let me get this correct, when you say you don't use the flat part of the drops, that means the curved part near the shifter (on anatomic/ergonomic bars)? or the part that sprinters hold during a sprint (near the bar end plug)? I usually use the curved part during a descent or when i am hammering on a flat.

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I think it must depend upon your hand size. I have Kestrel EMS Pro and have never been quite comfy with them when riding on the drops. I have a smaller hand size for a 44mm bar and the reach to the brake from the drop isn't quite right particularly since I prefer my brakes a bit higher ala Lance style. I'm investigating this myself and would also like to hear some opinions as to comfortable drop bars.

I don't use the part on the bars that's closest to the word "anatomic" in the picture above, in other words I use the back end of the drops or the brake hoods or top of the bars, but I don't use the flattened "anatomic" part... does that make sense?

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http://irondad06.blogspot.com/

http://irondad.blogspot.com/

got it, that's the part I use solely for attacking (or hauling ass) and descending. I would go to the LBS and grab hold of all of the bars. you'll quickly find which ones work, and which ones don't.

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I have a FSA K-wing and think its most comfortable bars I've ridden, don't know about more or less aero then round.

It's a bit strange - many of the European pros use the old style curved road bars with a shallow drop, but many new road bikes are spec'd with deeper drop anatomic bars - just an observation that I have made.

My current road bar is the Ritchey BioMax II. This is a radically shapped, anatomic road bar, with a very shallow drop. It's Tom Ritchey's favourite road bar that he has on most of his road bikes, I am told. The key for me is the shallow drop. I was a bit skeptical of the anatomic pistol grip shape of the drops but I have really grown to like it. The tops sweep back by six degrees and there is a slight rise of the bars towards the ends and flaring out of the drops. It was designed as "touring" road bar, but ironically looks like many of the new funky carbon high end road bars - all for $65!!

Fleck

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

Do it. Good thinking.

I use Easton pro bends and love em......

The shallower drop rocks...which means a more "aero" hood position w/o screwing up my drop position.

I just went through this whole debate. I am about to mount up Easton EA70 bars. Shallow drop is a no-brainer... makes it so your hoods aren't sky high if the drops are usable at all. The Biomax II are the shallowest out there by about 1cm. But the tops looked a little funky, so I went Easton.

As for the classic vs. anatomical, I prefer the anatomical. It is a bear to ride the brakes from the curved section on the drops. My hands creep down toward the flat part all the time. Annoying. The anatomic shape reduces that.

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I use the Easton Equipe Pro, shallow drop, regular curve. I have tried different "anatomic bends" from different manufacturers and much prefer the regular round curve as the anatomic grips put my smaller hands too far from the brakes. Shallow drop is nice as you can run the bar position low and get good aerodynamics riding on the hoods, the drops are only for descending and sprinting I stay in them most of the time in crits, but that is about it.

With the shallow drop you can also get rid of those damn spacers!

KR

I have a Deda Newton Classic Bend (or Italian bend on their website) on my fixie and really like it, mainly b/c the drop doesn't have the ergo bends and fits my hand very well (prefer to ride the drops right near the end of the bar). I have a FSA RD-200 on my road bike to accomodate the D/A shifters and give a flatter top, and while that is nicer, the end of the bar is a little too short to fit my full hand, so it overlaps the ergo bend a bit. Unfortunately FSA doesn't make the DA friendly bars in aluminum with a classic or Belgian drop, only in carbon. Same with Deda, the new Supernatural only comes in ergo bend.

End of the day, if I had to choose, I would choose classic, and am starting to consider Belgian. I'm tall, so have bigger hands, so like everything else, you need to pay attention to the personal fit. Unfortunately most shops and manufacturers use ergo as stock. My one shop said no one ever asks, to which I replied, you never give them the option to try and compare. You may just have to order and try and see if they'll let you return. I have a good situation with my shop and they let me do that.

I went through a similar thought process early this season. I tried the 3TTT bars that came stock on my Cervelo, and didn't like them particularly. I changed to Stella Azzurra Brianza bars (another anatomic) for about 6 weeks. They didn't offer enough space below the anatomic section, and like you I basically used the flat portion, the hoods, and the tops, but never the "anatomic" area the designers envisioned.

I changed to Deda Newton Deep bars. I love them! ComeptitveCyclist has a good deal ($80) for any of the Deda Newton bars, which makes it a pretty good price to make the experiment worth it. I was looking for a classic drop where I could set up the drops and the hoods parallel to the ground, or as close as that can get. I considered Ritchey Classics, and both shallow and deep drop Dedas. I chose deeps - but I'm sure the shallows would have been fine, they'd just be set up a little differently. The reach to the brake/shift levers is a little longer than with anatomic bars, but it's MUCH more comfortable to ride in the drops. It's still a long way down, but it feels very dialed in now. The hoods are a little closer now, which is also good comfort-wise. No regrets!

I can take pictures on Monday if you like.