Four Reasons Dirt Drops Are BETTER Than You Think

My opinion on drop bars changed when I tried the Ritchey Beacon bars. Super wide, very large sweep, and a really shallow drop. It was an absolute game changer for me.

I just had a custom Sycip drop-bar mountain bike built up (I have a 37" inseam; 'factory' don't fit) and YES - I agree with all of your points. With a dropper, a 520mm Cowchipper bar, geometry designed for my oversized odd proportions, and good modern brakes and drivetrain it's a surprisingly capable whip.

I’m in the process of trying a wide drop bar on my “gravel” bike. It came with 42c handlebars which made it purely awful going down 3k+ downhills. So I converted to a flat bar and instantly had a better bike for my local big hills both up and down as well as through technical stuff when compared to drop bars. But I’ve had a nagging itch to try wide drop bars so I sprung for a 50c Ritchey Corralitos…wide with a rise, super short reach and a very shallow drop. Drops to tops feel automatic and the short reach in combination with the rise compensates for the width penalty so stem length change was not needed plus the whole combination provides a very balanced ride with good control compared to the narrower drops (not as good as the flat bars but still good plus I gain more comfortable hands positions on the long flattish roads). I’m have not convinced myself that the drops will stay, only time on the bike and more “testing” will tell.

I fully agree that being in the drops feels sketchy on steep technical terrain. My solution is to not do it. I feel way more stable and nimble on the hoods. Especially when unweighing the front end. My GRX brakes are plenty strong and easy to pull. I generally only need 1 finger on the brake lever so I have a good grip on the hoods. Probably not for everyone but it works for me. As a note, you don't see cyclocross riders in the drops on similar terrain.

When I built up my gravel bike a few years ago I used a frame from a 2008 xc bike. While the headtube isn't the slackest, the stack, wheelbase and front center length especially make it much more surefooted than a typical gravelbike was on high speed descends or when navigating rough sections. One thing I can't get along in terms of modern drop bar geometry is the large width in the hoods. Having narrow handlebars that flare out wide in the drops is the sweet spot for me.

the salsa cowchipper has just the right amount of short reach, drop and flare for me that makes technical terrain much easier to control, i would recommend at least 46cm wide and up if ur road bike goes at 42cm wide

My journey seems similar to yours. I really wanted to like the Ritchey Beacon drop bar on my Titanium Salsa Fargo. I got a proper bike fit and I stuck with it for two years. A few months ago, I decided to go back to my Jones H-bar. Even though I have no complaints about the Jones bar, I'm not so sure that I made the right decision.

I suspect that would be similar for many people if one can find the right bars and bike geo combo or put in the miles to gain the experience. Maybe I'm too old now and habituated to flat bars on dirt.

Even road bikes profited from dropper posts on descents, but weight penalty made them unpopular.