Is there a tried and trusted way to get a drop bar angle (i.e. rotation) just right?

I mostly ride on the hoods. I've already set the saddle height to what I believe is the best height for me in terms of comfort.

Now I need to sort out the bar rotation.

FWIW, I' ve been orienting the tops/ramps, of my bars more or less level for 40 years ..

Yes. The ramps on your bars (the section of bar just aft of the hoods) should be at an angle which allows you to rest your wrists on them when your elbows are well bent in your standard go-fast position. Usually the brifters are next positioned so that the levers are vertical. It will take a bit of experimenting to get that just right. It doesn't matter in which direction your drops point. See:
Drop Bar Hand Positions: an Introduction
Handle bar tilt - How much is too much?

Thanks guys. So, I did a bit of playing around with the bar angle this afternoon and settled on what was most comfortable for me - a 'tilted up' position where the bar ends are pointing slightly downwards and towards the back of the bike (almost pointing to the rear wheel hub). It feels okay there but I need to go on a proper ride to see if it's all good.

Having the bar ends parallel to the ground didn't feel good as I felt that I was too far forward over the bike, even when riding on the hoods.

Yeah, level drops were in a bygone age when the drops were parallel to the ramps. In modern bars, that's not the case. Pointing to the rear hub is very common, but again that doesn't matter.

Actually it has never been right to have your drops parallel to the ground, for the exact reason that you mention. My experience has been to straddle the bike, put your hands in the drops and feel how your hands meet the bars. Does it feel right?/ nice? Even in an older Greg LeMond book, he instructs to point to the rear axle.

I agree with this. Start with your hands in the drops for the most comfortable hand position there. Next adjust where the briffers/brakes should go with your hands on the hoods. This is where I spend most of my time so you want to get this in just the right position.

There are by-the-book recommendations and rules about what is the best way to adjust things but at the end of the day they are just a starting point. Where you feel most comfortable should dictate much of where things end up at IMO. But sometimes the most comfortable is not the most efficient. So your mileage may vary but at least you have a place to start. As you ride more you start to figure these things out and can adjust accordingly. I always ride thinking about these things to make my ride better the next time I'm out. Minor tweaks here and there will make your bike disappear and then you can just enjoy the ride...

It's a bit like a 3D puzzle that involves so many factors to consider. Today I spent three hours getting saddle height, tilt and fore-aft a lot better and then fixed the bar angle so it was as comfortable as I could get it.

Many more bar bends were created in the past decades, and so any broad generalization.. is difficult..

30 years ago I snared the Dirt Drop Handlebars from the 1st generation of Bridgestone MB1,
which is Ideal because I still use friction Bar End Shifters... not Brifters...


you are free to make other choices..






...

trial & error

I've read a lot of the general rules and tried some, and so far what works best for me is:

1. Pick a bar that when I grasp it, seems to mold into my hand without concentrations of pressure
2. I like a bar with low drop, 135 mm or less.
3. Based on riding, see where my hand usually wants to be. Since I mostly ride on Ergopowers, I usually have my hands near or on the hoods with thumbs hooked on the hoods - can reach braking, shift lever, and thumb keys.
4. I like to keep my wrists neutral, hands aligned with forearms. For one thing I have a formerly broken right wrist that still can be sensitive, and well, it just feels right.

This usually ends up with the Ergopowers positioned so that a straightedge held on the bottom of the drop just touches the bottom of the brake lever. The top of the ramp is level or a little above, and the top of the bar is up to 2 cm below my saddle top.

I adjust reach by stem length then. I ride with hands on the hoods and after a few miles lighten my hand pressure and try to imagine where my hands ideally feel best and grasp the bar again. If my hands are on or near the hoods, good. If they are on the points of the Egos or on the handlebar ramps, I need a longer or shorter extension.

Several kind of bars tend to work well: randonneurs, Noodles, compacts, and Maes bends. They all have hook bends that my hands can fit well when I do go into the hooks.

Some that I don't like:

1. Cinelli Model 64 and similar; bend is too tight
2. Cinelli 66, too deep
3. Nitto B115 is too deep
4. Some radical "ergonomic" designs of the '80s.

Bring the proper tool(s) and do A LOT of trial and error! That is the best way!

+1 I go for the first ride or two with no tape, just some electrical to get the cables to behave. I bring all the wrenches, stem (both) and brake levers and make as may stops as I need to to dial things in. Then I tape the bars with cloth tape from the bar plugs toward the stem; cloth because I can then unwrap to the brakes, move them and re-wrap as many times as I need to.

I get a kick out of all the "rules" for setting bars and brake levers. I never have had brake levers where the ends were in line with the drops (the old "rule"). All the rotations of the bars and brake levers are to get my hands into positions where I do not suffer chronic injuries from out of the saddle climbing. (Adopting to not quite optimum positions riding the flat is no big deal for me, never slowed me down and didn't lead to injuries so I just don't sweat it.) As I grow older, the rotations of the brake levers and dropout flats is mattering more and I am finding I have to rotate everything forward and down to eliminate tingling and pain in my hands. On several bikes, the drops are past vertical with the brake hood parallel to the drops. It looks quite extreme, like something out of the 1950s, but it works. I get to come home with happy hands from hilly 100 mile fix gear rides.

Bring the wrenches, Don't settle until everything feels "just right". And keep your eyes open. You will change and "just right" will move. You may be looking at a different stem or different bars a year from now.

Ben