Time spent in the drops?
08-30-13, 04:02 PM
#26
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= very little. if you want to be as aero and save your back, ride on the bar top near the stem, eddy merckyx time trial style. otherwise, the only time im in the drop is on descents.
Last edited by pdxtex; 08-30-13 at 04:11 PM.
08-30-13, 05:00 PM
#28
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11% in drops.
53% hoods, 36% tops.
53% hoods, 36% tops.
08-30-13, 07:16 PM
#31
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60% drops, 25% hoods, 15% flats...on flat roads, obviously changes on hillier terrain.
08-30-13, 07:49 PM
#32
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33.333....% drops, hoods and tops, but who's timing me
Drops for descents, sprints, and generally going fast
Hoods for comfort, and efficiency
Tops for climbing, relaxing on the flats
Pirk
Drops for descents, sprints, and generally going fast
Hoods for comfort, and efficiency
Tops for climbing, relaxing on the flats
Pirk
08-30-13, 07:57 PM
#33
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Very little except for some descents, and some headwinds.
Hoods and tops mostly.
But I have T-rex arms compared with my torso
so it's already like I'm in some kinda drop position.
Hoods and tops mostly.
But I have T-rex arms compared with my torso
so it's already like I'm in some kinda drop position.
08-30-13, 08:01 PM
#34
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^^no, but im sure you could find various pros doing that. or the even scarier lay your arms straight out in front of the stem with weight on the forearms position. i was refering to the "eddy" category at local time trials (normal road bike, no aero equipment allowed). i see lots of people bring their arms in instead of riding the race in drops...
08-30-13, 08:02 PM
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Prob ~ 7-10%
Mainly when taking pulls on group rides..
My geometry is not that aggressive and I can get a close but slightly less aero position with palms on the hoods (superman pose)
BTW in the drops is ~ 10% hands firmly up into the front of the drops (=sprinting and playing silly buggers) and 90% resting on the back end of the drops
Mainly when taking pulls on group rides..
My geometry is not that aggressive and I can get a close but slightly less aero position with palms on the hoods (superman pose)
BTW in the drops is ~ 10% hands firmly up into the front of the drops (=sprinting and playing silly buggers) and 90% resting on the back end of the drops
08-30-13, 08:11 PM
#37
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08-31-13, 02:08 AM
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About 70% here. I'm 62 and it's taken a few years of being back into riding to allow me to be in the drops for an hour or so at a time. I come out to the hoods pretty much only to give my back and shoulders a rest. The longer the ride the less percent time I'm in the drops. If I'm going to do over 50 miles I'll consciously -not- go to the drops much. If I avoid going down through an entire ride my back will be OK through the ride. On very long rides over 75mi I will pay dearly with back pain if I spend much time on the drops in any part of the ride. I can ignore/tolerate almost any butt pain but back pain at 80 or 100mi with 20 or 30 left to go can really be....painful. But I'm much much better than a year or two ago in part because I have put up with a good deal of pain by spending time in the drops beyond what was comfortable. It pays off at every headwind and it seems to be worth about 1 to 1.5mph at the same level of effort.
08-31-13, 02:16 AM
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This thread is a fine example of how:
1) people like to exaggerate ... both to themselves and to others.
2) statistics of a voluntary group make no sense.
Reading the posts here it seems like people are in their drops about 50% of the time, but ...
whenever I see actual real people riding around in the streets on actual real road bikes ...
they are almost never in their drops.
I have only been riding my drop bar bike for about 3-4 weeks now and I think I'm somewhere in the 15-25% range.
With that ratio I find myself to be one of the "most dropped" guys I encounter.
1) people like to exaggerate ... both to themselves and to others.
2) statistics of a voluntary group make no sense.
Reading the posts here it seems like people are in their drops about 50% of the time, but ...
whenever I see actual real people riding around in the streets on actual real road bikes ...
they are almost never in their drops.
I have only been riding my drop bar bike for about 3-4 weeks now and I think I'm somewhere in the 15-25% range.
With that ratio I find myself to be one of the "most dropped" guys I encounter.
08-31-13, 02:20 AM
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I believe we should have two numbers:
1) percentage of time in the drops ... and ...
2) saddle-bar drop in centimeters
08-31-13, 05:30 AM
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Same with me. I have Sora shifters. I find the brakes nearly unreachable in the drops and have to move my hand to upshift anyway. Mostly I use them to get out of the wind a little if I start getting tired or can't find the right gear.
08-31-13, 05:51 AM
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I might go into the drops on a rare occasion on a long ride to stretch.
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08-31-13, 06:38 AM
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I have so many courses that I ride I wouldn't be able to give an accurate response. Basically descents unless there's devil's elbows, long flat sections, and most often when I have a head-wind.
08-31-13, 06:40 AM
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Except for in racing/sprinting i might ride in the drops a total of 5% of a faster ride. I can get just as low on the hoods when just cruising. I think i have about 14 cm of drop from my saddle to my bars, then another 139 mm to the bottom of my bars. I can sit in the drops all day, but there's little reason to do so when just riding along. In a race it's a bit of a different story.
08-31-13, 07:11 AM
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Hi,
First time out on my road bike I actually turned around went back home
and out on the folder. Didn't like being on the drops in town, but could
only brake hard from there, on the hoods felt dangerous for stopping.
Might have given it more time, but didn't. Chopped and flipped the
bars into bullhorns. Stem is now flipped down, all the rings above it.
Still has quite a number of hand positions I can use.
Brakes are easy to get to and pull effectively.
So in my case it is 0%, but I don't miss them.
rgds, sreten.
First time out on my road bike I actually turned around went back home
and out on the folder. Didn't like being on the drops in town, but could
only brake hard from there, on the hoods felt dangerous for stopping.
Might have given it more time, but didn't. Chopped and flipped the
bars into bullhorns. Stem is now flipped down, all the rings above it.
Still has quite a number of hand positions I can use.
Brakes are easy to get to and pull effectively.
So in my case it is 0%, but I don't miss them.
rgds, sreten.
08-31-13, 07:46 AM
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2) a good amount
I'm pretty low on the hoods and tops, so drops are really good for keeping me low during sprints and efficient high-speed cruising, though I do sacrifice some comfort; I don't like stay in the drops more than about 15 mins straight, I don't think.
I don't have any numbers, but that's a solid two bricks of drop!
08-31-13, 08:58 AM
#47
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08-31-13, 09:01 AM
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Headwind=Drops, Descents=Drops, Sprinting in the flats=Drops.
08-31-13, 09:11 AM
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08-31-13, 09:16 AM
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Exactly.
If your saddle is even with the tops I completely understand how you want to be in the drops that much.
For recreational riding this seems like a good idea, even, because you have even more relaxed tops that way.
In a more race oriented geometry, though, the saddle to bar drop is 10 centimeters (4 inches) and more.
This means that your drops are about as aggressive a position as my tops.
If your saddle is even with the tops I completely understand how you want to be in the drops that much.
For recreational riding this seems like a good idea, even, because you have even more relaxed tops that way.
In a more race oriented geometry, though, the saddle to bar drop is 10 centimeters (4 inches) and more.
This means that your drops are about as aggressive a position as my tops.