Drops or hoods?

dmch2

I've just had my first ride on my first road bike (I used a hybrid before) and I'm a bit confused by the handlebars if that's not an embarassing admission!

I spent almost the whole ride on the drops as it felt more stable and gave easier access to the brakes and gears. Although I did still find it a bit of a reach to change up on the left lever in particular.

On the hoods I didn't feel I could properly get on the brakes or change gear. I presume that when climbing (I deliberately only went on fairly flat roads) I'd sit right up and use the bars inside of the levers.

Is that right? Do I need to grow longer fingers to reach the levers from the hoods? Or is it just a matter of getting used to sideways road gear levers rather than MTB style finger and thumb ones.

It's all Shimano Tiagra if that makes any difference

sungod

ride where you are comfortable

typically go on the drops to get lower for beter aerodynamics and stability at speed, but there's no rule that says you can't do it all the time, or never, it's really up to you, people climb on the drops sometimes

riding on the hoods is a bit more relaxed, but still lets you tuck down

if you are climbing then hands on the tops is more usual, makes it easier to get your weight on the pedals, and if you are standing is more stable imho

with your hands on/near the hoods you should be able to shift ok, braking won't be as powerful as on the drops but is alright for lower speeds, just takes a bit of getting used to

Pretre

Most people stay on the hoods or tops of the bars almost all the time IME.
If you can't reach the gears/brakes from the hoods then it sounds like they need to be adjusted - some gear levers allow reach adjustment or you may need a shorter stem or even a different size bike.
Take it back to the shop you bought it from & have a word with them about the issue - if they're any good they'll happily see what they they can do & if they aren't then walk out & find a decent shop that will.

danowat

As above, ride where you are comfortable, drops are more aero, so if you are comfortable their, then its more effecient.

For me, hoods 95% of the time, drops when descending or trying to get out of the wind, bar tops when climbing.

dmch2

I'll do some experimenting over the next few weeks and see how I get on.

I suspect it mostly just getting used to it, the brakes are tiny (and cheaper) compared to my hybrid's so they're bound to feel a bit feeble. Especially if I'm several mph faster!

But I've got a free 6 week service thing at the bike shop so I'll talk to them about it then if I'm still not quite comfortable.

cheers chaps.

mr_poll

As above ride where your comfortable.

For what its worth - I ride in the drops when descending or sprinting. On the hoods most of the time and the tops when pootling or climbing. I dont have tri bars and havent got the TT bug by any means - but if I am on a long straight i tend have my palms on the drops with fingers over the top - not quite a "superman" position but does set me forward a little and helps with aerodynamics.

sungod

dmch2 wrote:

I'll do some experimenting over the next few weeks and see how I get on.

I suspect it mostly just getting used to it, the brakes are tiny (and cheaper) compared to my hybrid's so they're bound to feel a bit feeble. Especially if I'm several mph faster!

But I've got a free 6 week service thing at the bike shop so I'll talk to them about it then if I'm still not quite comfortable.

cheers chaps.

if you had disc brakes on the hybrid then the rim ones will seem pretty feeble, most powerful braking is on the drops (because you're pulling on the end of the lever), you *should* have plenty of stopping power there, but if you find the pads aren't giving enough braking there then try replacing the pads with koolstop ones, doesn't cost much and is simple to do

with tiagra shifters the reach adjustment is with rubber spacers, so certainly mention at the service if you decide you want to try this, as they probably didn't give you the spacers with the bike...

dmch2

Hybrid had rim brakes but good ones. I also expect brand new brake blocks aren't as good as those with a few miles on them.

I think i've got the spacers - i wondered what they for but they look like they'd fit in the top of the levers.

Ta

sungod

tiagra shifter instructions show how to fit the spacers if you fancy trying it...

http://techdocs.shimano.com/media/techd ... 670794.pdf

dmch2

I've been in the garage today and have put the spacers in (and attempted to make the indexing a bit better - I need a work stand!). Looks like I got it right

I put the 8° ones in for now, no doubt I'll find that to be too much and have to change again to the 4° ones

Thanks for the link though as it tells me that you can trim the front derailleur to stop it rubbing. As I read it there must an some intermediate stop between each chain ring so you can move it up/down a quarter of a gear to stop it rubbing if you're on a very big or very small gear at the back. Is that right?

Hrun

danowat wrote:

As above, ride where you are comfortable, drops are more aero, so if you are comfortable their, then its more effecient.

For me, hoods 95% of the time, drops when descending or trying to get out of the wind, bar tops when climbing.

As a fellow beginner I wondered the same and have found I ride similar to the quote.

sungod

dmch2 wrote:

I've been in the garage today and have put the spacers in (and attempted to make the indexing a bit better - I need a work stand!). Looks like I got it right

I put the 8° ones in for now, no doubt I'll find that to be too much and have to change again to the 4° ones

Thanks for the link though as it tells me that you can trim the front derailleur to stop it rubbing. As I read it there must an some intermediate stop between each chain ring so you can move it up/down a quarter of a gear to stop it rubbing if you're on a very big or very small gear at the back. Is that right?

the trimming is in the shifters, usually just one click's worth

normally you'd want to avoid going big-small either way as it increases wear, if you've got things adjusted right there's usually little need for the trim position, but it helps as things drift

http://techdocs.shimano.com has loads of useful info on the various bits, of all manufacturers they are probably the most comprehensive in the info they publish

dmch2

There's a bit of rubbing on big to small but that's to be expected. But if I adjust so big - big has no rubbing then I get rubbing on middle to anything lower than 5th

dmch2

There's a bit of rubbing on big to small but that's to be expected. But if I adjust so big - big has no rubbing then I get rubbing on middle to anything lower than 5th

dmch2

30 hours after my first ride I'm not noticing my backside but my lower back feels like it's had a workout. I guess it's just a case of letting it get used to the riding position?

And moving between drops and hoods, ie adjusting my position as I ride, will presumably help as well?

Grimone

vary it depending on how comfortable you feel in each position.

I generally go hoods/tops for climbing, drops for sprinting/flats/downhill.

37monkey

danowat wrote:

As above, ride where you are comfortable, drops are more aero, so if you are comfortable their, then its more effecient.

For me, hoods 95% of the time, drops when descending or trying to get out of the wind, bar tops when climbing.

I'm on about the same for hood to drop ratio, though I do vary my hood position from nearly strait arms to sphinx like with head down depending on wind or if I'm at the front of a chain, I use the drops for more control for example on tricky descents or sprints.

But everyone is different and you should ride in a way that you feel safe (not necessarily comfortable ) but do experiment with different positions from time to time, something that feels wrong now may feel different as you build more experience.

amaferanga

While I agree that you should ride where you find it comfortable, if I found myself being comfortable riding on the drops all the time I'd probably lower my bars so that the drops were more aero, but less comfortable and then try to ride more on the hoods more.

dmch2 - do you have lots of spacers and/or a riser stem so that your bars are up level with the saddle or thereabouts? Do you feel too stretched when you use the hoods? A picture of your bike set-up may help with the advice you're getting.

dmch2

amaferanga wrote:

While I agree that you should ride where you find it comfortable, if I found myself being comfortable riding on the drops all the time I'd probably lower my bars so that the drops were more aero, but less comfortable and then try to ride more on the hoods more.

dmch2 - do you have lots of spacers and/or a riser stem so that your bars are up level with the saddle or thereabouts? Do you feel too stretched when you use the hoods? A picture of your bike set-up may help with the advice you're getting.

That's a decent sounding idea



So they're not very low. But I only did less than an hour and my back is feeling a bit stiff today. But I can imagine that with a bit of practice it'll all be very comfy.

dmch2

I've had a look now I'm home. There are 3 cylindrical spacers, each about 1cm high,under the bars then a tapered one and a bigger cylinder at the bottom.

So I assume that's 3cm I can easily drop the bars by? I sat on the bike and tried to position myself 3cm lower and that definitely did start to feel a bit stretched.

I vaguely remember doing the headset on my hybrid but only vaguely... What's the procedure for taking a spacer out? (Which I'll not do for at least a month whilst I get used to the bike as it is)

amaferanga

Your set-up doesn't look at all unusual - I was kind of expecting the bars to be really high, but they're not.

But the fact that you're getting a stiff back suggests that the drops aren't that comfortable so you must really hate the hoods! Can you rest comfortably on the hoods or does it feel too stretched out? If it's too stretched you might want to look into a shorter stem - even 1cm can make a massive difference to comfort.

Other than that all I can suggest is that you make an effort to stay on the hoods as much as possible and see if it becomes more natural.

dmch2

My back wasn't really stiff but I did notice it a few times. I've never been on a proper road bike before so I though it was usual to expect a few aches after the first few rides.

The hoods are perfectly comfy, I just felt a bit high in the air after my hybrid (which has a seized too low saddle). I never felt stretched out at all.

As you say, I just need to get used to the hoods and the feel of the bike.

Hrun

Give it time, I have a bad back and it has taken 6 weeks before I could get off the bike and stand straight immediately, but it is improving.

dmch2

I used the hoods a lot more last night. My backside was more comfortable and my back feels perfectly fine at the moment. Will see how it goes as the day progresses.

It still doesn't feel so stable on the hoods but I think that's because the bike is more responsive than my hybrid and I'm not used to it yet.

Putting in the spacers to bring the levers a bit closer definitely helped too, easier to change gear and brake for my stubby fingers!