Collecting some decorating materials today I passed a number of cyclists almost all riding racing bikes with dropped handlebars. Without exception they all had their hands on the top part of the bars with the subsequent poor leverage on the brake levers. Given the majority also had rim brakes exacerbating the poor leverage my question is why use such bars? I can fully understand that when in a race you want the lowest profile to the wind possible but none of these people were racing. Some may have been training for a race but I strongly suspect the majority were out to enjoy themselves and/or keep fit and I simply don't understand the reason for choosing bars that limit your ability to brake when using regular roads. Is the possibility to get that bit further out of the wind on a downhill section worth it?