Getting used to the drops...

lc1981

Schoie81 wrote:

Diamonddog - I don't feel I need to use the drops, but when i switched from MTB to a road bike, I bought a bike with drops so it was as different as possible to the MTB, otherwise there seemed minimal point to it.

Riding on the hoods on a road bike is already pretty different to riding a MTB - think about the height and width of the bars. I think a lot of people have this impression that because the drops are there, they need to be used a lot, but at a guess I would say most road cyclists don't use them more than 10 per cent of the time (although that's not to say that they can't use them or don't like using them, of course).

Mr Will

It sounds to me like you might be bending too much - try rotating your pelvis forward when you are down on drops and keeping your back straighter. Slightly more taxing of core-strength but should be more comfortable and eliminate the knee/gut interference.

Schoie81

Cheers Mr Will - I need to sort out these pics so you guys can see better what i'm doing and what (If anything) I should do differently.

slowbike

700c wrote:

Yes, getting out of the wind is the main reason why you'd want to persevere in using the drops. For a given effort I notice an increase on speed when switching to the drops on the flat.

Nothing to do with wanting to 'look more pro'!

A lot of ppl go into straight arm mode on the drops rather than angled - so not much benefit from getting on the drops.
I find it just as easy to hold the hoods in the palm of my hand and lay my forearm (as much as possible anyway) on the bars - you're quite aero that way and it's not too far back to change gear or touch the brakes.

I find no need to spend hours on the drops ...

sev112

My problem with the drops isn't getting down there, it's not being able to see in front of me while I'm down there !

Anonymous

Hi Schoie
What height/inside leg are you, and how big is the bike?
If you are too stretched out the drops will feel very odd and I would avoid them.

I only use the drops for a bit of a change or descending, but even then its not really necessary (as I can adopt just as aero a position on the hoods).
You should be able to brake well enough on the hoods, so the drops are very optional and I would not worry about it.
Get some decent replacement brake pads/blocks. A cheap upgrade with probably big improvements. Swissstop are good.

I would say to try flipping the stem. Maybe drop it down the steerer tube (by putting a spacer or two at the top) so that its not super high.
Make sure you tighten the top cap before stem bolts, and do it with bike on the ground (not off the floor in a stand) or fork will fall out.

Where in the UK are you? Not sure I would bother with a bike fit, but try to get some face to face advice on how bike is set up.
If bike is a little too big I would avoid fitting a much shorter stem as this will make the bike twitchy.
That said a big bike will have a long stem so the next size down (10mm shorter) would be fine.

markhewitt1978

Schoie81 wrote:

See, this I find interesting - because descending seems to me to be the worst time to be in the drops - I'm full of fear enough, I usually descend upright like a Meercat in the hope that the air resistance will slow me down a little!! When I have been on the drops its on long, straight flat roads on my rides and I tend to practice using them when I'm out with my 8yr old son so we're doing sub 10mph!!

That was me when I first got my road bike, the drops especially on descents felt unstable, but I gradually got used to it and once I got the confidence that the increased braking power gave me, I'm on the drops all the time on descents now, in fact I can't descent on the hoods because of the lack of braking power makes it too scary!

Schoie81

Carbonator wrote:

Hi Schoie
What height/inside leg are you, and how big is the bike?
If you are too stretched out the drops will feel very odd and I would avoid them.

I only use the drops for a bit of a change or descending, but even then its not really necessary (as I can adopt just as aero a position on the hoods).
You should be able to brake well enough on the hoods, so the drops are very optional and I would not worry about it.
Get some decent replacement brake pads/blocks. A cheap upgrade with probably big improvements. Swissstop are good.

I would say to try flipping the stem. Maybe drop it down the steerer tube (by putting a spacer or two at the top) so that its not super high.
Make sure you tighten the top cap before stem bolts, and do it with bike on the ground (not off the floor in a stand) or fork will fall out.

Where in the UK are you? Not sure I would bother with a bike fit, but try to get some face to face advice on how bike is set up.
If bike is a little too big I would avoid fitting a much shorter stem as this will make the bike twitchy.
That said a big bike will have a long stem so the next size down (10mm shorter) would be fine.

Hi Carbonator - thanks for the advice....again!! I am 176cm tall and my inside leg is 85cm. The bike is a Giant Defy and the frame is size 'M' - 50.0 - does that tell you what you need to know about the bike?? The stem is 100mm with a 7deg angle and is currently angled downwards. It came with quite a stack of spacers (1x10mm, 1x5mm and 2x3mm) BELOW the stem and i've just left them where they were. Some better brake blocks are on my shopping list already - i've already read that the blocks make a big difference so I think my confidence will improve if I have more faith that my brakes are going to stop me when I want them to - at the moment they are a far cry from the hydraulic discs I am used to on my MTB!

Anonymous

I do not really know enough about the Defy but a medium does not sound that big.
Do you have a bend in your arms when on the hoods or are they fully straight?

Schoie81

Carbonator wrote:

I do not really know enough about the Defy but a medium does not sound that big.
Do you have a bend in your arms when on the hoods or are they fully straight?

I don't think the bike is too big for me, unless the guy in my LBS knows nothing, as he said I could probably have had the M/L and it would have fitted ok, but that the M was probably just about right for me.

If this helps/means anything - HeadAngle 72.5, SeatAngle 73.5, Top Tube 54.5, HeadTube 16.5, ChainStay 42.0, Wheelbase 99.5, StandoverHeight 77.7.

It might sound daft, but I'm not 100% sure about my arms, need to get on the bike and check - its here with me, but i've got the wheel off as i've got a flat to sort out, but will do that and then check. That said, I'm 95% sure that in normal circumstances, my arms are not fully straight when riding.

chrisaonabike

Until recently, the main thing that put me off extended use of the drops was simply tricep fatigue. It would manifest as gradually increasing discomfort at the elbow end of the tricep.

I've had tennis elbow pretty badly this year so I've been doing virtually nothing in the way of upper body work. Consequently I've lost a lot of arm strength. However, it's been getting better (at last) this last few months, and I've been gradually returning to upper body exercise - things like press-ups and arm curls.

I noticed that as soon as I started doing press-ups, my ability to endure longer periods on the drops increased dramatically. It's made quite a difference to some rides, since I can stay out of the wind for longer at a time.