pgjackson

I don't use my drops very much, but when I do I have to keep my arms completely straight. If I bend my arms and really try to get my back flat, my thighs keep smashing in to my ribs. I do have a barrel chest and fairly large thighs. I'm not fat, but before I picked up cycling I spent about 15 solid years in the weight room. Anyway, the full drop position is impossible for me to get in to. I've been thinking about maybe picking up a TT bike, but I really don't think I could get in the proper position. Thoughts?

Specialized2k10

Get aero bars on ur current bike to see if you can handle that position.

stlcards

What's the drop length on your bars? I prefer a more shallow drop for similar reasons. I have fairly big legs feel really bunched up will deeper drop/ergo bars.

pgjackson

It's not that I can't handle it, it's that my thighs keep smashing into my ribcage anytime I try to get in an aero position.

rpeterson

You could try shorter cranks and a higher saddle. Or you could raise your bars and get shallower drops, though if you simply can't get flat without hitting that won't help you get flat, it'll just make them more useful all around.

digibud

Have you had a serious, professional bike fitting? One thing you might look at is the type of bar. Some bikes use a bar with a very deep drop while others like my Roubaix have a much less deep drop. The vertical distance from the saddle to the bar is also much deeper in aggressive bikes than other bikes. If you have a bike with a saddle way higher than the bar and a bar with very large curves so the drops are very low it will be very different than a bike with less drop. The simple change of the bar may be all you need. Your stem may also be a bit long and a shorter stem will put you a bit more upright too. Seat height can play a role here also. Much too look at. I'm very overweight with a big belly and I can get to the drops on my Roubaix so I'm guessing it may be as much a matter of bike fit as anything.

jaredcasper

One thing that helped me with a similar problem was rotating my pelvis forward a little, thus opening up the angle between my thighs and torso and giving me more room to get aero. This video, while not talking about this problem specifically, gives a visual of what I'm talking about. Some of John Cobb's other videos may be helpful as well.

Edit: Thought of another way to describe it. When I "get aero", I can't just use my flexibility to move my torso down, leaving my hips/pelvis as they are. I need to rotate my pelvis as I move my torso down to keep the thigh/torso angle open and prevent my legs from hitting my chest.

njkayaker

You should post a picture of you on the bike.

Dean V

TT bikes have a more forward saddle position. That will give you more thigh/body clearance.

znomit

Flip it.

carpediemracing 

Remember that proper TT position doesn't mean "flat back". It just means being as aero as possible while pedaling at some high level (FTP or higher for sub 1 hour time trials).

You can always get in the right position on a bike that fits properly (by definition). What you consider to be acceptable as a position is a totally different thing. It may be that your ideal TT position would have you sit with your shoulders higher than "status quo". Your opinion may not agree with that.

Having said that, rotating your hips forward will help you get your back more flat. Shorter cranks help because your leg doesn't come up as far.

A picture would be helpful to get an idea of what you're dealing with.

bbattle

Raise your handlebars.

DaveSSS 

There is no need to bend the arms, just because your hands are in the hooks. If you're really so low that you have leg to chest interference, then you're trying to get too low.

I use a lot of saddle to bar drop (11cm), but also use shallow drop bars. When I'm riding a mountain descent, I can get plenty low without bending my arms.

kabex

There's something wrong with your fit.

I had that problem with a bike that had too long a top tube and too short a headtube. I flipped the stem upwards and it was bliss after that.

You need either a shorter top tube, longer head tube, more spaces, flipped up stem or any combination of those.

Commodus

My thighs brush my rib cage a bit in the drops, but if you have a position that is completely unusable then you clearly have a serious fit issue.

climber7

you could rotate your pelvis forward more, which could possibly require a new saddle. but if you're already doing that:

this. your drops are obviously too low to be usable. bring the bars up a little. yeah, the hoods will be a little higher than you're used to, but then you'll have two usable hand positions instead of one. or three instead of two, i guess.

unless you really like the hoods where they are, in which case you need to get a shallower-drop bar or just not use your drops.

Looigi

There're a number of things to consider but normally with this problem you'd raise your saddle and move it forward. If you know enough about fitting to do this, give it a try, but since you didn't know this in the first place, you probably don't know enough about fitting.

abstractform20

dont change anything except slamming the stem more...that way you can still post cool status quo pics in the 'slam that stem' thread

Debusama

I had the same problem before. I had other fit issues as well, but that was one of the problems I addressed when I had my custom frame built. I don’t know if it might be related, but in addition to having a large rip cage, I also a proportionately shorter torso and longer legs than most people. I don’t have the problem with my custom bike, thighs are actually nowhere close to hitting my ribs. In comparison to my old bike, which was the typical size ridden by someone my height, the new bike has a shorter top tube, and the new handle bar has a little less drop than my old one did. The crank arms are the same length and the drop from saddle to bar-top is the same. I’m sure it also has to do with some of the angles and the orientation of the crank in relation to the saddle. Either way, it sounds like a fit issue.

2ndGen

What bars are you using?

I never liked riding in the drops (not that I ever really had a need to anyway).
But, when I switched to a compact set, it didn't bother me to ride in the drops.
Mine BTW are FSA K-Wing Compacts (44cm). They prop you up a bit more.

daxr

I figure there's about 4 different positions I usually ride in - on the tops of the bars, on the hoods, forward on the knobs (shimano), and in the drops. I don't use the tops of the bars much, except toward the end of a ride where things are more social. Most of the time is on the hoods, which is a comfortable moderate position.

An aggressive position is forward on the knobs, like pulling at the front, or chasing, leaning into it a bit. In that position if I go one step more aero and straighten my back a bit, my thighs just hit my chest pedaling. Going down to the drops from there doesn't change my torso position at all, its just a little more comfortable for tired arms and easier to breath...so on the drops, with my arms a little bent, I get the knees-bumping-chest thing if I'm leaning into it, just the same as on the knobs.

I'd use that as a lowest position and adjust from there - probably you have too much drop in the bar, saddle too low, bars too low, a frame that doesn't fit you, or some other sort of problem going on. Sometimes you can't be sure of a good fit until you put a bunch of miles in - if you can do a 100 mile ride and not think about the fit, and not come back with any particular pains, then you've probably got it set up right.

abstractform20

i cant wait to start talking to other bike ridists about using them knobs.

"whacha gutta dew is really pull on the knobs for hard effarts. just crank em up"

pdxtex

its actually suggested that you don't maintain a flat back, and instead ride with a more arched posture. its better for your lower back and helps you absorb bumps.....ask sheldon or lance.....

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/pain.html#back

https://www.livestrong.com/article/83...-bike-posture/

abstractform20

i sent Sheldon an email a few weeks ago and he never replied. (mod edit: removed really stupid material)

JustinHorne

I don't know if that's accidental or not, but if not:

Bad form.