Road drops VS Track drops
 

I am currently riding Nitto road drops and they've served me well. However, when my check was more than expected I decided to buy some Nitto track drops. Im not going to lie, I got them because track drops are ****ing gorgeous and I wanted to try something new.

They haven't arrived in the mail yet.. but today I got to thinking. My saddle is raised a good 6" or so and I am wondering if the saddle to bar drop is going to kill me. I am pretty hunched already when using the drops on my road drops. However, I only use the drops when I am mashing up a hill or just trying to haul ass in general.

How practical are track drops on the street? Is it awkward using them if you're not soley using the drops? Just wondering if I should return em, get my $80 back and save the bread towards my wheelset..

What do you think?

My drop rides usually last 45kms and I'm in the drops maybe %30 of the time.

what stem do you have?

They arent practical for street use when compared to road drops but its style +10....

Right now I have some real ****ty, plastic no-name stem w/risers I picked up for $5. But I have a Thompson stem in the mail.. Not sure what model exactly (cos I ordered the stem/bars through my LBS) but it ran me $95. Yeah, I spend too much money..

Since you don't really ride in the drops, it really comes down to the slope of the tops. If your wrists are turned inward/down (even slightly) this can be uncomfortable for longer rides. The more natural position for your wrists would be straight or slightly outward (i.e. Nitto Noodle, Nitto Randonneur, Syntace Stratos). YMMV

Track drops suck for street, I had them on my bike for a short time. they just weren't bareable, even for my short commute to school. The hand positions sucked and I was usually riding the tops right at the stem.

I use road drops for street use.

in general, track bars will have a somewhat deeper drop and a much longer reach. i run brake levers for the added hand positions and, uh, to actuate a brake. i replaced deda road drops with deda pistas, purely for style points. went for one ~40mi ride and put the pistas on the block (where they still are, see sig)...

if i stayed on the tops, which i only do when climbing seated, they were pretty much the same. i actually preferred the slight angle of the pista tops. but on the hoods (where i spend the majority of my time), i was *way* stretched out. sure, a shorter stem would fix this, but then i'd be bunched up when on the tops. the deeper drop was not that significant for me, but the reach was an immediate deal breaker.

Track drops suck everywhere but the track. Don't even install them. Return then and upgrade your wheels.

It is nice to have one track drop that you like in your inventory. If you don't use it, it's pretty and you can make it a small room decorative piece. (I recommend chromed steel track drops for this because they luster after a good rub ... drool)

I ride with a track drop myself for the streets. It is totally street-worthy if you get the right fit. Getting this right fit could take forever and some money.

I know people ride really narrow track bars like 35cm even. Those are difficult to ride. You gotta get a right width; I think you need to opt for wider ones for streets. I m riding 42cm right now.

Keep a road drop in your inventory too. You can learn a lot by setting up position with the regular drops. You can use that know-how to work some new setup for track drop (or any other bar for that matter).

P.S. ... If you aren't sure, go find used ones. I wouldn't throw large money on things I don't know anything about.

Note:
Track Drops:
B123 Drop 175 Reach 95
B125 Drop 152 Reach 92
Deda Pista Drop 173 Reach 109

Road Drops:
B115 Drop 140 Reach 100
B177 (noodle) Drop 140 Reach 96
Deda Newton Drop 135 Reach 80

I gotta whole bunch more ... but I think you are safe to assume swapping to track drops means your drops gonna be lower. But reach data is all over the place.

i still maintain that it is impossible to have track drops that fit properly for hands on tops/hoods/drops. if you only ride in one position, no worries. there's no 'forever' mystery here...figure the dimensions and get what fits.

but there's also no flexibility...most road/street riders use multiple positions, and track drops are designed for just one...the drops.

I tried some modolo track drops on my gt gtb for a while and just din't like them. I switched to profile design bullhorns which i love. I saved the modolos and another quill stem so if and when I do go the the track the switch is easy.

I love road drop bars and ride in the drops frequently on my geared bikes, but track drops have a much different feel.

I highly recommend the Soma Major Taylor bars which have a track "look"....they are track drops after all. I use them on a conversion and have ridden 80+ miles comfortably as road drop bars. The drop is much more shallow and very practical for street use IMO. They're also like half the price of the Nitto's.

track drops aren't really meant to be ridden on the tops...
that's why they give you that huge flat section in the drops and a huge, sloping curve down to them.
they are, after all, track specific ;)

Aesthetically speaking, I think a classic bend deep(er) road drop is something of a compromise. Not track drops, but much classier than some of the ergo abominations out there, and allow yoo to run proper hoods. These are an inexpensive example.


I also prefer the shape, but that's a personal preference.

+1 for road drops, especially shallow and ergo drops.

Return them and put the $ towards a wheelset.

that's a shallow/italian bend.

the deep one is similar in shape to nitto 115, aka maes/belgian bend

Yeah, I was actually looking for a nice classic set myself, happened to see the link, and went back and added it. I think my suggestion applies to more or less any classic bend.

Nitto 115
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2592/...03e2d174_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2521/...c6fddd4b_o.jpg

Deda Speciale
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2678/...73d95915_b.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4003/...c8063866_b.jpg

with the deda shallow classic bars, it's really the lever choice that makes or breaks the hoods.

http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/a...Handlebars.jpg

i got road drops with 77mm reach and 123mm drop. i like the short reach and ease of hitting the levers from the drops but i wish they were a little deeper.

In the 80's, narrow road drops were popular. Cinelli Giro d'Italia bars in 38cm width would give a nice compromise between true track drops and today's 42 and greater width road bars. Enough to give you a decent hand position on top without being very wide.
http://images.andale.com/f2/115/106/...nelli_giro.jpg



Personally, I prefer traditional road drops with a 44cm width and brake hoods.

I def prefer the look of track drops, but they just don't make sense on the street, so I have a couple sets of compact/ergo road drops, both of which have a flat top wing that is really comfortable when you're not in the drops.

I have the Major Taylors and they were just not for me on the street... I've gone back to bullhorns... might give road drops a go as I just got my old pair back...

Nitto b125aa's are a good compromise between style and comfort. I rode b123s for a few days and didn't mind it that much for street use, but that's just me.

Cinelli 65's have always been my favourite compromise between road and track...especially in a 42 cm. Sweet lines, yes?

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