Road handlebars once came in few specific styles that bore easily recognizable differences between them. Nowadays there are seemingly limitless, subtly different styles of road handlebars. Ranging from ultra-lightweight, one-piece molded bar-and-stem combinations made from carbon fiber to ergonomically shaped road-comfort and touring models, there is a handlebar made by someone, somewhere to suit nearly every rider's needs.
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Handlebars designed for a road race, for sport, or for touring all share a few common characteristics. The flat top part of the bar allows an "upright" position with the hands placed not quite shoulder-width apart: far enough to allow relaxed breathing while powering the flats or working up steady, moderate climbs.
A more prone position of the upper body results when the hands are placed on the brake hoods or the upper curved portion of the bars. This position is good for a faster effort, because the body generates less wind resistance. It also leaves the chest cavity open for easy breathing. This position puts the hands at quite a different angle than the bartop position. Switching between the two thus varies the pressure on the hands.
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As the hands move to the "drops" or bottom of the bar, the upper torso is forced down into a prone or nearly prone position, depending on how the bike is set up. This position exposes the least amount of body area to headwind and also maximizes the use of the back muscles for all-out effort, such as in a sprint. The drawback in riding for too long in this position is that most of the upper-body weight is supported by the palms. This puts pressure on the ulnar nerves and can lead to numb hands, which in some cases may take hours to regain their sensitivity.
Regardless of what type of road handlebar you end up with, it's important that it fits. Most drop handlebars come in different widths and drops. The width (usually measured center to center across the bottom portion of the bar) should come close to matching the width of your shoulders. An easy way to check is to have a friend hold the handlebar against your back and see if the bar lines up with the centers of your shoulders. If so, it'll allow you to breathe more normally than would a narrow bar. A wide bar is also good for those who are climbing frequently because it adds more leverage. (On the other hand, narrower bars are more comfortable for smaller riders.) The drop of the handlebar is how deep the hook sections are. Riders with larger hands usually prefer a deeper drop, and vice versa.