Drop bars, when to switch between positions?

willo78

Hi all,

New to drop bars, just wondering when I should be switching between being 'low down' on the bars and more upright, is it purely a comfort thing? It seems that whenever I see club cyclists out and about, they always seem to be in the low position.

Appreciate any advice.

Thanks

RoadMeridaBen

Whenever it feels right is the answer to that

danlikesbikes

Being lower on the bars makes you more aero however some people don't feel as comfortable as you are away from the brakes/shifters.

Really its to you and what feels best

nickel

Whatever you feel most comfortable with, generally most people spend most of the time on the hoods, however it should be noted that when you're descending hills it best to go into the drops, it allows more control over the bike and a more aerodynamic position. It might feel a bit unnerving at first when you switch from hoods to drops and vice versa on fast descents but it soon becomes second nature.

willo78

Thanks all,

I actually found myself using the lows naturally when picking up speed, guess this is not a bad thing.

Thanks

centimani

Heres what i do....
Up till a few months ago, i rarely ever used the drops despite years of road cycling (for fitness/pleasure, not racing).
That was partly because i used to have the bars tilted up for comfort on the hoods, but you end up with the drops tilted down, making them awkward to use....and partly because i just didnt feel the need to get on the drops.

Having specced very carefully a new ribble sportive, i was very very mindful of the drop style and luckily seem to have got the whole thing right

So, todays ride being a nice example, in 15/20 mph winds, gusting to 30 mph, on the hoods for comfort with a tailwind, dropping to the drops when in a headwind.
When on the drops, any approaching traffic lights, pinchpoints junctions etc etc..anything that may require me to make a quick change in speed, direction etc, back onto the hoods. That gives me more control, better access to the brakes, better balance, just in case. Its just thinking ahead, being prepared. If all is clear...down on the drops.

tonye_n

I use the drops when going on ANY downhill stretch, when facing a headwind (actually even if going uphill to a headwind), not just for the aero benefits, but also because I find that I much more stable and in control when going downhill on the drops. Also use the drops when trying to power away from any MAMIL stupid enough to try to take me when I am in the mood (again I find that I can exert more sprinting power when crouched on the drops).

If in busy traffic on my commute I am always on the hoods. Then I can always nurse the brakes readily.
When going on a consistent uphill stretch I am on the flat top of the handlebar.
I use a FSA compact (shallow drop, short reach) bar. This means that the levers are within easy reach even when on the drops.

P.S. I am not trying to pretend that I am any sort of a racer. Just a regular commuting biker for the past 10 years.

tp2000

interesting reading the differing responses and broadly agree with most of what has been said. However wanted to pass on the best advice I've been given for road descending....use the drops on the way down (unless it is a descent you know really well and there are no gremlins waiting for you).

The reason behind this (which I was reminded of whilst going too fast on Saturday down from the World's End climb in North Wales) is that your hands can quite easily get dislodged from the hoods whilst breaking if you hit rough ground....meaning your breaking power drops off very quickly. Get down into the drops and (assuming you have everything adjusted correctly) you should still be able to reach the brakes comfortably and even over rough roads, your hands won't move from the correct position. You can exert more pressure onto the brakes in a more secure manner.

Hope this helps - I'm sure someone will remind me that I should man up and not brake on downhills.......which is a fair point!!

daxplusplus

I use the hoods when standing up and attacking a hill .. find I can get some kind of mechanical advantage from pushing down and pull up on that part of the handlebars when done in time to the pedalling.

I use the drops when ever there's a real aero advantage to doing so - downhill, really strong headwinds and when I'm on one (there's some really nice roads on my commute that just seem to want you to go as fast as you can) - but my back/lack of flexibility means that I can't keep it up indefinitely.

SR7492

Good post OP; and thanks for everyone for their input.

Like a few, I rarely use the drops because of 2 reasons 1) not comfortable with the position and 2) feel very nervous on a decent.

However, over the last 2 weeks, I have activly been trying to use the drops more so that I can improve my riding. To be fair, it is working - as many have said, the more you use the drop position, the more natural it becomes.

The position has defo aero benefits, not just downhill but also on a flat, I found that I can cadene a bit higher with a better speed (1-2mph)

I'm going try to make future rides a 50/50 hood and drop.

rick_chasey

When to change?

When you want to look Pro .

jibberjim

You should be more confident descending and cornering in the drops as the center of gravity of the bike is lowered making it more stable not less.

willo78

Great post all, I visited the place I got my bike from, he said you should roughly use the drops around 5% of the time an that the majority will be on the hoods. I guess thats not strictly true, certainly not for all.

I do find that the brakes are harder to reach on the drops, perhaps I need to tweak my seat and/or stem?

Thanks

suzyb

I never use the drops as I find it uncomfortable pedalling when using them (fat gets in the way :oops: ) and I can't reach the brakes properly when descending.

I should try and adjust the brakes but I think they may be at their limit already.

DesB3rd

If you have trouble using the brakes from the drops them either a.) you have v. small hands or b.) the levers are in the wrong place.

Pulling the levers from the drops should be a more natural & powerful "grab" (like balling a fist) than the entended finger "press" from the hoods.

daxplusplus

Don't agree that braking from drops should be a problem .. in fact I find I have much finer brake control on the drops. The finer control is one of the reasons why I prefer braking on the drops on fast descents.

willo78

I might ask them about it when I next in the shop, it just seems as though I really need to stretch reach the brakes.

extrusion

I didn't even know you could use the brakes on the hoods! Seems a bit awkward, I always move to the drops for braking, or one hand on the hood, one hand seeking the drop whilst wobbling to a junction. I shall have to try it out as I have been worrying about being able to get to the brakes in time in traffic when Mrs. Must Get Kids To School pulls out on the mini-roundabout in front of me ...

bobones

extrusion wrote:

I didn't even know you could use the brakes on the hoods! Seems a bit awkward, I always move to the drops for braking, or one hand on the hood, one hand seeking the drop whilst wobbling to a junction.

What you do is a million times more awkward! Just hook your thumbs around the hoods and feather the brake levers with your fingers. You can't extert as much force as you can from the drops, but it's adequate for most situations. Some levers sweep outward from the vertical to facilitate braking from the hoods and you should have your brake pads reasonably close to the rim so you don't need to push the levers very far. Switch to the drops for braking on descents or situations where you feel you might need to stop very quickly.

andrewjoseph

I use the tops (flat bit between stem and hoods), the hoods and the drops. i too have compact bars with less ... erm drop, from hood to ... drops.

i use whatever placement i like to give a change of position whilst riding. but:

Always in drops for descents.
Nearly always on hoods in busy traffic
nearly always on hoods or tops for climbing.

On the flat i spend long periods in the drops, especially with a headwind. probably spend 60-40 split in favour of drops.

And to those who have problems reaching the brakes in the drops, they can be altered to bring the levers closer, either with shims/screws in the brake itself. or by moving the brake bodies on the bars, and also by altering the position of the bars. probably all three. you need to be able to reach the levers easily to have good braking.

my wife has small hands, and mine are not huge, we've got ultegra 6300 (for triples) that are supposedly for people with small hands anyway.

willo78

I will try altering the brakes for easier access, thanks for the post

littleprawn

bobones wrote:

extrusion wrote:

I didn't even know you could use the brakes on the hoods! Seems a bit awkward, I always move to the drops for braking, or one hand on the hood, one hand seeking the drop whilst wobbling to a junction.

What you do is a million times more awkward! Just hook your thumbs around the hoods and feather the brake levers with your fingers. You can't extert as much force as you can from the drops, but it's adequate for most situations. Some levers sweep outward from the vertical to facilitate braking from the hoods and you should have your brake pads reasonably close to the rim so you don't need to push the levers very far. Switch to the drops for braking on descents or situations where you feel you might need to stop very quickly.

Cannot agree with this more. Just an added caveat if you have cantilever brakes like myself. I stay on the hoods during my commute/ leisure rides for 70% of the time and for serious braking, I need to be on the hoods. On the hoods, I think I can only get about 50% power in braking compared to 100% on the hoods.

dawebbo

I find the main difference from going in the drops is improved handling, with the downside being that it's less comfortable for sustained periods (back/neck).

You can brake harder in the drops as there is more leverage using the bottom of the levers, though for me the main benefit of this is that it's less effort on your hands.

Aero-wise, yes you are a bit lower, but this can also be achieved by tucking in on the hoods, so I don't think there is a massive difference.

Finally if you can't brake comfortably in both positions, it is likely that either you have them set up wrong or weird shaped hands...

SR7492

Following on from my post earlier and reading other members input, I tried the drop bar position more consistantly on my ride last weekend, and to be honest I quite enjoyed it - it did feel more comfortable for my crown jewells plus I felt better riding low down i.e. average speed was slightly up and I could ride a bit more freely.

Not totally 100% comfortable with the position when riding downhill/cornering but I will be using this position a lot more with each ride.

Thanks for the OP who started this thread and everyone who has contributed

andrewjoseph

littleprawn wrote:

...

Cannot agree with this more. Just an added caveat if you have cantilever brakes like myself. I stay on the hoods during my commute/ leisure rides for 70% of the time and for serious braking, I need to be on the hoods. On the hoods, I think I can only get about 50% power in braking compared to 100% on the hoods.

i think you may want to edit this.

littleprawn

Opps... :oops:

Cannot agree with this more. Just an added caveat if you have cantilever brakes like myself. I stay on the hoods during my commute/ leisure rides for 70% of the time and for serious braking, try and use the drops. When riding on the hoods of the bars, I think I can only get about 50% power in braking compared to 100% on the drops.

daxplusplus

I started riding a road bike last year and last week, for the first time ever, I got out of the seat on the drops when going for it .. never done that before! It just happened but seemed like the natural thing to do. Reckon that's down to just getting used to the different riding options drops give you.

It appears that it takes a long while for some of these techniques to become 2nd nature .. for me it was 1 year and 4000 miles to power out of the drops.

So keep practising, keep trying to learn better/different techniques .. it all helps in your armoury for riding better :-)

keith57

I always use the drops for descending - much more secure over any bumps at speed and gives you much finer braking control as you're using the end of the brake lever rather than the top part. If you can't reach the brakes when you're on the drops then they're in the wrong place! Same goes for fast downhill bends, you need to be in the drops.

On very long alpine descents (sometimes over an hour or so) I have no option really - I find it gets to be too strenuous to brake continuously from the hoods