AEO

no 31.8 quill stem, only threaded to threadless adapter + stem that does 31.8
only bars that still come in 26mm that I know of are deda, ritchey and nitto.

Tunnelrat81

Before replacing the bars, I'd definitely try raising the levers. You can unwrap and rewrap the same tape, or replace it for 10 bucks. Either way, you put the bars where you want the drops to be, and put the shifters where the hoods will work for you.

I've heard that aligning the bottom of the lever with the path of the bottom section of the drop is a good starting point. It looks like you may be a bit low, which is good news. And I'm sure you can go a bit higher even then that recommendation without causing reach problems to the levers while in the drops. But you'll just have to try it to know.

Definitely play with it first though. Play is free. It would be too bad if you jumped on some new bars and found that the same problem existed. The other possibility is that you install the levers on the new bars and locate them correctly and wrongfully assume that the problem was solved by the bars, when in reality Just setting up the levers correctly was responsible. Let us know what you find.

-Jeremy

Crash716

how do they work in the drops sprinting?....i am kinda in the same boat as you i think.

marqueemoon

Nitto 177 FTW.

Peek the Geek

Your brifters are positioned wrong. Listen to those who have suggested moving them upward.

You might find this diagram helpful, on page three of the PDF file on this section of FSA's web site: https://road.fullspeedahead.com/downl...dHandlebar.pdf

BikeGarage

Before getting new bars I would unwrap the ones you have and would try to move the shifters up/down and raise the bars. If you decide to get new bars I would recommend short drop bars. I personally like Ritchey Biomax.

Bob Dopolina 

Raise your levers! This is free and the first thing I would try.

The Deda 215 is the same exact bar as the Newton but it is 26 instead of 31.7. This will work with your quill stem.

The Deda bar is also specifically designed for Campagnolo. It will move the brake lever 13mm closer to the bar than a bar designed for Shimano. This would be the second thing I would try.

Did I mention stretching?

relyt

Another vote for the Ritchey Biomax, I love mine. They look a bit like the FSA drops that Surferbruce posted, but they have the ergo "bump" and the top is round, not wing-style. Also like Surferbruce, I am running about 1.5" of spacers.

One thing that I find about shallow drops is that the drop position is not that much lower than riding the hoods. The hoods put me higher up, slightly, and stretch my arms out a little more than the drops. This might be a good thing for you, depending on preference. If you want to get really low, you should stick with deeper drop bars.

kniprm

do not get new bars. just move the brifters up as many have stated. its a very simple job.

urodacus

raise the brifters up (an inch or so along the bars, so the transition from the bar to the top of the hoods is flat), and if that still doesn't help, try short and shallow bars (salsa) or similar shorter drop bars. narrow bar clamp might be a problem, rousseau.
PS hello from formosa. roger mellie's still on holiday, i see.

woodduck

I can't help myself but comment. Riding in the drops would be fine with that set up, going downhill it's fine to slide your hands up a little into the drops and reaching the brakes should be easy unless you have tiny tiny little hands.

Other than that, sprinting it shouldn't matter. Your hands shouldn't be right up in the drops (like holding joysticks?) and you don't want to dab the brakes either.

Campag4life

A balance and what many serious cyclists struggle with. At the end of the day you will make one position a bit more comfortable at the expense of the other.
For me, the hoods are more critical because I ride hoods to drops about 3 to 1.
That means bars rotated up and flat and ergolevers relatively high. Bar ends point at rear brake caliper or abouts. A more level lower bar is most comfortable in the drops but then I can't strike an optimum hood position. I have adjusted my set up endlessly and am happy with it. Merckx and Armstrong are/were notorious for tweaking their set up by as small as a mm. I too am hyper sensitive about my set up as many much less cyclists are. Trial and error and even playing around with different bar shapes, stem raise overall reach and you will find it. Perfection is a long and sometimes unobtainable journey but you will get close if you put forth the effort.

Crash716

i understand that...i was more talking about a forearms banging on the top part, however....some of us do shift when sprinting so there needs to be a give and take on things.

rousseau

You guys on this list are good. Damn good. And I hate you all for it!

You see, I had purposely neglected to mention in my original post that two weeks ago I had moved the shifters an inch down on the bars in my search for comfort in the drops. Just this moment I went out and moved the shifters back up to a standard/conventional position and then took the bike out for a test ride, and...voila. Feels great both on the hoods and in the drops.

So you may be wondering why I moved the shifters down the bars in the first place if it appears that my original position is the right one? Well, at that time my stem was about an inch lower, too. So it turns out that all I needed to do in the first place was raise my stem up an inch.

Speaking of comfort in the drops...

I'd originally thought that I should keep my hands positioned right up in the drops with my forefingers resting on the brake levers, but your post has set me straight. For some reason I wasn't aware that there are various hand positions in the drops, too. D'uh.

FormerBMX'er

Salsa Poco Bars...best advice I ever got from a fitter.

CAAD5AL

I wouldn't be afraid to move your shifters up a bit higher on the bar so you have a more lateral plane moving from the tops of the bars to the tops of the shifter. Contrary to popular advice, I haven't found that the rule of thumb of setting them so the bottom tip of the brake lever is even with the underside of the drops always works, especially with a relatively deep bar. Unless you have very small hands, you'll have no issue operating the shifter from the sweet spot of the drop even if you move them up.

Edit: Opps, should have read further. I didn't realize you'd already been told that a half a dozen times on the second page - sorry for being rendundant!

Longfemur

If you ask me, those drops should not be that much of a stretch compared to where your hoods are. Your problem is probably that your handlebars are just too low. You are Ok on the hoods because they are still within a reasonable reach at that height, but your drops are too low. You should try raising those bars with a riser stem.

3MTA3

truth is spoken through these hands.

Longfemur

I don't take you need new bars. I don't see how that would improve your situation at all. You probably just need your existing ones higher.

rousseau

And voila, here's the bike with the shifters in the correct position:

ZXiMan

Yes, best investment for me too....

I use both FSA K-Force Light and SL-K compact handlebars on both my bikes. Although it looks like the brifters could be moved up some. I just feel alot more comfortable with the compact drop.

Bob Dopolina 

Now try rotating the bars until the drops are parallel to the ground, or 5 degrees up, or so. A simple experiment that might help straighten your wrists when on the hoods. It may make the drops a bit more uncomfortable, though. But it is quick and easy to do and free.