home as far as feel and control. Don't mind where the brake levers are. My only complaint is that if I try to pull up on the bars to wheelie up onto a curb, I either have to be very precise with how I do it and where my elbows are or I have to have my hands out of the drops and up on the top flat part. Otherwise, I get a sudden and unwanted stretch in the fibers of the ligaments that connect ulna and radius (the two forearm bones).

I wouldn't use anything but drop bars. Especially in the springtime winds here along the Great Lakes. (Not to mention the gales of November.)

My definition of "commuter bike" begins with the words, "drop bar road frame".

Still, as AlmostTrick said, it doesn't matter what works or doesn't work for me, or what works or doesn't work for anyone else. All that matters is what works for you.

After using regular bars, I tried a bike with drop bars and found that I like them a lot. If you try them you may find the same, or you may find you don't like them at all, or you may like them some of the time. But you won't know until you try them.

It's important that their height and reach are appropriate to your flexibility and measurements. Too high, and you'll wonder why bother. Too low and you'll wonder if contortionists ride bikes. Too close and you'll feel cramped and become unstable. Too far and you'll tire quickly. When moving down, remember to rotate from the pelvis, don't bend and hunch up your spine. You may need to shift back on the saddle slightly as well, since rotating forward moves you closer to the bars.

What I've found works best for me is having the hoods and the drops positioned so my shoulder and upper arm are at about 90°. I can ride for miles and miles in either position without undue fatigue, despite my arthritic back and hands.

ouch!

I always prefer them on the road. For brisk paced rides over 15 miles or so they are mandatory.

drop handle bars
 

Luv em! Ride mostly on the hooda, but down in the drops in hard winds.
Only the snow beater has straights.

I love drop bars for the wrist angle at first place, somehow the position feels most natural (for me). Second choice would be mustache or flipped north road bars, third - flats with 12-20 degrees bend. For mtb rides and snow i prefer off road bars like salsa woodchippers or bend bars. No straight bars for me.

Most people would say drops aren't for slow city riding, but i think it can be perfectly comfortable if bicycle with drop bars is designed and/or adjusted for lazy rides.

Don't let Acidfast hear a fellow deutschlander talking sense like that!

I find them very comfortable. I favor traditional bend, medium (135mm) drops.

I somehow think that the modern prevalence of straight bars in Germany is the result of marketing efforts. On the old bikes which were actually made in Europe you see plenty of various bend, albatross and drop bars. Ask hipsters! :)

Well he is nouveau German!

Just about anything is better than a straight pipe bar. I have a set of north roads on one bike, and drops set fairly high on the other. IMO that makes the drop position a lot more usable compared to having them set right down low. I do prefer my north road bars though. With those, you can adjust your grip from the end of the bar (upright position) through the 'hoods' of the brake levers (not entirely accurate but the best way to describe the position) to the front curves and the straight portion in the middle. The last one is actually pretty good for zooming down hills and/or getting out of the wind a bit.

One of these days I'm going to fit a steering wheel to a bike if I can get the brake lever mounting figured out. :D

That cannot be... only Americans are dumb enough to fall victim to a marketing scheme like that. Cha cha. The hipsters will do what they are told.

3 of my bikes have drops and one is straight. I have found that I like shallow, ergo drops the best. I have not ever used mustache bars or other bends, so I can't comment. I would like to set up something to cruise on with a little bit of backwards sweep.

Coming from a road bike background, drop bars on my commuter feel natural and comfortable. If I need to rise up to see something in traffic, I just put my hands on the top of the bars.

To me, any ride over an hour requires drop bars. Otherwise, anything will work.