tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18899086.post6297843062750163313..comments2023-10-07T07:28:55.729-04:00Comments on Dave Moulton's Bike Blog: Handlebar DropDave Moultonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07556183205157714280noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18899086.post-43513278696383246002007-09-13T17:42:00.000-04:002007-09-13T17:42:00.000-04:00Your sizing recommendations seem too small to me. ...Your sizing recommendations seem too small to me. I am only 5'7" (170cm) tall with an inseam of maybe 31" or 32", yet I have ridden 54 or 55 cm frames all my adult life. Typically the seatpost will be at or near its maximum extension or I have to buy a longer one. My favourite racing bike has a 55 cm top tube and an 11.5 cm stem and I hate it when a bike comes equiped with a stem less than 10 cm.<BR/><BR/>If I rode a smaller frame, the stem would have to be unacceptably long and the handlebars would be too low. On most of the bikes I ride they are nonetheless three or more inches below the saddle, but I have come to the opinion that it is more comfortable to gain an aerodynamic crouch by increasing reach and keeping the handlebars high--almost level with the saddle--than it is to get the same effect by simply lowering the bars. I had a touring/cross bike that I had set up this way and it felt wonderful.Strung out cyclisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13801912743851280832noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18899086.post-81188095495047203162007-02-06T15:30:00.000-05:002007-02-06T15:30:00.000-05:00Your charts for both handlebar drop and frame sizi...Your charts for both handlebar drop and frame sizing seem to be just about spot on for what I've come to prefer riding after a year and a half.<br /><br />I've got a modern 52 x 53.7 (st x tt) sloping frame, and an older bike from '85 that is 51 x 51. The modern frame seems too long, even with a 90mm stem. The '85 bike is pretty much spot on but has a reach from saddle tip to bar tops that is nearly 3cm shorter than the modern bike.<br /><br />I run the same 4-5cm handlebar drop on both bikes but don't mind an extra 1cm drop (for 6cm) on the '85 bike.JBLhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15930929681465073733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18899086.post-41226611882555106772007-02-05T16:54:00.000-05:002007-02-05T16:54:00.000-05:00I don't really like a lot of drop on my personal r...I don't really like a lot of drop on my personal road racing bikes. A few cm at most. I am flexible and could certainly race with a bigger drop but, I spend a lot of time in the handlebar drops and find it really comfortable.<br /><br />I am in this 55cm top tube vortex! Most of the fancy carbon race bikes I sell in my shop either have a 54 or 56+cm top tube. I must choose a frame based on either a 120cm stem with too much drop or a 90cm stem with acceptable drop. The bigger bike has a taller headtube and my post will "show" a little less creating less drop.<br /><br />But, I default to the 54cm toptube bike and leave more headtube on the fork than I find aesthetically pleasing.<br /><br />The point? I dunno. I size people for "modern" frames starting with the tt. I'm going to print out your chart Dave and see if I come up with anything.Molly Cameronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13029897399904461384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18899086.post-42711519266238681582007-02-05T15:00:00.000-05:002007-02-05T15:00:00.000-05:00Nowadays, my bars and seat are almost level, with ...Nowadays, my bars and seat are almost level, with only a couple of cm drop on my road bikes. That's just me, though.Yokota Fritzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04808661100114872654noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18899086.post-63863558502966427302007-02-05T10:40:00.000-05:002007-02-05T10:40:00.000-05:00My setup is 10cm drop on 52cm frames, what I've us...My setup is 10cm drop on 52cm frames, what I've used for a long time. I remember just dropping quill stems as low as they can go since starting racing in '79. <br />I never thought about "drop", but the almost flat back position looked like the Europeans; and you felt like a racer. <br />It's something I got used to.<br />We didn't have studies to confirm whether it really was efficient, it just felt like it.VintageSpinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08730079500876575901noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18899086.post-54799340902311516662007-02-05T09:17:00.000-05:002007-02-05T09:17:00.000-05:00Most of my bikes are 20 years or older and I don't...Most of my bikes are 20 years or older and I don't have one of the new frames. Some of my bike friends have these frames and their drops are near the top of the head tube and/or have the multiple position stems. Obviously this raises and changes the position of the back. Either way, the issue of drop becomes a "sensitive" one and therefore gets frequent adjustments and analysis. It truly has become part of the "fitting" process which is well marketed.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com