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| From Dylan Johnson's Face Book post. |
One of the most commonly referred to examples of drop bar MTB use in the past is John Tomac. He did use a drop bar fitted to a standard, for his day, mountain bike in the 1990 season while racing for the Yeti brand. John won the first event he used a drop bar Yeti for and continued to use a drop bar Yeti C-26 bike throughout the 1990 season.
While it is widely known Tomac did this, it is not widely understood why he did use the drop bar. A quote from him, found online, is illuminating and may kind of douse some of the reasoning people like to use when they refer to Tomac's use of a drop bar MTB. He said, " I ran the drop bars so that I could keep the same position as I had on my road bike." Tomac had spent the previous season racing for the 7-11 road team, and his form was developed on a drop bar road bike, so the reasoning was to keep his form on the road and transfer it over to MTB, which he felt was predicated on his position on the bike.
It wasn't necessarily because he felt drop bars were an advantage over flat bars, and Tomac did eventually return to flat bars after his dalliance with drop bar MTB usage for the remainder of his storied career.
So, to my mind, Tomac is not a very good example for drop bar MTB usage. But drop bar MTB use today is on the rise and it isn't "fashion" or a way to preserve a road fitness/positioning. There is data out there showing the advantages. A Face Book post recently by Dylan Johnson claims this new data and a top placing last year by a racer using such a set up is pushing more top riders into seriously considering a drop bar MTB for the event.
Is this just a Leadville thing, or will we start seeing this appear at more events outside of the high-altitude, mountain event? What would this sort of thing do for gravel events where having "real suspension" performance prove to be an advantage? It is an interesting development, wherever this trend ends up going and worth keeping an eye on.
16 comments:
I find this interesting. I recall participating in several Leadville 100's years ago and there would be an occasional drop bar MTB. I recall one pro rider was making waves in the mid-2000's riding a drop bar MTB at the 100. I remember this well as it was the talk of the event and the eyebrows it raised. The 100 route has changed so much over the years. I would say the early days, the route was more of a MTB type course, large rocks to navigate and loose steep climbs and descents. The route today maybe more gravel. Once Lance came to the event, I joked that the route was going tp be paved.
@Mike Johnson - I think it was Jeff Kerkove who told me once that Leadville , with the possible exception of Powerline, had become a high altitude gravel race.
What I love about riding a drop bar mountain bike is that on sudden body shifts forward, the meat of my hands are driven into the deepest, most secure section of the handle bars. No more endos, which were regular features of my flat bar rides.
Never been there but if they are riding 42cm bars on a MTB race it must be tame. I would think a wider bar, like what came on Fargos (Cowchipper) , would make the bike more controllable but again that wouldn't be "Aero"
Jacquie Phelan was the first Mountain Bike racer I ever saw use drop bars, and I think it was a number of years before Tomac. What she accomplished on that custom drop bar Cunningham was incredible and inspiring. She probably would have still been winning races with flat bars, but she was that much more dominant with drops because it worked well for her!
I seem to recall that in the later years she still traveled and inspired/participated in many alt-rides like vintage gravel E’roicas throughout the US. Events focused on fun and being able to finish something unconventional and unpaved but not mountain-bikey.
Tomac and Overend were great when I was starting to follow MTB racing, but Jacquie was always the GOAT for me!
@tntmoriv - Good call-out! Thanks for your comment.
I really think this is a Leadville-specific thing. The nature of the course, the large time gaps, and its length means that tempo pedaling in a tucked position is very important. It is not a gravel race and it is not Unbound - I would encourage anyone who dismisses it as such to try riding it on a gravel bike - but it is unique as a mountain bike ride in the advantage to such a position. And the race organizers have progressively banned the other methods of achieving such a position with flat bars, such as aero bars and inner bar ends. Hence, drop bars. It is notable that the women’s winner this year, Kate Courtney (who also smashed the 10 year old course record) rode flat bars but achieved a tucked position by holding onto her fork crown. I would not be surprised if subsequently Lifetime bans that technique too.
I feel very confident that this does not mean we are about to see the sudden transformation of the Salsa Cutthroat into a mainstream choice, or that we will see riders lining up for a WC XC race with drop bars. I also don’t think it has any bearing on Unbound-style riding.
In conclusion, buy a hardtail already :)
@Eli Bee - Thank you for your thoughts and for taking the time to comment here.
You say, "I feel very confident that this does not mean we are about to see the sudden transformation of the Salsa Cutthroat into a mainstream choice..."
Yet we have several "gravel bikes" capable of handling 2+ inch wide tires in the 700c format currently on the market. They are not making these bicycles because there is no demand. ;>)
Absolutely - but those are not mountain bikes. I own a frame similar to that, the latest generation Stigmata. It can run big tires but it’s a road bike IMO that is very stable off road. I also have a steel hardtail built for Mt Tam and environs - it performs an entirely different function and rides very differently - I do not feel the Stiggy at least is “converging” to the same place that my hardtail fits.
Exactly. But too many riders don’t use the hooks, where that works
40-42cm is plenty wide enough
@Eli Bee - You state "Absolutely - but those are not mountain bikes.", when mentioning the big tire gravel rigs. But I would like to point out that much of the commentary I have seen says otherwise. So, it depends upon your viewpoint there.
Ironically, many of the folks commenting about these big-tire gravel bikes say the same thing you commented with when you stated, "In conclusion, buy a hardtail already :)"
So, in my opinion, I agree with you on the veracity of many big-tire gravel rigs to be able to pull off what your steel hard tail does. However; I think you'd agree with me on how many of these big-tired gravel bikes are presented by their brands, which generally show a more MTB-ish bent. Riders doing big slides and carving up single track with the occasional jump thrown in for good measure. This reminds me of mid-1990's marketing of....steel hard tails!
There is no hard and fast rule, but in general, I think the gravel riding folk see a trend toward more MTB-like hard tail design with slacker angles, and minimalist suspension as a poor attempt at being a mountain bike in drop bar clothes. Which leads me to think of these as "poor drop bar MTB's".
And IF the trend continues? Well, it seems the direction the brands are headed in is toward that Cutthroat being the sort of bike the brands will offer. Maybe not, but we aren't far off that now.
But again, who knows? I never thought I'd see the day when a rider used a fork crown position for aero riding with auxiliary shifters mounted there for convenience. But here we are......
We are not going to see dropbars in UCI mtb races (including marathon) simply because he rules ban “traditional road handlebars”. Though the UCI may have created a loophole for bars with sweep/flare with the new road bar rules.
I have thoughts. Many of them, as you may suspect
Aside from the rules I don’t know why you would want them. The body position created by wide flat bars on modern mountain bikes is ideal for cornering and control in technical terrain. The advantage of the drop bars at Leadville is to skirt the rules banning aero bars at a long event where pedaling in relatively flat stretches for long periods of time is an advantage. Conversely,, the drop bars offer no benefit at all in a World Cup XCO event, as far as I can tell.
@Eli Bee - "Aside from the rules I don’t know why you would want them."
They once said this about 29"er wheels. They once said this about 1X crank sets. Things change.
I'm not saying drop bars will take over MTB, but I would be very hesitant to write them off.
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