Originally Posted by
phile
when i bought the bike i tried the next size up and it was definitely too big, that said earlier comment about drop bars being smaller was something i was honestly thinking about. I kept wondering if i was going crazy thinking mine seemed smaller than other similar sized bikes
A 40-42mm ‘compact’ ergo drop bar seems to be the default for most bikes since the mid-1990s. ‘Traditional’ drop bars, from the pre-brifter era have longer ramps and deeper drops, since riding ‘on the hoods’ wasn’t as much of a thing with old-school brake levers.
Another option to try would be a wider modern bar, like a 44mm. I find that a wide, shallow flared ‘gravel’ bar, the Salsa Cowchipper works the best for the way I fit on my bikes.
Which brings us to the final point; that bike fit is a very subjective thing, everyone has different physiology, and we’re not all riding the same bike, so there’s no ‘one’ solution.