Originally Posted by
Happy Feet
No.. sorry.. you don't get to claim one finger braking is ok in one position and genre but not the other.
There's a huge difference in how one-finger braking interacts with the lever between the two positions.
The problem with the "sky is falling if you don't..." arguments is that you are talking to people who actually ride bikes quite a bit and know what reality is as compared to theoretical imaginings.
Almost every single time we bring someone out into the foothills for the first time, they're initially glued to the hoods during descents. The constant effort of maintaining security through frequent hard effort makes for obvious discomfort and a tense upper body. When they start trying to hooks in tough spots, they're immediately faster and looser, and they don't go back.
You say my imaginings are theoretical. What I'm actually doing is trying to come up with theoretical explanations for what I see in the real world.
And before the rebuttal try to remember - I'm not saying riding in the drops is unsafe. Just that riding on the hoods with modern design is also safe.
I don't think that riding in the hoods is necessarily unsafe. And I think riders generally are aware of the implications of their current hand position, and ride and grip accordingly. I've gone over huge bumps on the hoods without my hands flying off, too.
I do think that there are situations where ensuring safety in the hoods requires more effort, and that the drops are a better place to be in the event of a panic stop.