Riding in the drops
 

This last few weeks, I can find myself riding in the drops, not just a short while, but for miles at a time.

Sure helps fight a headwind!

That last 10 pounds may have been the difference.

Oh yeah. Drops are a free 1mph gain.

I ride in the drops now and again, for a mile or so. I like the change of position but don't ride fast enough to get the aero advantage,

Compact handlebars help me stay in drops on my modern bikes. The position is more comfortable than keeping my hands on the hoods, IMO.

Absolutely!

If you can ride there consistently and comfortably, it makes a nice difference into a headwind.

Actually you get the aero advantage at all speeds. It's just much more noticable and beneficial at higher speeds. Just cruising along, mYbe half you energy is to overcome wind resistence. When you push really hard, you might be spending 90% for a marginal improvement.

My 35 y/0 Fuji GranTourer has bar end shifters. Reminds me of how I used to ride every time I look at it/roll it out.

Good for you, Sammy, great to hear when folks here pass milestones in their return to riding and their fitness improving.

Bill

They do as well as descending, sprinting and taking a pull in a paceline: Drop bars have been quite useful for the last century or so.
All of the various hand positions are quite useful for the variations of terrain/wind/distance/surface/pace: using them all as required works quite well.

Keep at it! :thumb:

-Bandera

I think I've got about 10 pounds to go before I get to that last 10 pounds that would make a difference! :)

I train myself to ride in the drops so it becomes normal for me. When on a long ride, going aero is being energy saving. If I'm riding for a PR, it makes a difference. If turning into a headwind riding in the drops can mean survival.

Comfort in an aero position, in the hooks, let alone the drops, comes, at least in my case, from lower back strength, which, in turn, is a component of a strong core. Deadlifts, deadlifts, deadlifts.

Outstanding with the weight loss! :thumb:

I used to enjoy riding the drops and hooks but severe joint degradation causes too much pain that outweighs the advantage. Aerobars have been my salvation and thankfully the people I ride with are very comfortable with my use of them during our rides.

I was a competing powerlifter. :)

Riding in the drops conserves energy, for me it is very noticeable above 12mph.

As I tell the mooks at the gym, I may be weak, but I'm slow!

That's why drops exist.

I still love the heavy weights and would lift year round but I love riding too much. Losing upperbody size has been something to deal with. :)

Upper body size has not exactly been a problem for me. In my other sport, racing big sailboats offshore, UB strength is not only a competitive advantage, but a safety issue. It would also be nice not be be the lightest guy on the boat and have to go up the mast to un-fk things. However, I train with the weights all year and drink my whey protein without dramatic results.

The past few rides make me wish I could still handle drops, but my C2 vertebrae injury probably won't cooperate. It's been windy with steady 10-20 mph winds and gusts over 30. I can drape my forearms across my upright bars for a few minutes at a time to get a lower profile in the worst winds, but can't maintain that posture long. I didn't mind until I noticed guys tucked in on road bikes flying past me like I'm standing still. I want to believe it's just the bikes and drops, but ... nah.

I ride in the drops probably 50% of the time, winds are brutal here. But, often, especially with the wind on my back, I ride without my hand on the bars at all and just sail along pedaling enough to keep from coasting.

I'm in the drops 90+% of the time. If I wanted to sit up and ride I would take the hybrid.

Just to be pedantic, the hooks vs drops discussion is meaningless without knowing the bike setup and the angle of the rider's elbows. Anyone living in the drops, even shallow ones, likely has their bars pretty high.

When I'm in the drops I appreciate the free speed but I also notice that I tend to generate less power. If I can figure out how to generate the same amount of power in the drops and combine that with the free speed then I would really have something.;)

I agree as well, a real benefit for me in a headwind or when needing to make time.

+1. You can be more aero riding on the hoods with your arms bent as there is less arm exposed to the wind.

Agree. My 63cm sport touring bike is easy in the drops, lesser so the 59cm bike.

I have one bike (Mondia) that has a compact 'cockpit' - read shorter TT+stem mostly - that has my arms & hands feeling cramped, so the most comfortable position (as set up presently) is to drop your forearms and hands. I never thought it would work for me, but this bike always rides 'sprinty', like it wants to accelerate. All in the set-up. And not my century bike.

I also notice a difference in the drops, especially with a headwind. The think that keeps me from staying there for more than ten minutes at at time is that I find I am always looking over the tops of my prescription sunglasses. So, I don't have the sunglass effect and I don't have a clear view. In order to look through them instead of over them I have to raise my head and neck and that hurts after a bit. I've tried lots of brands and styles but still can't find anything that really works for this problem.

Likely, but not necessarily! ;-) I started riding road bikes when I was 13. I've always had a flexible back and I like to ride in the drops. My bars are set well below my saddles on my bikes. I don't know if I'm still flexible, at age 68, because I've ridden a lot in the drops, or if I still ride a lot in the drops because I'm flexible.

Such terrific winds on the beach..switched to Salsa Woodchippers on the Minn 3.0 and they are excellent. The one addition that made a difference? A Ritchey 80mm adjustable stem. I raised the bars up about 1" and now the drops are fully useable for those miles like by stretches into 10-15 "breezes". About 9 hand positions available and that really relieves hand pressure issues. I had the LBS triple wrap the bar tops, double wrap the drops.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=511604

I've been kind of anti drop bars the past five years of commuting. Now I'm thinking of putting some back on one of my bikes to see how it goes. There are benefits beyond the occasional back issues.