How much saddle to bar drop does you set have? Do you have road bikes where it's different from one to another?

No, I keep the drop constant on all my road bikes, about 5 cm.

5 inches is comfortable for me.

I have a feeling that I can post, "that's what she said" for nearly every response to come for that question.


My Ti bike is about 3", which an an "endurance" frame. The race frame I'm ordering will allow for about 5".

4.5 cm

I asked because I read a thread today that stated his drop, which I thought sounded pretty level but I'm closer to lever than I would have estimated. I measured mine after I started this thread, with a 120MM x 10 degree stem I'm at 85MM (3.3").

Shorter rider = shorter drop.

Taller rider = taller drop.

It's proportional. A short rider can't fold himself over for a 7" drop. There's just not enough room, geometrically, for it to happen.

Yep. I have one road bike that's set up for faster but shorter riding, and another with less drop for long distances. I haven't measured them in a while, though. I tweak them by feel, and often make adjustments throughout the year as my flexibility improves. (Or doesn't, over the winter.)

I prefer to measure mine heading downhill.

It's 5" on my road bikes. I just got a new endurance style and it's about 3.5 inches.

A mechanic at my LBS many years ago looked at my 135mm 20deg rise stem and asked "why do you have your handlebars so upright?". I replied "yes they are high, but my saddle is 4.5 inches higher than that!"

As you get older many things drop, but your bars get a little higher.

Never measured it.

Au contraire!

You have some really cool bikes, I love that purple trike too. How old is this BMC? I tried to buy a couple of BMC framesets but never got one.

I don't know what it is about BMCs but I'll never get tired of looking at them

No absolutes....I am tallish..very little drop.

OP...there is a reason why the endurance genre of road bikes was invented and dramatically outsells more slammed racing bikes seen on TV raced in pro tour events. Those guys have the agility of a gymnast and can ride slammed all day and the average guy (me) can't. Some guys here can ride slammed but even that you have to take with a grain of salt. Of all the guys I ride with, very few use the drops frequently. Why? Because their body flexibility doesn't match the bike. They want to set their bikes up to look racy but they can't ride comfortably in the drops for miles.

I can set my bike up with big drop and never use the drops also. But this common trend is a waste to be such a slave to vanity as it turns out as variety of hand positions is what makes drop bar riding so great.

OP...you need to let your body dictate what your best bar height is...not some fashion dictated by a guy who doesn't know that they are doing. Some FWIW prefer their handlebar height 'above' the saddle with a drop bar bike. Depends on your fitness, flexibility and even the length of your rides...touring say versus crit racing where a lower more aggressive bar position will be rewarded.

The single biggest detractor of choosing a drop bar bike over a dutch style bike isn't about gearing or even tire width, its about the bodies' conformance to handlebar height and to a lessor degree reach. That is what made the English racer famous...only 3 speeds and uber narrow tires and lightish frame for a fast bike but a bike you didn't have bend over so far to ride. A low handlebar makes a bicycle uncomfortable for many and even why many choose a mtb today when they would be better served on a dropbar bike with higher positioned handlebar.


My Specialized Roubaix below:

Which do you prefer Stan?

My bikes are all different, and the saddle to bar drop is just part of the equation. They're designed for different sorts of rides. I don't know how it's conventionally measured, but another thing to consider is the depth of the drops themselves.
The Casati has a 6 cm drop from seat to tops, with 13 cm between a point directly below and the center of the tops. This is the sportive and riding around indifferent roads all day long bike.
The Propel has an 8 cm drop from seat to tops, but with 1 cm shallower drops. This is the race bike.
The Vigorelli has a 9 cm drop and much deeper drops (19 cm ). This is the fun experiment, maybe I'll go to the track some day bike. I really enjoy the deeper drop on this bike, but the longest ride I've taken it on was only a couple of hours, including snack time, photo ops, etc.. I only stay in the drops for a couple of minutes at a time, and it's not so comfortable for sustained riding or descending (especially since the only hand brake is on the top) but it feels fantastic when I manage to get it up to speed and sprint or cruise along at FTP.

62 cm Domane 4.3

1 cm of drop from top to top.
13 cm 6° stem
61.5 cm saddle tip to bar center next to stem.
10 cm saddle tip set back from bb center.
82 cm saddle height.

I'm 6'4"/lean 215/34" waist and flexible enough to ride lower. I'm not a racer and this position suits me well.
I ride for fitness and pleasure from 10 miles to up to 70 miles with varying levels of intensity depending on my purpose.
On longer rides my lower back starts to get stiff and I'd probably be better off flipping the stem up.

2 1/2 inches. Any lower then it's too low in the drops for me and I don't like how it steers.

I found after a month on the endurance bike with 3.5" drop, it's much more comfortable. My neck and shoulders don't feel tight afterwards as well.

It also has 28 tires so I can't rule out the added width plus lower pressure as a comfort factor as well.

Nice comfortable fit for a big guy like you. In fact, looking at the bike and the specs of fit you arrived at, I am essentially a scaled down replicate of your fit on my size 58 Roubaix at 6'1".
Comfort geometries after decades of riding slammed racing bikes, live up to their name...a big difference in comfort and honestly no give up in speed I can detect when riding in the drops.

5" drop on your other bikes is trending into pro race drop territory so no doubt that 1.5" makes a big difference...in spite of wider tires you mention. Lance Armstrong had a pretty successful career...a subject of some controversy riding no more than 3" drop or so....him on a 58cm Trek...a tall and long bike for someone 5'10"...really closer to 5'9".