# Riding on Hoods vs Drops



## danny121 (17 Jun 2008)

Just a silly question, but I see a lot of references on various forums about people spending most of their time on the hoods. 

I spend about 80-90% of my time on the drops and only switch to hoods if I need to change hand position or when going uphill (seems to help).

Is there some reason to stay on the hoods I'm not aware of?


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## domtyler (17 Jun 2008)

Hi Danny, just do what feels right to you mate!


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## Smeggers (17 Jun 2008)

Im 95% on the hoods. Any time on the drops really hurts.

Depends on geometry I suppose.


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## Paulus (17 Jun 2008)

Whichever feels comfortable for you.


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## danny121 (17 Jun 2008)

Thanks for the quick replies - of course if I were braver I'd use some bolt-on aero bars but don't like the idea of taking my hands so far away from the brakes .

Must admit I'm enjoying the road bike a lot more than the old hybrid (did about 9000 miles on it before it got nicked).


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## RedBike (17 Jun 2008)

> Is there some reason to stay on the hoods I'm not aware of?


Most people find it more comfortable, espeshially over longer distances.


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## Disgruntled Goat (17 Jun 2008)

You can reach the brakes and change gear without having to move your hand position.


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## yenrod (17 Jun 2008)

I like a long reach on a/my bike and spend quite a bit of time on the tops which I reckon is from my MTB days  but its a varying amount in either position.


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## rich p (17 Jun 2008)

My belly gets in the way on the drops


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## domtyler (17 Jun 2008)

rich p said:


> My belly gets in the way on the drops



I thought it got in the way of the tops too rich?


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## Maz (17 Jun 2008)

Numpty question: Do you normally hold the tops (hoods? i.e. the flat straight bit!) when indicating?


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## fossyant (17 Jun 2008)

Ususally hold the brake hoods when indicating as you can brake as well !


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## danny121 (17 Jun 2008)

Maz said:


> Numpty question: Do you normally hold the tops (hoods? i.e. the flat straight bit!) when indicating?



Drops - I can easily reach the brake lever andif I need to brake it's a lot easier to apply max force from the drops than the hoods due to leverage.


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## Plax (17 Jun 2008)

I spend proportionately more time on the tops - not quite on the hoods, I like to rest my hands on the bit that curves fron the top straight bit to the hoods (if you follow me). I tend to use the drops when I'm going really fast down hills, then in traffic I hover over the hoods, or I've recently noticed that when I approach junctions to slow down / stop I'll have my left hand on the drops braking and leave the right hand on the hoods.


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## Tynan (17 Jun 2008)

usually hoods as I'm invariably in heavy traffic and I feel more visible upright and can see better but I do drops for downhills (better braking) and into the wind and for any long straight bit when I fancy blatting on a bit, I love the options after flats, especially into the wind, headwinds have almost stopped being a problem


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## numbnuts (17 Jun 2008)

I always ride on the hoods and the bendy bits is there to hold my bar end shifters


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## Joe24 (17 Jun 2008)

Maz said:


> Numpty question: Do you normally hold the tops (hoods? i.e. the flat straight bit!) when indicating?



I dont hold anything, i just sit up, take my hand off and use both hands to indicate and do big hand signals.
I spend longer on the hoods, i'm already pretty low on the hoods so ith a head wind it isnt bad. I go on the drops if its a strong headwind, or if it gusts, if i'm going really fast and if the person infront is lower then me. If i really want to be low then i put my elbows on the bars and tuck down low, get some good speed up then
The drops arent bad, but mine are set up low down so theres no real need to be on them all the time.


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## walker (17 Jun 2008)

danny121 said:


> Just a silly question, but I see a lot of references on various forums about people spending most of their time on the hoods.
> 
> I spend about 80-90% of my time on the drops and only switch to hoods if I need to change hand position or when going uphill (seems to help).
> 
> Is there some reason to stay on the hoods I'm not aware of?




I spend most of my time in the hood, this is south east London


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## upsidedown (17 Jun 2008)

fossyant said:


> Ususally hold the brake hoods when indicating as you can brake as well !




I'm usually on the tops, i can indicate and use my ineffective late 70's suicide levers at the same time, before slamming into a crossing car at a barely reduced speed.


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## swee'pea99 (17 Jun 2008)

I use the drops at least four or five times a year - for going into force 8 headwinds. Otherwise hoods: better comfort, better visibility. At the risk of stating the obvious, it largely depends on how you have your bar height set, relative to your saddle height. Specifically *because* I ride on the hoods, I have them about 2" below my saddle height - which means my drops are perhaps 9" or 10" below: too low to be comfortable. If you wanted to try 'hood-riding', I guess you'd start by adjusting your bar-height accordingly.


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## Tynan (17 Jun 2008)

as ever everyones different

I reckon I get an extra 2mph when I go into the drops, not worked out whether that's because I put more work in or just better aerodynamics

or both


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## bobg (17 Jun 2008)

Just as a matter of interest, do many of you chaps set the bars with the "ends" - ( the final bits of the drop ) - horizontal, and the brake levers set to allow for easy braking from the drop position ? I'm told that's "correct - if there is such a thing as "correct " on bike set up, but I find that if I do that the the hoods are too far down the curve of the bars to ride on?


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## HJ (17 Jun 2008)

When I just to ride a road bike I just the hoods a lot when riding round town as it was easier to see what was doing on around me, only dropping to the drops when I was going for a blast...


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## monnet (17 Jun 2008)

Leisure and pleasure, I'm on the hoods. In traffic, I'm on the hoods for visibility and bike control. Eyeballs out with the the chain gang - down on the drops and hope my legs can go a bit faster.


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## Chris James (18 Jun 2008)

bobg said:


> Just as a matter of interest, do many of you chaps set the bars with the "ends" - ( the final bits of the drop ) - horizontal, and the brake levers set to allow for easy braking from the drop position ? I'm told that's "correct - if there is such a thing as "correct " on bike set up, but I find that if I do that the the hoods are too far down the curve of the bars to ride on?



The setup you describe is pretty old school! Modern pros seem to kick their hoods up a bit, and you see some recreational cyclists with the bars tilted WAY up, so much so they have no chance of operating their brakes from the drops.

Me, I tilt the end of the bars to face slightly down (towards my rear brakes?), I can operate the brakes from the drops comfortablly with a couple of fingers but it makes cycling on the hoods (and particularly uphill) more comfy.

Like most of the posters here, I spend the vast majority of my time on the hoods. Only going on the drops for max speed or for long downhills.


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## bobg (18 Jun 2008)

Chris James said:


> The setup you describe is pretty old school! Modern pros seem to kick their hoods up a bit, and you see some recreational cyclists with the bars tilted WAY up, so much so they have no chance of operating their brakes from the drops.
> 
> Me, I tilt the end of the bars to face slightly down (towards my rear brakes?), I can operate the brakes from the drops comfortablly with a couple of fingers but it makes cycling on the hoods (and particularly uphill) more comfy.
> 
> Like most of the posters here, I spend the vast majority of my time on the hoods. Only going on the drops for max speed or for long downhills.



Ah, that'll be it then, I always seem to be about 20 years behind everybody else, and there was me thinking I was a rebel by tilting the drops down a bit and lifting the hoods an inch or so.. Like Rich P the old belly has a tendency to intervene...


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## Chris James (18 Jun 2008)

Sorry, I meant the horizontal setup is old school. If you tilt up your hoods a bit you are going all Lance Armstrong.


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## Joe24 (18 Jun 2008)

For me its about an extra 0.5mph on the drops. With my elbows on the flat section i get about 1mph. It all depends though, sometimes its more, sometimes its very slightly less.


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## LLB (18 Jun 2008)

Smeggers said:


> Im 95% on the hoods. Any time on the drops really hurts.
> 
> Depends on geometry I suppose.



As do I, I'll probably be swapping to a hybrid before the end of summer as I feel like a bit of a fraud on the roadie


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## Rhythm Thief (19 Jun 2008)

I mostly use the hoods, switching to drops for a change of position or for fast downhill bits. I find the hoods much more comfortable over any distance.


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## Rhythm Thief (19 Jun 2008)

linfordlunchbox said:


> As do I, I'll probably be swapping to a hybrid before the end of summer as I feel like a bit of a fraud on the roadie



That's why I ride a tourer, or an Audax bike if I'm feeling particularly racy.


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