Out on a ride today I attempted to keep my downhill speed as high as possible while fighting a cross wind against my 50mm wheels. I usually ride on the hoods as it feels safest for this kind of thing, I also brought my elbows inward which seemed to strengthen my control over the handlebars or is that my imagination?

Riding in the drops will give you better brake control and less chance of losing your grip if you hit a pothole or something. Also less fatiguing if it's a long descent.

I do a lot of descending here in reno. Always in the drops to give better stability. I also find peddling helps, at least I think it does. 😅

And both of those things actually slow you down compared to a tight tuck (elbows and knees touching the top tube, hands on the bars near the stem, head low). You present less cross section to the wind and so are less buffeted by it. That said, each set of conditions needs to accommodate road conditions, wind, and traffic plus rider skills.

Riding in the drops generally has the additional advantage of shifting more weight over the front wheel.

On the Hoods vs In the Drops. When fighting a cross wind its your balance and reaction time that counts. I have noted that as I have gotten older I balance a bit better on the hoods. I am not sure why. It could be because of my field of vision rather then my body position. I dont have that same flexibility in my neck I used to...

I decided years ago that it was stupid for me to throw caution to the winds on downhills, literally. No one is paying me to take risks on the bike.

I understand wanting to compete with oneself (and maybe others) to achieve high speeds on descents. As we age, that's the one area where we can still attain the speed we were capable of in the past. But it's kind of a cheap thrill. Cheap, that is, unless and until we lose control of the bike. The consequences of crashing increase with speed.

Which explains why Strava no longer allows riders to win downhill segments. (Or so I understand, anyway; I've never used Strava.)

Quite a few of the folks in our local club, including myself, are getting older (60+) and have had this discussion more than once over the last couple of years. We all have the same thoughts as above. It's not worth the risk.

I have 50mm wheels and I simply don't worry about how fast I can go in a crosswind on a descent. Safety first for me. I personally tend to stay on the hoods as opposed to the drops. My mind and body seem to prefer it. Seeing some of the other responses, maybe I should give the drops another chance. Also, as many folks have said over the years, I have found that riding with as much of a relaxed grip as possible does make things better. Death grip causes extra movement in the front end.

If a descent is even the least bit technical, descend in the drops, with a good grip on the bars. A cross wind counts as technical.

Get your chest low, and always maintain bent elbows to absorb bumps.

Strava has relaxed their standards on this. They once again have downhill segment KOM. Each person needs to do an assessment of risk v reward. An increase in risk exposure also increases substantially the likelihood of injury or occurrence. I go fast on descents, sometimes, most of the time I control the speed.

Another advantage of a slow descent is more time to recuperate before the next climb.
I'm with TennBent and Trakhak.

Descents are still tracked by Strava. Look who is on top of the "old guys" leaderboard for Mt. Hamilton.





Technical descents are more about skills than courage. Mt. Hamilton, with its 350+ curves, is technical.

Congratulations, sincerely. I'd never have been in contention there.

In the mid-80's, I went on a few training rides on hilly and twisty Baltimore County roads with a young woman who was a nationally ranked field hockey player and had decided to try and make the national team as a bike racer. Showing off, I did a fast descent on a road I wasn't familiar with. I quickly left her behind and was going well until I rounded a steep, closing-radius turn and went over the bars.

Uninjured, I got up quickly and was innocently idling along when she eventually caught up.

"Crashed, huh?," she said.

"Uh . . . yeah. How did you know?"

"Your back is covered with grit."

After going into oscillations at 45 mph when a large box truck disrupted the air flow of my 60mm wheels, on windy days, I swap out the front wheel for a 32mm. Far less fighting and a lot more stable is cross gusts.

i'm sure they do, but i am wanting to stay on my bike, not tumble down a mountain side.

I cannot speak to 50mm wheels, but when descending on twisty roads where wind gusts can be sudden, ie. coming around a bend - I always prefer low center of gravity = drops. A light-ish grip on bars and light on the saddle means better control for me, knees touching top tube if pavement is rough, and yes... spinning casually helps me on straight portions of a descent, but not in turns. Every ride.