Originally Posted by
79pmooney
I set all my bikes up to be
#1 comfortable in the drops. In other words, the place I can spend all day, even if I am very tired - so I am incouraged to use them late in the day when the road gets sketchy or I have to go upwind. My legs appreciate the former, fewer crashes happen with the latter.
Wind is a large factor in how much I use the drops. Yes, I am more areo with my palms on the brake hoods and my forearms on the bars, but I am not as close to the brakes and do not have as secure a grip should I hit anything. Wind at my back and all positions work. (Life is good!)
Ben
After a lot of trial and error, I have found this to be the best way for me. My problem had been going by the Lemond bike sizing formula, which had me (at 5'10") on a 53-54 cm frame. I balked when I first saw this figure, but still tried for probably 20 years to make the small frames fit me. But they never felt right, and getting into the drops on a small bike can be extremely uncomfortable, making them all but unusable except on fast descents.
Recently I have been riding frames in the 56-58 cm range, and loving it. Now I can easily set up a bike so the drops are the most comfortable position, and I use them almost exclusively now, on pavement and gravel both. These days, I'm in the drops probably 85% of the time. The drops are great for sprinting when you're feeling good that day, they also support you extremely well at the other end of the energy spectrum, when you're so tired you can barely hold yourself up. When my legs are completely fried, properly set-up drops feel almost like relaxing in a recliner. And very stable too.
So glad I gave up on the tiny frames. While Lemond was a great sportsman and role model, and definitely the best American rider of his generation, his sizing formula did not work well for me at all.