Drops are they well.....right ?

[hamster]

I absolutely agree with mattr. If you never use the drops then firstly you are missing out, and secondly your setup is wrong. Probably a shorter / higher stem is the solution.

Sadly most shops set up with a slammed stem; fine for pros who are paid to be in pain and have to be fast at all cost; but far less fun for the rest of us!

Even my tourer has drops, and even when lugging panniers it's nice to be able to get low for bashing into the wind or swooping downhill.

 

[torqueless]

Re:

Well... Which Pros are we talking about? The stem of Mr. Moser upthread is not even close to being 'slammed'. On the contrary, it's probably close to minimum insertion?

 

[mattr]

Moser retired a while ago.

Many current pros are slammed.
Get a look at Connor Swift's bike, that's being splashed all over the cycling press at the moment.

 

[Woz]

Re:



I think at the Moser time not much was 'slammed'. He appears to have a stem with an angled drop though, and we can be sure he wasn't the kind of man into shallow drops and short reach.

Still to this day how someone can have a pursuit position on cobbles and in filth is legendary.

Back on topic though, I agree about bike fit. I imagine the last thing a LBS would want to do is change the bars these days and spend time recabling and taping.

 

[torqueless]

Re:

Ah well.. once we get to non-horizontal top 'tubes', A-headsets, 'anatomic' bars and brifters, I have literally lost my bearings. I have no idea what such a bike is supposed to look like..

 

[mattr]

There are a lot of reasons why mosers position looks like it does. And many reasons why Swifts looks like it does. Not least of which is the riders biomechanics.
But we also have the materials, engineering, ergonomics, aerodynamics and, of course, fashion. All that's changed. So has our understanding of it.

 

[Woz]

Re:

Interestingly Moser was a bit of a tech nerd and invested loads in the hour record etc. You look at him and think WTF, how can that be possible.

Sky invests loads too to squeeze every nanoWatt out of legs. You look at Froome and think WTF, how can that be possible.

Both unique styles, but only one is poetry spiced with anger in motion giving the impression of flow and not wrestling on the bike.

 

[hamster]

Re: Re:

Both unique styles, but only one is poetry spiced with anger in motion giving the impression of flow and not wrestling on the bike.

Quite! Froom always looks like he is being repeatedly zapped with a shock collar. Alex Zuelle always rode like that too.

 

[Stick Legs]

My modernised Wilier is possibly my most perfectly sized bike and the drops are useable as the saddle to bar drop is small. It is comfortable and pretty.
However the hoods are most used, and the joy of modern levers is the size of the hoods gives about 3 hand positions alone.

IMHO drops on a road bike are essential from an aesthetic viewpoint, but comfort wise what ever keeps you riding is best.