Bike porn

FWIW wouldn't the steeper headtube angle and the shorter wheelbase make any difference at all? come on why would lo pro bikes catch on if you could just ride in the drops.
also. i was asking if you (ed or any other) have thorough knowledge to the matter from experience or just from photoshop experiments.
it's not that i don't find the above statement and constructed visual evidence useful and possibly very true:)

Lo Pro's were hot about 20 years ago. Theories and practice have changed a bit since then.
People thought that there was some aerodynamic advantage. I haven't measured it, so I can't tell. Maybe it helped a bit.
Biggest advantage was that you were forced to stay in the best possible position. You could not move to a less aero position. So, always maximum aero benefit. That was the idea.
Next to that, especially for road team time trials and track team pursuits: with a lo pro you could sit approx 5 cm or even more closer to your front man. So, less air resistance.
So far the theory of those days.
Meanwhile the lo pro's are more or less gone, but we will not know exactly why.
Also/mainly thanks to UCI's ban for different wheel diameters (2 small wheels seems to be too inefficient)