What's the appropriate range (conservative to aggressive fit) for the drop from saddle to hoods on a 56cm frame?

What's typical for someone who can just touch fingertips to toes?

:

But seriously...

Conservative = bars level with or above saddle.
Agressive = no spacers and -17D stem.
Typical = somewhere in between.

Typical:



Agressive:


Granted those aren't drops, but its akin to riding permanently in them

If the handlebar isn't almost rubbing the font tire, it's too high.

ride'n on my scrapper bike.

Reminds me... I really gotta update the pics on all my bikes...I don't even own a triple anymore.

Mark Cavendish's Bike:

Albertos TREK:

Albertos Specialized:

Tyler Farrar's Bike:

Wow, Farrar's bike looks pretty conservative. However I think its difficult to say just from the drop. Some folks have long arms and torso, other shorter.

This is my bike and to me its about as far as I can go at this point, Im not very flexible.

What's with the spacers under Farrar's stem? So not pro.

im starting to think it isnt his bike, but idk...its what came up when I googled it.

what my TK3 looked like before I wrecked it and ruin my body. now it has brakes.

Because riding a track sprint position on track geometry with no brakes on the road is a good indicator of where your bars should be in relation to your saddle. Hope you weren't hurt too bad man, lesson learned.

Not much in the way of serious answers. I'd say that 5-7cm drop is conservative and 9-12cm is agressive.

I use 9-11cm on a small 51cm frame.

I'm surprised by the degree of variation amongst the pro riders. Contador must be as flexible as a ballerina with a drop like that!

@DaveSSS, despite all the pretty pictures, this is what I was actually looking for. Thanks!

He does okay.

fixed.

Depends a whole lot on how fit your core is. What feels like an aggressive drop when I have a weak midsection feels downright cruiser bike comfy when my midsection is super strong from weight lifting and kettlebell workouts. Same bike, same person, same geometries, different ab and back strength = different definitions of aggressive and conservative.

After a long layoff due to a serious injury I had to flip the stem and add a stem riser to do my rides. My midsection just could not hold me at the previously perfect set up.

You shouldn't be. There is a wide variation of body proportions amongst the riders. All that matters is that you can get as aero as you require, and that the resulting positions provide the best power transfer. Some pros use a shorter drop because they prefer to reach further, which still gets their backs nice and low. Some like a heck of a lot of drop because they have long arms and/or don't like to bend their elbows as much. There are many reasons for each rider's specific fit, and more is not necessarily better.

A better consideration might be back angle, which is essentially what we're all aiming for.

I can touch my palms to the ground and have a short torso/very long legs - on my 56cm bike, the drop is around 130mm:



Just yesterday I flipped the stem as well. Did 40 miles in the new position and not sure if I'm going to keep it there or not. Drops are not as comfortable as they used to be.

V.

I just measured mine the other day at around 100mm with a -6* stem and three spacers. If I can only get this gut out of the way, I'll be able to get even lower but for now, I keep kneeing myself if I go any further.

Sounds about right for racing/fast club riding.

Much depends on the type of riding you do....race? "Fast" club rides? Purely recreational/fitness??

So the "real" answer, like so many others, is: IT DEPENDS!

(shouting intentional)