Danger - contains gravel-related content. A question of handlebars.

[2manyoranges]

So…..a planned trip to the Jura in May. I have a Karate Monkey frame hanging in the workshop and will build this up for some distance riding. It will be a trip of long days in the saddle on fire roads and tracks rather than the manic downhill and singletrack stuff which I am used to. Bit of a return to roots, really. The thing is that I just don’t understand drops on gravel bikes. Even on the road I tend to be on the hoods, rather than low on the bars. And everyone I see on gravel bikes are also on the hoods. So why not flat bars? And if I put flat bars on, what is the bike? Is it still a gravel bike? It’s all very confusing. All help welcome.

 

[bikeworkshop]

Drops draw you into an efficient position, and the arm orientation allows more upper body muscle use and generally greater long distance comfort.

A wide flat or riser bar gives more control, but suits a more upright body, less efficient.

The flared drop bar implies greater control on the drops, but as you've noticed, you don't use the drops if the hoods are in the right place.
Additionally you're unlikely to want to pull yourself forward and down when the ground is tricky.

We sell quite a few wide, flared drops, against my advice.
Some push the STIs into a stupid angle.

The buyers often swap the bar after some long rides.

So if you're forest Road touring, a "wider than yr road bar" like 44 or 46 and a slightly shorter stem probably hits the nail.

A little more control, without getting discomfort.

You want Trailside Fashion though, 56cm bar with a 45⁰drop, maybe even a 20mm rise at the centre, on a 60mm stem

But fashion goes out of fashion...

 

[pwebb]

It is what you make it ( or choose to call it there is a 'gravel' thread on this forum with a very wide set of interpretations), modern gravel 'drops' include a wide variety of positions for you to hold either the bars or the brake hoods, probably a lot more options than a flat bar to be honest. Flared bars in particular give you a wide range of comfy options - on a rough or long tour , being able to constantly change the position of your hands will give you much needed relief and stop hands going numb IMHO. attached pics of my Surly with 'gravel' drops - (Sonder Bomber in this case) I also have a cross check with flat bars and that is much more 'upright' and has just 2 places to hang on to - maybe very secure for fast downhill but no more so than the ends of flared drops.

 

[markoc]

I have to say, I struggle with this as well. I'm not sure I've ever really ridden on the drops on my gravel bike. My body just doesn't work like that after 30 years of MTB. Hoods all the way...

I also struggle with the width of the bars - so used to something wide and twirly, but drops tend to be skinny and it feels my shoulders are pushed together.

It's almost as if there's a gap for the resurgence of a "fast road/trail MTB" - remember "commuters" that then became "hybrids". Marin were doing it way back in the early 90's with the Stinson. 700c wheels, a bit more of a "sit up" position but fast rolling.

 

[Tayside]

I went through the whole,should I get Jones bars,Kitchen sinks,Flats,flared drops... and all that.
I settled on a set of Farr (Aero)bars which have been most excellent.
The Aero part is debatable,as the position (for me) feels wrong,but it's good for hanging stuff off and they feel good offroad

 

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

A bike is whatever you use it for, definitions are meaningless if you only ride an mtb on the road for arguments sake.
I don't think you need to "understand" drop bars. Some like them, some don't. It sounds like you've answered your own question in the original post as to what you want.

 

[pwebb]

I went through the whole,should I get Jones bars,Kitchen sinks,Flats,flared drops... and all that.
I settled on a set of Farr (Aero)bars which have been most excellent.
The Aero part is debatable,as the position (for me) feels wrong,but it's good for hanging stuff off and they feel good offroad

afaik you can also get a bolt on farr aero bar so could experiment with this addition to regular flared bars or even flat bar. options/options. I would have loved having all these choices when I did very long distance touring in my youth - sadly just regular touring bike bars then albeit with 'new fangled' foam grips at the time I did get sore wrists and suffered from vibration numbness.

 

[Sm@alite]

The only reason I don't cut the bottom half of drops off is because it looks stupid . I like riding on the hood's . So wide drops give a greater variety of positions .
All humans are different . Trial and error is my way .

 

[pictonroad]

@bikeworkshop shop has drawn the same conclusion as my riding colleagues.

I'm part of loose collective of life long MTBers who foray into multi day gravel exploits. We've drifted about on various set ups but most have settled on shortish stem and wide but reasonably conventional looking drops with a slight flare. The choice of position does help, we end up using the hoods, tops and drops to keep flexible during the long days. You will appreciate the aero advantage over wider flat bars too.

Highly recommend my set up. Easton EA 70 carbon gravel bars (thank you chain reaction death sale) with gel pads under the tape

 

[Tayside]

afaik you can also get a bolt on farr aero bar so could experiment with this addition to regular flared bars

You can indeed, but the solid front loop doesn't add too much extra weight ,and (for me) has been very handy for hanging all sorts of nonsense on I have also found on big gravel/forest roads,the wide flares added a bit of bounce,which took away some of the trail buzz. It did take me a while (offroad) to get relaxed on the drops at speed,but I had the advantage of having a long section on my commute to mess about on.