Well, after much thought, I decided to take some of your advice and try out a set of drop bars on my commuter bike. I will be starting a longer commute next week and was trying to gain some efficiency even though it came at the price of letting go some of the comfort of the more upright bars.

So far, I'm adjusting to the more aero positioning and find I have gained some peddling efficiency to start. I find I have more room to move around in the cockpit and climbing is easier in and out of the saddle. I am still struggling with my neck and shoulders but working through the discomfort by changing hand positions often. I think some of you have mentioned in the past that its something I would get used to in time and would never go back to flat bars. Another plus would be the numbness in my hands have gone away. I am stretching my neck and shoulders daily to try and progess forward into this and if you have any more tips for me let me know.

I've changed from flat bars to bull horns. I never used the bottom position of the drops, just carried an extra foot of tubing around for no apparent reason. I think all of your comments regarding the advice you've received are right on. You do get used to the neck issues, and having options for hand positions greatly reduces numbness in the hands. Getting a bit more weight on the front wheel offers much more control, and you can absorb bumps with your arms and legs more so than your spine. It doesn't require getting into a full tuck. There's a very happy medium to be had.

In my most recent build, I wanted to try a less agressive drop bar position along with a different style (raddoneur) of drop bar. As you can see in the photo, the tops of the drop bars are slightly above the level of the seat, while the drops are about two inches below the level of the tops on my Specialized Roubaix.

I have found two things. The increased height has made the drop bars much more comfortable and versatile for me, so much so that I don't think I need my upright handle bar utility bike anymore. I will replace that with a touring bike I am building that I will replicate this cockpit on. The other thing I have found is that in addition to the slightly higher elevation of the drops, the flare introduced by the raddoneur style of drop bars has made riding in the drops much more comfortable.

Yeah, mine are randoneur also, from a Ross Donar Bike of the eighties. I initially wanted to purchase compact drops for this experiment but opted to go with what I had on hand. I don't find more control though as my flat bars were wider and I felt I had more leverage and control but its not like drops are new to me either. I used them for years when I was young but with the advent of the mtb evolution of the 90's, I went away from my road bike to ride primarily mtb. My most recent buildup is off a modern rigid mtb with some road gear to make it a fine commuter and recreational ride.

The handlebars on the bike I showed in the pic are 46cm. About 6 cm narrower than the upright bars I have on my utility bike. I don't notice a lot of difference in control with these, but do know what you mean since I have with narrower drop bars.

I am another convert that will never return to flat bars except for rides of only a few miles. My hands are happy.

I've noticed that I've been spending more and more time on the far bars of my trekking bars than before. I started out alternating between the near bars and the near elbow and side of the bars. Now most of my time is on the far side and elbow of the bars and the far bars, with occasional "aero" tuck with the inner elbows. If I had a better saddle than my current prostate-press, I'd probably spend more than half my time on the far bars, to the point that I might have to change my brake position...

If it was my bike I'd change it anyway. The worst thing that can happen is that you'll hate it so much you change it back. Even in that case it won't be a complete loss because you will have learned something through the process.

My neck/shoulder pain disappeared when I started doing the hard shoulder squeeze that I describe here, and it hasn't come back. I don't know if that exercise is what fixed it, but I do know that as soon as I've adjusted to my new saddle, I'm going to lower my handlebars.

Another tip: if you haven't realized it, you can operate the brakes with your hands on the hoods.

As a rabid fan of drop bars, I hated the mountain bike bars on my Schwinn until I added extensions, which I use most of the time. As an added plus, I can work the 4-finger motorcycle-style brake handles from the extensions.

I'm pretty sure that I have an answer for your neck and shoulder issues, but you might not be ready to hear it. It's an "R" word.

Instead of tilting your head up, pull your head and neck back towards your shoulders. My PT works with a lot of bicyclers, and this is what she teaches them. Sort of hard to describe in writing. Experiment some.

Commuted to work for 16 years with drop bars.
Been retired 18 years now and at age 80 still use drop bars on my single bike and on our tandem.
Love the choice of hand positions.

If this bike fit you well as a drop bar bike, the top tube is probably a bit long for an ideal drop bar fit. You may want to change to a shorter stem and the compact bars you mentioned to achieve a better fit.

Hi,

I get on well with my chopped and flipped drops into bullhorns.
Set much lower than a set of drop bars would be.

They will take flat or drop brake levers, in different places.

rgds, sreten.