Track drops on street, for looks and forget comfort?
 

Obviously nice deep track drops look awesome on a fixed bike, but then comes the comfort issue. Right now I have the standard nitto road drops which are great, but I would like to experience some track drops, yes I am becoming smug and thinking look over comfort. I was looking at the nitto123's and I think they are to dramatic for street, but what track drop is, the b125's look a little bit in the comfort zone. So the basic answer is it's stupid to ride track drops on the street, but for those who do ride track drops on the street, do you enjoy it?

Track drops can be comfortable. I rode alloy 123s and enjoyed them fine. i wrapped them the whole way up, though and used the tops 80% of the time. I prefer bullhorns for climbing and think they look just as cool.

Yeah bullhorns are great for climbing. I rode bullhorns for awhile but switched to drops, I actually find climbing in the drops to be very powerful as well. Lately I just like to ride in the drops.

i ride around my city a lot, which is mostly flat so i hardly use drops, no areas are long enough for me to really dig into them.


for my road bike on long hauls down the LA river i use the drops but for my inner city commuting i like my bullhorns, i can get aggressive in them and i can just cruise

I ride B123s in the city and don't think they're uncomfortable at all. I don't ride in the drops all the time, we don't have any really long areas where it makes sense, and I think its a little bit awkward to climb with them, especially if you get really narrow ones, but I actually find them more comfortable than my road drops, and they're about equal with my bullhorns, although I think the bullhorns are more functional for city riding.

I ride a set of deda track drops fully wrapped and I find I ride the tops of them about 90% of the time. Its not totally uncomfortable in the drops, but it looks kinda dumb and a little pointless when you're just commuting around town. They are highly sexual though.

I switch between deda track drops and a set of bullhorns and I find the horns infinitely more useful on a daily basis.

wtf?

I prefer either bullhorns or rando bars with cane creek levers.

After doing a bit of Velospace research...

I'd recommend going with either road drops or bullhorns. Track drops don't actually look cooler.

Road bar: http://www.jensonusa.com/product/hb/...________42.jpg

Track bar: http://www.kookiebikes.com/store/images/P/B125AA.jpg

Basically you are going from 3 hand positions to one from road to track. One useful anyways.

It also depends on the individual bar. Some track drops have a wider/flatter top section and some curve down right next to the stem.

Thanks, that was helpful. :beer:

Road drops are typically wider and flatter and have top, side and drop hand positions. Top flat and around the bend is comfy on long rides:
http://store.airbomb.com/mmAirbomb/I...e/q/hb1026.jpg

Track drops have minimal top, no comfortable side but a great drop hand position. I can ride in the top/center OK:
http://store.airbomb.com/mmAIRBOMB/I...e/q/HB1016.jpg

Wrap 'em all the way up. I use them every day and love them.

Something about the Nitto Track B123's just calls to me. I know I'll only be using the top for the majority of the time, but damn if it don't set the bike off. I've been debating whether to get the Nitto Pursuits, or the 123's..... maybe I should get both. DAMN YOU AESTHETICS!

short pursuit bars are where its at:

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_cQqeYvj8iq0/SR.../andy-bike.jpg

Don't know if I've seen the short ones

I like Nitto B123AA's in the city, but I get sick of them after awhile. I think they beat out bullhorns for balls-to-the-wall flat sprinting and seated accelerations (I like to pull hard against the bars when I do those), but other than that bullhorns win out in most other departments (comfort, climbing, multiple hand positions, in traffic, cornering when not in the drops).

When I really think about it, I like drops the most when I have a bigger gear and am sticking to the flats, horns when the ratio is more spinny and I'll be climbing.

maybe "normal" sized horns with drop paired to 70mm-90mm stems?

the trouble i have with switching from drops to bullhorns: changing stem length to keep optimal hand positions is a *****. your drop position on most track bars has roughly equal reach to the top/shoulder position, vs. bullhorns that are farther forward. i like sprinting in the drops when there's a longer stem, but hate cruising or general riding without a not-stretched-out option.

this doesn't preclude me from using track bars, but swapping bars is not as simple as just popping your faceplate if you keep your bike fit in mind.

so isn't difference between road and track drops are the straight area on the top of the bars in road drops, and that area is curved on track drops? If so I have been using track drops for a while and i really like it.

I used to use bullhorns but I didn't like that I couldn't crouch down (to avoid wind resistance) when i was going fast. With drops, I just go into drops and the wind I hear is less. Also I like to go into the drops when im climbing. I find having my hands as fists parallel alongside the frame make it a good hand position for leverage when climbing.

With track drops, I like them better than road because I usually ride with my wrists pointing forwards holding the top of the bar from the back. Since that's my preferred hand position, the curve of the track drops is more natural than sharp curve of road drops. Also I like my hands to be near the stem when I ride, and the curve of track drops start from the center, so I prefer track drops to road.

Comparing road and track drops I dont think there is much difference in comfort. Does look alot better tho. Track drops prob cost and weigh more too tho.

bullhorns + track drops = road drops with hoods. in terms of function, road drops with hoods is one of the best.

i never understood people who ride the tops of track drops 90% of the time. because of the curve, you end up riding with your hands by the stem....and that just sucks. bike aesthetics is all personal preference; but when i see someone with untaped track drops on the street, the first thing i think is mindless trendjumper.

i like riding deda pista bars daily

Its what I ride, mine covered all the way to the top. IDK why anyone thinks you can't climb on track drops or that you only have one good hand position when I happen to get 3 just like a normal road drop. I guess its mostly how you position the bar since most people I see mount them with the drops parallel to the ground.

keep in mind torso length and arm length are going to effect this a lot too. on my last bike, it was a non-issue.