Good morning all!
I am a long time rider (riding since I was 5, ~2000+ km per year commuting, MTB), my main steed is my Kona Dew which I put in significant commuting and occasional training/recreation miles... As my miles increase and as an inevitable impact of TdF watching I find myself shopping for a road bike...

So, as some one who is very comfortable on a bike but never ridden anything with drop bars, any gotchas to watch out of for when test riding bikes? I see most riders on the TdF and in groups relax up on the hoods and then use the drops for a more aero position... Can you get enough leverage on the brakes when on the hoods? If you are doing a fast technical corner do you get down into the drops?

I'm looking at a Trek Madone (prob 4.5 or 4.7) local dealer has them on sale plus pretty amazing (still checking if "to good to be true") financing deal... any opinions most welcome!

Get a good fit, the fit is different than on your commuter. It will mean a world of difference in comfort.

You will probably have some growing pains as your body adapts to the new fit.

Most riders ride on the hoods 80-90% of the time. It depends on your flexibility and back strength and bar to drop ratio.
Going to the drops only when pulling really hard or tucking in coming down a mountain descent. If brifters are positioned properly, you should have full leverage on brakes and shifting capability. Have your shop put you on a trainer and let you play around with shifting/braking.

Fast technical corner could be on hoods or drops depending on where I was leading into it.

Test the brake tension standing before riding. I saw a teen who slammed the brakes and fell over the bars on a test ride, and least to say, the bike owner was not happy whatsoever.
I feel the most leverage to the brakes are on the hoods, but I am not comfortable enough to be on the drops on a technical downhill corner. But, then again, comfort and skills comes with experience. That's my two cents. Good luck with your future/potential purchase.

Thanks! Good advice re the trainer.. will give it a go...

I did a similar transition from mountain bike, to flat-bar road bike, to drop-bar road bike, in just the past few years. I think your transition will go much smoother if you focus your attention on what are referred to as "relaxed geometry" bikes. Also referred to as - "plush", or "endurance". The geometry is intended to give a more comfortable forgiving ride and not as aggressive as other drop-bar bikes that have short head tubes and are intended for going as fast as possible, but you can still go into the drop position when you want to get aerodynamic. Model lines from the big 4 are -- Cannondale Synapse, Specialized Roubaix & Secteur, Giant Defy Advanced & Defy, and Trek Madones w/H3 geometry. Plenty of threads on this board covering the various aspects of these bikes, and the search mechanism works very well. I ended up getting a Giant Defy Advanced 1, and I'm very happy with it. Good luck.

There is absolutely no need to get on a trainer. V-brakes are way more grabby than caliper brakes and you do 2000km a year with those, so you have nothing to worry about with road brakes. Just remember to keep your weight back and that's not something you'd learn on a trainer anyway. You'll get no sense of how the bike rides w/o a road test ride so get on a few and get a sense of it.

In general, most bikes within certain price points are the same with minor differences, so get the one you like best and then get a fitting to get the bike fitted to you.

I disagree. I find that I get better leverage in the drops. I also prefer descending in the drops; it lowers my center of gravity.

I likewise prefer descending in the drops. There is definitely better leverage on your brakes aswell.

One thing I may suggest is when you get your bike see if you can get some truly top of the line brakes for it even if you need to pay extra. On my own road bike (got it used) I have Dura Ace brakes and then I got on my cousin's Trek 2.1 which is still a great bike but it has Tiagara brakes. And while those brakes will certainly stop me if I need to, the Dura Ace brakes can lock my wheel with practically half the force of the Tiagara brakes. Now that could be due to Brake pads aswell (I dont know what pads are on both bikes honestly) but I really never want to skimp on good brakes. Best part is they are some of the cheaper parts of the bike aswell.

I have to say I applaud you for noticing the form of the riders in the TdF and how they "relax" on the hoods you are far more perceptive them me is all I can say.

One thing I just thought I might warn you about are that atleast on my cousins trek the drop bars are both shallow and have a very sharp bend between the tops and the hoods which makes me smash my forearms into the tops when sprinting from the bottom of the drops. Might not be a problem for everyone but you may want to check it out before you buy the bike. THere is a chance you may be able to get the shop to change a few things for just a few dollars more and that may make you happy in the long run.

In any case: Welcome to the Funny Farm that we call a sport/hobby (Road biking that is).

Do not finance a bike.

Really? (re financing) Why? Yes I need to check the deal but as I am nicely capitalized at the moment and earning quite a bit, at zero % interest the only time you would not want to is if we had negative inflation...

If you can afford to pay it off in 60 days, purchase (with your zero balance credit card) the day after your last statement cuts. With grace period, you will have 59 days to pay it off. Done this with my last two bikes. Requires discipline.

No, you always finance everything if the interest rate is below your savings or investment interest rates. If somebody is gonna give you money for 0%, it's almost stupid to use some of your cash that could be earning money elsewhere for it.

Exactly.. As said, I have not yet read the fineprint but on the face of it it is a zero % over 1 year loan... So a painless 200ish a month... (plus I will put big amounts in when windfalls are realized, bonuses, tax time etc... )

And it's not like it is a impulse purchase... as said I have been cycling for 20+ years, I have had a MTB twice as expensive as this planned purchase for 4 years, but now I find myself doing 2000+ km per year on the road...

I just transitioned to a "true" road bike after riding a flat-bar for five years, and I'm loving it. I got one with a more relaxed geometry, because I can't ride in an aggressive aero position for long periods (I have cervical spinal stenosis, so I can't have my head tilted back other than for very short intervals or it causes all kinds of neck and arm pain). I'm finding I can ride in the drops if I do it judiciously, and it's really helping my speed. Just finished a 30-mile ride over which I averaged an extra 1mph over what I typically managed with my flat bar.

I got a professional fit, and my bike (a Felt Z5) feels incredibly comfortable.