Originally Posted by
HTupolev
Skill level doesn't solve the issue, though. Even the best usually need to brace their butt against their saddle to shift, which is disruptive to your stride. Obviously you can just shift less, but this is disruptive to your stride as well.
It can be a tangible issue if someone attacks on something whacky like this:
Why embarrassed? In my experience, people are usually more impressed than anything else.
I'm only embarrassed if people actually compliment me on doing something so basic, which has happened.
RE shifting out of the saddle - Simply put, we didn't do that. I was taught not to. Shifts were anticipated. That was kind of the key. Got to be second nature quickly. If attacking, generally you just got up and went, wound it up, and then sat back down and shifted if needed.
It actually kind of scares me when I see people stand up for a small hill,
and then change gears while standing on the pedals. KLUNK! Yeah, you can get away with it now, but that's got to be hard on your chain.
I get your point that shifting while out of the saddle could be advantageous in certain situations. OTOH, I find when riding with people with brifters that oftentimes they'll lose a few meters shifting for a minor little rise are gradient change. Simply staying in the same gear and stomping for short sections can sometimes be useful too. One example would be cutting across the apex of a switchback.
As I mentioned earlier, the only place on a fast group ride where I'd missed brifters is on fast and winding country roads, with a general downhill tendency but lots of grade changes. If you need to keep both hands on the bars to deal with ruts and turns and potholes, you do miss some shifts.