HTupolev

I didn't say it doesn't matter, I said it doesn't tell you much by itself.

chas58

By itself, it tells me how fast and aggressive a rider wants to ride, and to some degree how flexible they are. It’s one of 3 contact points I have on my bike.

Or just personally, it describes my intentions for the day. With a quill stem, I can set the height I want in about 30 seconds. If I’m doing a short and fast commute, it might be 4cm below my saddle. (in a race about 5-6cm lower). If is a full day (or multi-day) ride, it’s going to be about even with my saddle. It tells me my speed vs my duration (comfort) requirement.

Below 15mph, rider position (or aero in general) doesn’t make too much difference. But the effect goes up exponentially – over 15 it quickly becomes the main thing slowing me down.

That is what it tells me by itself…

HTupolev

Which of these riders wants to ride faster and more aggressively, and which one is more flexible?



Aero usually becomes the largest drag force on a bicycle by some point in the low teens; that doesn't necessarily mean it's worth it to get into an aero tuck, but it definitely has an impact. If you ran some pacelining versus non-pacelining tests at 14mph with a power meter, you'd see a tangible difference.

chas58

below 15 I'm sitting up (unless there is a head wind). somewhere between 15-20+ I'm in the drops

thehammerdog

That is like some amazing CGI graphics.......love it.
Add some cool wind like flows to really show speed

Clem von Jones

17cm bar drop, not because it's more aero but because it's more comfortable.

Kapusta

Smaller wheel in front = always going down hill!!

Kapusta

I run my hoods about level or maybe 10mm lower than my saddle.

Breako21

Yeah, that was his point if you could actually read with comprehension. 😆😆😆

shoota 

Which I acknowledged, if you could read. Thanks for the zombie thread bump though, super helpful and insightful comment.

wolfchild

The flat part of my drop bar handlebars is 1 inch above the saddle.

msu2001la

8.5cm drop on my SuperX, after a bike fitting in March:

DarKris

I use little to none. I like having not too much drop so I can ride in the drops for an extended period

Badger6

2-3, I've never measured it. Less than my road bikes and more than my XC rig.

Simonix

Been and checked mine. It looks completely level.

my SS which I use for around town on road is more like 8cm for comparison.

Rolla

2.5 cm drop on both road and gravel bike. With every passing year, I want less.

csrpenfab

About 3” on my Niner. Bike fits well and I’m comfortable. 6’ tall with 32” inseam, Frame size is 56cm.

msu2001la

I'd be curious to see photos of people's bikes with level saddle/bar setups. Looking at the photo of my Cannondale and the Niner posted above, both look like fairly standard setups and would need an insane amount of spacers to raise the bars up to be level with the seat. Are you all on larger frames, maybe? Or running lower seat heights? When my bike was new the steerer tube was a bit longer, but even if I had left it long with maximum spacers, it would've only added a 1-2cm at most.

My Cannondale SuperX is a 54cm. I'm 5'-9" and had a professional fitting done on that bike. The saddle height, angle and fore/aft position were set based on my leg position on the cranks. I have an 8.5cm drop right now and I'm not sure it would even be possible to get the bars up to level. I don't think my bike setup is all that aggressive- it's a CX race bike but I frequently do 3+hr rides mostly in the drops and find it very comfortable.

Simonix

I’m still a forum newbie so can’t post photos yet. However I will do soon, once access is granted to show my “more or less” level setup.

it’s worth noting that my bike is the Diverge, which is known to have a lower bb height than most. I guess this then allows the saddle to be set lower as well? Also, the frame geo is quite mountain bike-esque. The top tube slants up to front quite a bit. I also have the specialized hover bars which add 15mm of rise along with about an inch of headset spacers.

I’m 6’3” with 34” inseam on a 58cm frame.

Rolla

Some bikes have longer head tubes than others.

franswa

Mine is pretty much level on a fairly small frame.

jayp410

I am also 6'3" with 34" inseam. As there are not many people of our size, you might find this interesting. My bike is 59cm, middle of bottom bracket to top of saddle (along seat tube centerline) is 82cm, tip of saddle to middle of bars (stem crack) is 56cm, saddle-to-bar drop is 9.5 cm. I'm happy with the way it fits and rides, but of course everyone is different. Also, the Specialized Diverge is a little different. I strongly considered getting a Diverge, and if they had any in stock I might have ordered one, but ended up building this bike up from parts instead.

Simonix

Wow, that looks much more aggressive than my set up. I doubt I have enough flexibility to get down low enough if it were my bike?! Haha.

I’m away at the moment, but will have to do some more measurements on mine after reading yours. Thanks.

DorkDisk

The older I get, the higher my bars go. 47mm drop, almost level



My setup from when I was about 18 years old, about 6". I can still ride this, and do.



My newest fit, several decades later



47mm drop again. I use the drops quite a bit now

jayp410

It does look aggressive but I'm riding about 90% of the time with my hands resting on the bar tops or hoods, and have a fairly long torso / monkey arms.

Most of the gravel rides I'm doing are steep and/or rocky rather than fast. If I rode a lot in the drops, it would make more sense to raise the bars up...otherwise it would likely hurt my back.