Originally Posted by
oldbobcat
And modern compact square handlebar bends put the levers about level with the top of the bar, resulting in slightly lowered handlebars.
And since Greg wrote his book, competitive riders have tended toward less saddle setback and shorter, lower reach. To that end, bike manufacturers have been making the seat tube angles steeper. How this works for non-racers with more normal physiques, though, is anybody's guess.
Handlebars have flattened out - which may mean that racers have had to lower them further, but mostly means that hoods and drops are higher for most people. Overall, brifters have changed the hoods from the third place for your hands to the only place anyone uses - might as well just install bullhorns.
I don't agree that seat tube angles are getting steeper. The "normal range" has always been between 74 and 72.5 from smaller bikes to larger, and the current Madone is mostly on that track. Some manufacturers have gone well beyond 74 to lie to consumers about their small/women's bike TT lengths, but that sort of nonsense has always been around on small bikes (Trek used to raise the BB height in the '80s). And many tight geometry bikes in the '80s used 74 STAs on even larger sizes - so I wouldn't say anything new is going on, unless you are referencing the bikes that have vertical, offset seatposts like the 3Ts.