Originally Posted by Road Fan
Originally Posted by fastturtle
Personnally I am not clear yet how "aggressive" a position I prefer. I have ridden quite a few centuries on bikes where the handlebars were a few cm lower than the saddle, a setup I would qualify as "rather aggressive".
One advantage of these highish bars is that I can ride on the drops without feeling too cramped.
I find my hands have a certain height they like to be at. If my bars are too high I tend to try ot press down, adding to the pressure. If I lower the bars just a bit, the pressure is greatly relaxed.
You might not like having the bars higher than you are used to.
When I did my first brevet series last year, it was on a Trek 520 that was a little small for me. As a result, I had the saddle a few cm's higher than my handlebars, and it felt ok. I had some nerve issues w/ my left hand on longish rides with rough roads, but I found that being conscientious about shifting my hand positions usually relieved this. I also felt rather cramped in the drops.
My current brevet bike has the handlebars and saddle at about the same level, and I found that the pressure on my hands was greatly relieved, and the nerve issues in my hands have become a complete non-factor. Riding in the drops has also become much more comfortable.
The only niggling thing about the raised handlebars is that it makes me feel more upright and less aerodynamic, but I suspect that's more of a psychological bugbear than anything else.