In the Drops
04-04-13, 02:11 PM
#26
fuggitivo solitario
04-04-13, 02:32 PM
#27
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Power goes down and heart rate goes up the longer you ride in most cases regardless of position.
I'm reminded of the people who tell me they hate their TT bike and lose power compared to their road bike. Then they tell me they only ride it a few times a year and never had it fitted.
Make sure the bike is fitted right. Crank arm length, saddle type and position, bar type and position all impact your efficiency in the drops. Then train in the drops with regularity. I'll go out and do long stretches in the drops, climb in the drops, do intervals in the drops. That's part of how you get better in the drops. Stretching also helps, if you think being 40 is some limiter to flexibility then ask how a 50 year old guy can ride 45 minutes like this and drop the field:
As far as your aero vs. power question, it's asking how tall a tree is. Depends on a big bunch of variables. But from a physiologic standpoint, the less power you have to put out the more you have in the tank; that's a rule of thumb though and if riding in the drops creates muscular issues and an elevated HR, you might be doing more harm than good.
From a control/safety standpoint we are much happier seeing you in the drops than on the hoods in close quarters.
I know what he's going for here but were this true then you would always set your bike up to have your knee locked at BDC (bottom dead center) of your pedal stroke. Obviously you don't. There's a "sweet spot" that's both simple physics and muscular efficiency but there's also a trainable element.
I'm reminded of the people who tell me they hate their TT bike and lose power compared to their road bike. Then they tell me they only ride it a few times a year and never had it fitted.
Make sure the bike is fitted right. Crank arm length, saddle type and position, bar type and position all impact your efficiency in the drops. Then train in the drops with regularity. I'll go out and do long stretches in the drops, climb in the drops, do intervals in the drops. That's part of how you get better in the drops. Stretching also helps, if you think being 40 is some limiter to flexibility then ask how a 50 year old guy can ride 45 minutes like this and drop the field:
As far as your aero vs. power question, it's asking how tall a tree is. Depends on a big bunch of variables. But from a physiologic standpoint, the less power you have to put out the more you have in the tank; that's a rule of thumb though and if riding in the drops creates muscular issues and an elevated HR, you might be doing more harm than good.
From a control/safety standpoint we are much happier seeing you in the drops than on the hoods in close quarters.
I know what he's going for here but were this true then you would always set your bike up to have your knee locked at BDC (bottom dead center) of your pedal stroke. Obviously you don't. There's a "sweet spot" that's both simple physics and muscular efficiency but there's also a trainable element.
04-04-13, 02:38 PM
#28
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04-04-13, 02:43 PM
#29
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04-04-13, 02:52 PM
#31
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04-04-13, 04:21 PM
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04-04-13, 06:20 PM
#36
Senior Member
04-04-13, 06:21 PM
#37
Senior Member
04-04-13, 06:25 PM
#38
Senior Member
Oh speaking of which...
Local benefit featured a host that brought the first US team to the Giro - he was one of the riders and he somehow got a team together for the Giro. They rode Gianni Motta bikes and later the same company equipped a US team sponsored by Pepsi (directed I think by this rider). The article I remember reading said something about that team - after the first rainy day the mechanic/s didn't lube the pulleys so they squeaked like crazy the next day. All the other pros were laughing at them. I made careful note and made sure my pulleys were lubricated.
At the benefit the two hosts were trying to compliment each other. One pointed out that the other was the person that brought the first US team to the Giro. The enthusiastic host added that not only was the other host a rider but he was also everything else - the director, the soigneur, and the mechanic.
Yeah oops.
Local benefit featured a host that brought the first US team to the Giro - he was one of the riders and he somehow got a team together for the Giro. They rode Gianni Motta bikes and later the same company equipped a US team sponsored by Pepsi (directed I think by this rider). The article I remember reading said something about that team - after the first rainy day the mechanic/s didn't lube the pulleys so they squeaked like crazy the next day. All the other pros were laughing at them. I made careful note and made sure my pulleys were lubricated.
At the benefit the two hosts were trying to compliment each other. One pointed out that the other was the person that brought the first US team to the Giro. The enthusiastic host added that not only was the other host a rider but he was also everything else - the director, the soigneur, and the mechanic.
Yeah oops.
04-04-13, 10:24 PM
#39
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04-04-13, 10:39 PM
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04-08-13, 12:34 PM
#41
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at this point in my life i start feeling flareups of anxiety attacks if i'm not either in the drops or IAB on my bike.
i just feel like i'm dragging a parachute.
this probably isnt healthy.
i just feel like i'm dragging a parachute.
this probably isnt healthy.
04-08-13, 01:35 PM
#42
fuggitivo solitario
why should you be in the drops?
now you see me. Light blue kit, deep wheels
and now you don't
this is on a hill that's probably 12% at this point. I got in the drops right before the final kicker that goes up to 15%.
All about'em fundamentals
Photos courtesy of Jan V Polk.
now you see me. Light blue kit, deep wheels
and now you don't
this is on a hill that's probably 12% at this point. I got in the drops right before the final kicker that goes up to 15%.
All about'em fundamentals
Photos courtesy of Jan V Polk.
Last edited by echappist; 04-08-13 at 01:40 PM.
04-08-13, 01:59 PM
#43
Making a kilometer blurry
why should you be in the drops?
now you see me. Light blue kit, deep wheels
and now you don't
this is on a hill that's probably 12% at this point. I got in the drops right before the final kicker that goes up to 15%.
All about'em fundamentals
Photos courtesy of Jan V Polk.
now you see me. Light blue kit, deep wheels
and now you don't
this is on a hill that's probably 12% at this point. I got in the drops right before the final kicker that goes up to 15%.
All about'em fundamentals
Photos courtesy of Jan V Polk.
04-08-13, 02:33 PM
#45
fuggitivo solitario
but on a more serious note, that hill was so ridiculously steep (avg 12%, sections at 20) and there was so much sand, that a lot of people had rear wheel slippage when they got out of the saddle to climb. One person crashed in my field doing that. Climbing in the drops shifts weight forward a bit compared to climbing out of saddle on the hoods, which shifts weight back.
just what is your obsession with taking jabs at me? for the last time i never used that term to describe myself. Your snide remarks are unfunny at best. And let's not forget this gem of a line when you, yourself, was a cat-4
04-08-13, 02:45 PM
#46
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You know I emailed someone earlier in the day about something like this.
Everyone has been there and a lot of times guys that are 3’s/4’s are the happiest racers there are. You get to train, race and enjoy the sport without huge training weeks, feeling drained all the time, etc. Then you cat up even more and you have to produce…
Sometimes it’s best to enjoy it for what it is, a hobby.
Then I went back and forth with a domestic pro for a bit about all those guys who think they want it but don't have the dedication.
None of us, with the exception of jsut in his own mind, are going to a UCI team...
Everyone has been there and a lot of times guys that are 3’s/4’s are the happiest racers there are. You get to train, race and enjoy the sport without huge training weeks, feeling drained all the time, etc. Then you cat up even more and you have to produce…
Sometimes it’s best to enjoy it for what it is, a hobby.
Then I went back and forth with a domestic pro for a bit about all those guys who think they want it but don't have the dedication.
None of us, with the exception of jsut in his own mind, are going to a UCI team...
04-08-13, 02:51 PM
#47
Making a kilometer blurry
word
04-08-13, 03:06 PM
#48
Ninny
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there was so much sand, that a lot of people had rear wheel slippage when they got out of the saddle to climb. One person crashed in my field doing that. Climbing in the drops shifts weight forward a bit compared to climbing out of saddle on the hoods, which shifts weight back.
A friend is a big climb-in-the-drops proponent. I've never gotten it, myself.
04-08-13, 03:15 PM
#49
fuggitivo solitario
hmm, i'm not quite so good about the physics of it. But as for climb-in-drop, yeah, it's an acquired taste sort of thing.
i also almost never stand on a climb except when necessary since my cadence band is ideally 75-105 that anything below 75 i find myself in trouble
i also almost never stand on a climb except when necessary since my cadence band is ideally 75-105 that anything below 75 i find myself in trouble
04-08-13, 03:17 PM
#50
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You know I emailed someone earlier in the day about something like this.
Everyone has been there and a lot of times guys that are 3’s/4’s are the happiest racers there are. You get to train, race and enjoy the sport without huge training weeks, feeling drained all the time, etc. Then you cat up even more and you have to produce…
Sometimes it’s best to enjoy it for what it is, a hobby.
Then I went back and forth with a domestic pro for a bit about all those guys who think they want it but don't have the dedication.
None of us, with the exception of jsut in his own mind, are going to a UCI team...
Everyone has been there and a lot of times guys that are 3’s/4’s are the happiest racers there are. You get to train, race and enjoy the sport without huge training weeks, feeling drained all the time, etc. Then you cat up even more and you have to produce…
Sometimes it’s best to enjoy it for what it is, a hobby.
Then I went back and forth with a domestic pro for a bit about all those guys who think they want it but don't have the dedication.
None of us, with the exception of jsut in his own mind, are going to a UCI team...