i was thinking about this on my last ride. i frequently use two, and just starting one. when i'm tired, i just use the drops. when my neck isn't tired from looking up, i put two hands really near the stem and get down low. the new one i'm trying is sitting on the top tube, which seems to work really well.

so bf, what do you do?

you what?!

it's basically the second one, except you sit on the top tube and hug the down tube with your knees.

Seriously though, it depends on the situation, of which there are usually two. There are either curves, turns, and vehicles which will potentially pull out in front of me, or there are not. If these things exist, I stay in the drops so I can get to the brakes and/or make a quick turn to avoid something. If it's a long, straight descent, I put my hands on the flats slightly closer together than shoulder width, sit off the front of the saddle, put my chin on or just above the bars, and get my butt in the air.

Here's Cancellara (also) doing it, probably much better than me:


I haven't tried this position while sitting on the top tube, but I might try it out next time I have a tailwind DIRECTLY behind me coming down the mountain. Crosswinds are sketchy with your hands so close to the stem.

yeah it is a bit tricky. thanks for the pic, i tried to look from them but didn't come up with anything.

I used to do the Cancellara thing but due to lack of education/knowledge/pictures I held the bars upside down (like doing a curl). I burned my chin on the front tire on one descent. I eventually learned the proper position. It's possible to use the aero tuck even on short straights - I think it takes less than half a second to swap positions. I tried this on various curvy descents to verify that it didn't take long to move my hands. Rough roads make it less safe to use the aero position.

How the heck did THAT happen?

Riding from UCONN to East Hartford along rt 44 I think. Longish descent, tucked, pavement had some slight undulations. At slower speeds it'd have been fine; at 50 mph or so it caused me to thump my chest on the bars. I hit the tire with my chin. The shock slammed my teeth together - I was lucky I didn't have my tongue out. I didn't realize until later that the raw spot on my chin had scabbed over.

My bars sit relatively close to the front tire because I have short legs. My bike at the time pictured below.

I typically straddle the top tube and either grab the hooks or the tops for a full tuck. Alternatively, I can position myself nearly the same while sitting in the saddle, which gives me control on winding mountain roads.

For those of you who don't tuck: It's really cool when you get nice and aero. On a mountainous descent you can feel the difference in speed. it's like putting on afterburners; you could already be going very fast, then you go into a full tuck and you will accelerate noticeably.

Yeah, I was riding with a guy and he showed me the top tube position and he just rode away. At least 1-1.5 mph quicker compared to the second position I detailed above (narrow grip on the bars).

I'm not aero but I am fat so gravity gives me a break.

My too...I enjoy long downhills where I pass fit people in their most aero position while I'm sitting up muchin' a cliff bar.

HAHAHA! Woo, now that was funny! The only time being big has its benefits while cycling. I sit up, take my hands off the bars and stretch, all the while passing whippets acting like they are in the Tour de Pants.

I basically do what cancellara does except I rest my elbows on my knees to take some of stress off my upper body. Whenever I do any aero position, I try to mimic cancellara. I've also done the position where you grab your drops and rest your chest on your saddle and butt just above the rear tire, it doesn't work as well and you have less control.

That looks dangerous, what happens if you hit a bump or a pothole?

you die

I don't get this... How is this aerodynamic? Haha. It looks like the person's body, legs and head are going to feel much more resistance than say the Cancellera position pictured above. Unless this is sarcasm... My meter might be broken.

I don't believe that position is really for aero. Rather, it's typically used for emergency stopping. Done right, it pretty much gives the rider the most efficient/shortest straight-line stop. It best for avoiding a pileup or something that jumps out in front of you when you are moving too fast or in too small a space to go around it. I've mostly used it for stop signs at the bottom of a 20% hill, animals, crashes, and cars darting in front of me.

I sorta do this only both hands on the bars, i rotate more to the side and get my chest and head lower to the top bar, i can do it on the left or right foot. Its really fast.

Heh, exactly. Cheers.

When riding along, I find that I can get pretty aero with my hands on the hoods and my forearms parallel to the ground. This gets me just as low as being in the drops, but my arms are a little more out of the way. When I'm descending, I straddle the top tube, get narrow, and fly. It's a lot of fun.

It's just like when people put their hands at the stem and lower their heads to reduce their frontal area, here the guy also lowers the rest of his body by getting on the TT