> On May 15, 2025, at 3:03 PM, George Schick <[email protected]> wrote: > > In my experience over the years one of the most perfectly designed road bars > made was the Ritchey BioMax Pro. It has very shallow drops and instead of > the drops having a continuous bend these have a "reverse bend" where the > outward curve is normally located. >
This is definitely a case of everyone having different needs and preferences! The most perfectly designed road bars, IMO, are the Nitto 177 Noodle, which Grant developed over a few iterations (175, 176, 177). One of the main benefits of drop bars is to allow a variety of positions, ranging from very upright to very low, for those who are lucky to be flexible enough to use that full range. The large-radius bend and slight rise upward in the upper bend make for a few hand positions at the top and a perfect place for the palm behind the brake lever. A very slight cant clears the drops of the tops, and I’ve never had any discomfort from flat drops that are angled so my wrists are neutral. The large amount of drop (not compared to standards of 50 years ago, but gigantic relative to what’s offered today) means that when I’m in the hooks with my forearms parallel to the ground, I’m as aero as I’m going to get, while the tops are even with the saddle and I can “play piano” up there (as I think Eddy Merckx described?). Ted Durant Milwaukee, WI USA -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/8941B95C-F9E4-4763-A1F1-ABD2DC751D69%40gmail.com.
