Riding on the drops

[lukesdad]

Hand size is another factor my hands are pretty small for a bloke and though i ride alot on the drops I come up onto the hoods to brake just more comfortable.

 

[De Sisti]

If you look at the front cover of any Cycling Plus magazine, and/or inside
the mag, and that of Cycling Weekly, invarably you'll see a rider out of the
saddle, on the drops.

Apparantly, it makes cycling look more dynamic (according to Tass Whitby
of Future Publishing).

 

[Fab Foodie]

If you can't ride the drops and you are reasonably flexible, I reckon you have the bike set up wrong.

It's not the flexibility that keeps me out of the drops... it's me aero-belly resting on my thighs!

 

[leveret]

Agreed.
Changed to these bars this summer and they're way better than my previous pistol-grip bars. The Omegas are slightly shorter forward reach so you may feel a longer stem's required.

+1

Just got a new bike which had the FSA compact bars as standard and was a bit sceptical, even intending to replace them before the bike had even been delivered. However they are great. Very comfy positioning and easy reach to brakes and gear levers from either hoods or drops.
'Think I'll keep them a bit longer

 

[bonj2]

I'd disagree with changing your saddle position to suit riding on the drops.

I should probably qualify that - I wouldn't condone changing the saddle position to suit the bars if the saddle is in the right place already. Just that when I first switched to drops, my saddle was too low anyway, but the fact that it felt difficult riding on the drops was what brought this to my attention. It's quite feasible for the saddle to be a bit too low ideally speaking, but to a limited extent that doesn't actually matter for upright riding.

You could try a pair of the relatively new shaped compact designs such as FSA produce, Omega for instance. They have a shallower drop and a longer horizontal grip section which feel very comfortable and secure.

e.g. http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/FSA_Omega_Alloy_Compact_Handlebar/5360036373/

talking of fsa bars: saw some kuotas in a LBS recently and they had these on: http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=36075 well nice! 'specially if you don't tape muchpast the hoods.
I almost like the traditional stem clamp better than the wedge my spesh's have got. which incidentally are really comfortable bars.

 

[Norm]

The drops for a fit flexible rider should be the default position.

I was thinking that this was my issue, not being particularly fit or flexible. Went out for a 30 minute ride earlier, though, and this comment came to mind...

...that said, many riders have the seat wrong so then can't crook the elbow into the drop.

I did a few metres on the drops, stopped, dismounted, found a handy brick wall, and smacked my (helmetless) head against it a few times.

My problem was that I was riding with my arms too straight. Not locked but still too straight. I bent the elbows more and my hands just naturally fell right.

However, I still contend that, from the drops, you'll never reach the upper gear changer on a set of Shimano Sora STI levers.

It's not the flexibility that keeps me out of the drops... it's me aero-belly resting on my thighs!

Yeah, I can tick that box too.

 

[bonj2]

If you can't ride the drops and you are reasonably flexible, I reckon you have the bike set up wrong.

agree 100%. I was trying to get across that you shouldn't set up the levers to be absolutely ideal for the hoods position, only to find that it isn't any good at all on the drops position - leading the rider to write off the drops position as "not for me", but I suspect however it's lost on many...

The drops for a fit flexible rider should be the default position.

agree again.

 

[bonj2]

However, I still contend that, from the drops, you'll never reach the upper gear changer on a set of Shimano Sora STI levers.

or campag

 

[Fab Foodie]

If you look at the front cover of any Cycling Plus magazine, and/or inside
the mag, and that of Cycling Weekly, invarably you'll see a rider out of the
saddle, on the drops.

Apparantly, it makes cycling look more dynamic (according to Tass Whitby
of Future Publishing).

... and that's why every front cover looks exactly the same. C+ needs to change that mantra and get a better cover manager...

 

[bonj2]

... and that's why every front cover looks exactly the same. C+ needs to change that mantra and get a better cover manager...

wot you mean to say you don't ALWAYS ride like that, all the time? you should always ride with the sun casting a dappling effect on your arms, your body, clothes and bike spotlessly clean, completley unsweaty, the hedges whooshing past in a blur, always on your big ring, serious but smiling look on your face, never carry a saddle bag, and have muscles and veins slightly bulging out of your arms.

 

[Norm]

or campag

Give us a clue, why the disdainful visage?

and have muscles and veins slightly bulging out of your arms.

I do have a bulge but it's cause is neither muscles nor veins and it's not from my arms. Other than that, it's all good.

 

[Fab Foodie]

wot you mean to say you don't ALWAYS ride like that, all the time? you should always ride with the sun casting a dappling effect on your arms, your body, clothes and bike spotlessly clean, completley unsweaty, the hedges whooshing past in a blur, always on your big ring, serious but smiling look on your face, never carry a saddle bag, and have muscles and veins slightly bulging out of your arms.

Well of course I ride like that... but others might not

 

[bonj2]

Give us a clue, why the disdainful visage?

campag = sora.

 

[Norm]

campag = sora.

Really! Didn't realise, I thought that was just a cheap troll at the old argument.

I just lifted the specs for my bike from the site because I know that, on my bike at least, you couldn't reach the lever to switch to a smaller ring at either end if you were using the drops.

 

[wyno70]

I had 'anatomic' drops on my bike when it came new and swapped them for a more traditional shaped drop bar, which was also a shallow drop. They have gone from feeling very strange to feeling very comfortable.

Problem with you moving the angle of the bar so that the drop is more comfortable, is that it may then not be so comfortable riding on the hoods.

It's simply a case of playing around and seeing what suits you. Takes some time I'm afraid but you'll get there in the end!