spectastic

I noticed that almost all gravel racing pictures I've seen features a rider in the hoods. are there any scenarios where the drops are preferred? I'm building a commuter/cross/touring/gravel do it all bike with the pictured setup (except mine looks a little better). Would this setup work very well for cross/gravel riding and/or racing?

e771d3a1b954ee1dfcd5c743d5fea634--push-bikes-bar.jpg

"Fred"

Depends, in gravel races I am in the drops 80%-90% of the time. casual riding less than 10% unless its a headwind. most my gravel training rides are around 40%-50%

shelbyfv

I'm generally in the drops going downhill. You don't want your hands flying off the bars when you hit a rough patch.

mstateglfr 

My drop bars are made for the drops to be where your hands are most often. With that said, its probably 30% drops and 70% on the hoods/ramps/tops.

There is no right or wrong way in all this.

OneIsAllYouNeed

My drop bars are positioned such that my most aero position is in the hoods (with forearms flat). I only use the drops about 10% of the time -- mostly for descending and cornering. On long bumpy descents, the hooks are the place to be.

ATPAH

I'm almost entirely on the hoods, although I'm giving thought to getting more of a riser stem and a flared bar, so I can utilize the drops more often in the rough bits. It will take me a while to figure out the right amount of rise such that the hoods remain a useful position, but I can't see a reason not to do this.

Spoonrobot 

Downhill or rough sections - 100%
In a group - 100%
Just riding along/racing by myself - probably 30% or less

That set-up looks like a poor choice for any of the activities you listed. Bullhorns are great for very specific uses but otherwise flat bars or drops are the best for general purpose bikes, IMO.

mihlbach

If you mostly find your self riding at an easy pace (which is totally fine) you may not find drops to be that useful or comfortable. But if you like to wind it up, they offer better aerodynamics, stability, and control than any other position available on a traditional road-style handlebar setup with hoods.

On road or gravel I use drops for downhills, headwinds, when standing to climb short hills, and all other times involving speed and/or big efforts.

I don't do much fast group riding, but when I do, I am in the drops virtually all the time.

When riding singletrack with a gravel or CX style bike, I use drops for everything except slow extended climbs. The aero benefits aren't that important here but they give you more stability, power, and control over the hoods and flats.

Even on easy rides, when I may only use the drops 5-10% of the time, they are still worth having IMO. Its nice to occasionally use them to stretch your back if for no other reason.

Seattle Forrest

The drops are the most comfortable position on my bike, so a lot of the time. Maybe 60 %.

chas58

That is rather a personal question! ;-)

people with flat bar bikes are never in the drops, nor are the many people who set their drops so low that they are uncomfortable.

I'm in the drops when I am on a fast group ride, or difficult/technical section. In a short hard workout, most of the time I'm down - if it is a longer ride at an endurance pace, not so much.

Buillhorns are fine. They work great on fixed gear as standing up helps a lot with acceleration and braking on those bikes. Even so, you are right - for many people they are just as useful as drops - for many people rarely use the drops.

bcpriess

I find I'm in the drops at least half the time. My bars are generally set up with bar end shifters, which encourage me to stay in the drops, but I also tend to have my bars up a bit higher - the flats are an inch above my saddle and the drops are 3inches below - which makes the drops pretty comfortable all around.

Flamme Rouge

This.

If you're not comfortable in the drops then you might want to work on your flexibility or check your bike fit. Or both.

BluesDawg

I'm in the drops maybe 20% of the time. Mostly riding into a strong headwind, on fast descents and any time the going is very rough or technical or I need to be as aerodynamic as possible. Due to spinal issues in my neck, I cannot move my head up enough to see well from the drops for an extended time even though my bars are placed high enough to be otherwise comfortable.

Now that I am running SRAM HRD levers, my hands are very secure on the hoods in more situations than with other levers I have used. The bullhorns in the original post look like it would be very easy to have your hands slip forward on a rough descent.

rgr555

5-10 % of the time against head wind or downhill

I need more practice on it I guess.

Pompiere

Same here. I have taller stems on my bikes, so the drops are just a bit lower than the saddle, the tops are slightly above. I find the palms inward, handshake position to be most comfortable for long periods on the bike.

spectastic

the head tube on the frame I'm buliding up is pretty small, meaning I can probably configure the bull horns to be low enough to be like drops

Sullalto

Or lose some weight. I don't find drops as comfortable when I've got a bigger belly.

I suppose you could roll that into flexibility, though.

rm -rf

The drops spread the load on my hands. It's way better on rough roads or on gravel. More secure, too.
So I have the bars high enough that the drops are just another hand position, very comfortable. Shallow drop bars are good for this.

I used to just use the drops for extremes -- fast downhills, strong headwinds, all-out sprints. Raising the bars just a little, and fine tuning my bike fit made all the difference.

practical

I think this is a great question and I have wondered myself why cross bikes don't have mountain bike (flat) bars. I have ridden my mountain bike on gravel roads and can't imagine doing it with drop bars.

Sullalto

Not a common problem, but with gimpy arms/wrists/hands from carpal tunnel and tendinitis problems, I absolutely need to vary my hand positions for any ride longer than 60 minutes. Flat bars for any length of time sound horrid, as appealing as MTB'ing is to me.

Richard8655

Rarely on drops and almost always on hoods. Drops only on sharp uphill stretches for body leverage. Otherwise more comfortable upright back position on hoods at other times.

This is an excellent point. But I think drop bars give more hand position choices, leading to more comfortable options.

redlude97

what do you expect flat bars to give you on gravel when turning is initiated by leaning and countersteering?

practical

I feel I have better stability and balance with a flat bar. I don't race. Gravel and dirt roads can have challenging surfaces like a mountain bike trail.

79pmooney

I rode 100 miles yesterday, probably 60% in the drops. I can get a little more aero on the hoods but the drops are all day comfortable and I never have to worry about that rick I didn't see knocking my hands off.

On the gravel roads around here, the downhills are steep, so much so that going slow isn't an option. Those downhills bottom out with washboard that will have you hoping your frame and wheels are up to it. The drops are the only place I will put my hands!

"commuter/cross/touring/gravel" - for long hours on a bike, having multiple and positions with different reaches can be a valuable asset. The picture you show has on the levers for maximum reach and 4" behind that, the tops. All at the same level of drop. Not much choice. After 5 hours of riding your back is going to be begging you to do something else if you are anything like me.

Ben

redlude97

Then why would you want a cross bike for that application and not just a carbon fork hard tailed mountain bike? Drops on a cross bike are just as stable as a flat bar hand position if not more. Just look at old school mountain bikes with dirt drops.