I'm just wondering how much time others spend in the drops. Me, hardly ever, less than 5%. But one guy I ride with spends almost the entire time in the drops. How bout you?

% of time you spent using the search?

(sorry, in a snarky mood this morning)

Hardly ever. Only on big descents really. Sometimes i'll ride in the drops just to switch up my hand position too.

While not true on all my bikes I've had in the past, I find it very easy to ride in the drops on my Colnago.

used to be almost never, but have seen the light in recent months. now i'm in the drops whenever the road levels out, and sometimes even shallow, big ring climbs.

Whenever the headwind gets too much.

Probably about 10% right now and increasing as I gain experience. More if I'm riding solo.

I always feel like I can't get enough oxygen when I'm in the drops, so I tend to only go low on the descents.

Depends on the ride.

Easy/recovery/endurance-paced rides are pretty much exclusively on the hoods or top of the bars. Harder rides, races, etc....in the drops.

About 50%. I actually like climbing short( < 1/2 mile) hills, out of the saddle, in the drops.

I'm definitely in the 50%+ category. Starts, hard climbs and periodic short burst of moving around to promote circulation are the ONLY times I'm not in the drops. My typical ride is 30 miles with 1800 feet climbing. Takes me 1:45 on average, and I'm out of drops maybe 30 minutes of that. That leaves 70% in the drops.

Is it true that riding in the drops increases hand numbness? I ride maybe 60% or more in the drops down by the slight upcurve before the bar ends. Is this normal? I feel I'm cheating the wind a bit.
When trudging up my 1/4 mile incline I switch to the tops on each side of the stem, sometimes in hood grooves, this still allows me to use my middle finger to shift.
Ultegra's got a pretty good lever throw to upshift.

Whenever i need to get out of the headwinds, on decents, or when im required to pull faster than i normally ride.

I can't stay there for long though, only a few mins at a time. I should work on that.

depends on the rider/bar/hand position combo. too many variables to say. there's really no normal or abnormal about it.
even though i use the drops a lot, i still tend to change hand positions frequently as there are three or four different places to go down there. sometimes i'll even hold the very ends of the bars if that just happens to be more comfy at the time.

usually about 50% of the time...

Mostly in a strong head wind or just for a change up.

Less than 5% i'd guess. I only use 'em for big decents (not often lately), sprinting (i'm mostly out for LSD rides), or of there's a really nasty ****ing headwind.

I used to just cruise along in the drops but i found my arms and neck just couldn't take it when going out for a 40+ mile ride.

Almost 100%. As much as I can.

+50% by a long shot... I actually find it easier for me to be in the drops. I feel so SLOW on the hoods...

I find it easier to brake when in the drops, so I just move my hand down when braking. Other than that I have not really used them. Next ride I will try riding more in the drops to see how it feels.

I'm in the drops maybe 40% of the time. If it's windy I'll use them most of the time.

I live in Maryland and while we lack hills, we always have strong headwinds. My answer: Go aero, or go slow. 100% of the time unless I'm standing up working an incline.

+1 What he said

Riding in the drops more was the one singular change that made me faster (besides training hard, of course)

I would say 70 to 80%. I love the way the ride feels when ever I ride in the drops. So much so I ride there as much as I can.