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Time spent in the drops?

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Time spent in the drops?

Old 08-30-13, 12:22 PM
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Time spent in the drops?

On your average ride, adding up all the different routes and types of rides you do, on your road bike(s), what percent of the time are you in the drops?
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Old 08-30-13, 12:27 PM
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40% I would say. I find it pretty comfortable to be in the drops and that is where my shifters are located anyway (bar ends) so it makes sense.
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Old 08-30-13, 12:33 PM
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A good 90% in the drops, I'd say. Now that I've been riding a couple of years, I should probably lower the bars, but I haven't gotten around to it.
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Old 08-30-13, 12:36 PM
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cruising around...rarely. fast group rides...most of the time. descents....100%. crits...100%
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Old 08-30-13, 12:36 PM
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I did a 5 mile power sprint this week all in the drops.......kinda suxs.
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Old 08-30-13, 12:38 PM
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On my average commute, I'm in the drops perhaps 50-60% of the time, regardless of whether I'm riding my touring bike (w/bar-end shifters) or my road bike (w/STI).
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Old 08-30-13, 12:40 PM
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60 to 70 % of my ride time winds up being in the drops. I don't really care about going faster, it's just more comfortable for me. But it's not that I'll spend most of my ride in the drops and then move to the hoods, I move my hands around the bars throughout the ride.
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Old 08-30-13, 01:01 PM
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50% in the drops...maybe more. I deliberately set my handlebar up high to make the drops more accessible. Whenever I lower the handlebar which affects this percentage, I am never as comfortable in the drops.
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Old 08-30-13, 01:05 PM
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Originally Posted by save10
cruising around...rarely. fast group rides...most of the time. descents....100%. crits...100%
+1 to this
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Old 08-30-13, 01:21 PM
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Depends on the bike. My two 57cm road bikes are set up less aggressively than the 55cm. I can spend 95% of my time comfortably in the drops on the larger ones, but spend about that much time on the hoods of the 55cm.

The MTB-turned-drop-bar-fixed-gear, for what it's worth, is also set up so that I can spend nearly all my time in the drops.

My position ends up about the same on all the bikes.
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Old 08-30-13, 01:38 PM
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Old 08-30-13, 01:49 PM
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Originally Posted by save10
cruising around...rarely. fast group rides...most of the time. descents....100%. crits...100%
Sounds about right.
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Old 08-30-13, 01:55 PM
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70-80% on the commuter and race bike. Probably 90+% on the CX.
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Old 08-30-13, 02:06 PM
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Unless I'm descending, sprinting or closing a big gap, never.
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Old 08-30-13, 02:14 PM
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Originally Posted by save10
cruising around...rarely. fast group rides...most of the time. descents....100%. crits...100%
Pretty much
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Old 08-30-13, 02:34 PM
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60 to 90 percent depending on the ride.
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Old 08-30-13, 02:45 PM
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Less than 25% - on more casual rides 0%. I only get in the drops in headwinds and occasionally in a sprint.
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Old 08-30-13, 03:17 PM
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40-50%
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Old 08-30-13, 03:27 PM
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^ +1
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Old 08-30-13, 03:32 PM
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Originally Posted by tobefirst
On your average ride,
My rides are always epic.
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Old 08-30-13, 03:33 PM
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At least 25% less than I should.
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Old 08-30-13, 03:34 PM
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Originally Posted by znomit
My rides are always epic.
(: well played.
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Old 08-30-13, 03:40 PM
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I have tried to spend more time in the drops because I'm hoping to do criterium races next year.
Unfortunately I have brifters + thumb shifter, which makes it nearly impossible to shift down (harder to pedal) while in the drops / sprinting.

Considering on getting an upgrade
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Old 08-30-13, 03:52 PM
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Originally Posted by blackvans1234
I have tried to spend more time in the drops because I'm hoping to do criterium races next year.
Unfortunately I have brifters + thumb shifter, which makes it nearly impossible to shift down (harder to pedal) while in the drops / sprinting.

Considering on getting an upgrade
Sora?
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Old 08-30-13, 03:55 PM
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Originally Posted by wheelreason
Unless I'm descending, sprinting or closing a big gap, never.
I'd add fighting a headwind and just varying my hand/body position...all of which ends up being probably, as a wild-assed guess, 15% of the time. I really live on the hood; flats only when steady climbing, practically.
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