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Its definitely noticable for me, but getting in those tight tucks really kinda hurt my back/neck. You cant exactly look forward when your doing them. But I definitely notice going faster on a flat empty straight when I really try to sprint tucked vs upright.

There should be a huge difference. Use this power calculator for a fixed speed, switching from hands on the tops to hands on the bars and see how much more power is required to maintain a given speed. For example, hands on the tops on a flat course for me, 20mph takes 267 Watts according to the site. Hands on the drops, 196 Watts.

So do you have clipless pedals? They give a smoother pedal stroke, for one, thus greater efficiency.

drops are great. everyone's bikes should be fit so that they can ride in the drops comfortably.

I haven't had a bike with drops since the late 80's but I'm getting one soon. I'm looking forward to having hand placement options again. If my speed increases too... bonus!

Drops? People still use those?

you'll be a regular tom boonen before you know it.

Bah, all those dang Nitto bars are getting too popular. I like my drops. Riding on the hoods is one of the best cruising hand positions I've ever had.

I commute in the drops. It shaved nearly 10 minutes off my ride each way.

Leaning forward with hands on the drops brings the gluteous muscles into play. That's a lot of muscle. It's also aerodynamic.

Just make sure your sit bones stay on the back of the saddle. You don't want the saddle nose pressing your, er, soft area.

Keep your lower abdomen relaxed, i.e. do NOT suck in your gut. Shoulders don't contribute much to breathing when you're reaching for the drops. If you tighten your front, you'll soon be gasping and panting. Breath like a little kid - with your tummy.

Riding in the drops feels a bit awkward at first, but once you get used to it, it will be your default.

I do.

I just added cheap computer a week or so ago, so I could monitor the difference, which is anywhere from 1 to 2 mph depending on headwinds in a tuck (drops or hooks). If the wind isn't getting me, I tend to stay on the hoods, where I still stay pretty low.

I dialed in a good fit, which is key. The neck pain can be remedied by using your eyes, not your neck, to look forward. Try looking at your eyebrows, that will let you keep your neck straight and unbroken, all at the same time. If your optics get in the way, you may want to try some goofy looking "blades" that ride higher, which support this sort of gaze.

Incidentally, you may also find more of a speed increase if your pedaling technique has room for refinment like mine.
I was reading a cycling book and it occured to me that I use the pull up method rather than the pull back halfway through the downstroke method. AKA the wiping dog poo off the bottom of your shoe method.
I gained at least 1mph by switching.

I love the drops. Just can't stay in them very long since my back hates that position. Using the hoods works much better for me. Plus, our MUPs have been very busy lately. I can see better using the hoods and I feel more comfortable in traffic.

[QUOTE=Loooty]

So for the first time ever I was watching my speed as I rode along a flat stretch. I leaned forward into the drops, and without a change in my cadence, my speed rose more than 1 mph. Then, I focused on spinning in circles and my speed rose again to more than 19mph with no increase in cadence and very little perceptible increase in effort.

QUOTE]

Unfortunately this makes no physical sense... Same cadence, same gear = same speed. You have to spin the gear faster to go faster, they are connected by a chain to the wheel. As long as your cadence and gears remain the same, your speed stays the same... it is drag independent.

Well, it depends on whether the OP's flat is really flat.

I get about 2mph from using a typical add-on aero bar. It's quite a bonus, usually well worth the extra weight insofar as efficiency goes.

Yeah... it's amazing how the warm weather brings out the people, huh?

Well... If you have a more efficient (you're putting more power to the pedals) cadence, then your cadence should increase, generaly it's kinda hard to measure these things accurately... it's a crapshoot. However, anything that will cut down on your coefficient of drag will increase your speed when using the same amount of power, so any aero mod that works is generally a good idea. If you want I believe you can actually figure out how much energy it takes to move your bike, and play around with different *Cd's/RR's to see how to minimize the force expended. But you might have to measure the RR of your tires yourself, which may be beyond most people, myself included. Not really sure about that...

*coefficient of drag/rolling resistence

Just checked that out. On the plus side, when I cruise, I'm putting out somewhere between 500 and 800 watts. On the downside, that only translates to 17mph.

LOL you must have made a serious mistake. In his peak Tour de France form, Lance Armstrong could "cruise" at around 470 Watts, IIRC. You may be a bigger person but I find it hard to believe that you could sustain that sort of wattage.

Also, Looty, I didn't read carefully: the others are right. Your chain doesn't magically shrink when you go in the drops so for a given gear your cadence and speed are in a direct linear relationship.

Edit: by "cruise" above I mean "max sustainable", i.e. that's the most he could put out and hope to hold for say at least a half hour (i.e. power at threshhold, all that jazz).

Don't feel bad, Looty. You just can't trust those cycle computers. I hesitate to even put one on a bike anymore as they always indicate a speed that is several MPH slower than I KNOW I am really going.

The amount of energy required to go a given speed increases at a cube rate of the increase in wind resistance, so if you put out the same amount of energy and decrease your wind resistance . . . yugofastr

When I'm in the drops my thighs hit my stomach. I've got to lose a lot more weight before this problem goes away.

My LBS got worried when they saw my bar position.

Why; is it behind your saddle?

I think it was more of an issue with being passed out drunk at the local pub.