Some Body Part Needs Strengthening

[Kano]

Karen, I wouldn't recommend changes to your bike fit without seeing you and your bike. ...

My sense is that your discomfort is from riding in a new position. ...

This has been my feeling, Velo, since I have "problems" mostly when I'm doing downhill on this particular hill even -- I'm very comfortable on the bike otherwise! I've needed only very minor adjustments to the bike to get rid of the discomforts I started with, and didn't even notice this issue until I decided to do this hill twice instead of my usual once. (one change that cleared up several things at once was actually a new pair of gloves!)

Are you descending in your drops? You should be. Really try to focus on keeping your elbows soft/bent and your shoulders relaxed/down. Write yourself a little note for your stem if that will help you remember.

No WAY am I descending in the drops! I can work on focusing -- that will be like thinking "uncurl your toes, silly" the first few weekends we ski each year! But the drops for descents? Oh, I don't think I'm ready for THAT! (maybe I'll try on the straight-away one of these days...)

What type of brake levers do you have? Can you place at least one knuckle of your first two fingers around the lever while you're in the drops? If not, you might want to consider having the levers shimmed. This will bring them closer to you and make it easier to depress them.

They do need shimming. I figured that out the other night while playing in a new, empty area in our subdivision. They're Shimano 105's, and they work the shifting too. Last time my bike and I were in the shop, one of the guys suggested that we may need to do that. They've been encouraging me to get used to the new position before making too many changes to the bike.

You mentioned making the brakes "sensitive" instead of "soupy." I might like something somewhere in between there, and I think mine may be more on the "soupy" end of things.

It sounds like you don't like the switchbacky descents even though you're comfortable with the fast straight descents. That's natural for a newer rider. I recommend learning how to counter-steer (it's a cornering skill and it's been discussed at length elsewhere on the forum). You should use counter-steering to be stable on switchbacky descents.

You got it, girl! I want to see what's ahead of me, and know I can do it! It's really good to know that I'm "normal" in that, too!

I will go searching for the counter-steering stuff, read, experiment, and see if I can't find someone nearby in the real world who can help me out a bit with these techniques too. I figured a lot of my problem was my own -- body strength and my head. The reason I asked about strengthening my body off the bike was cuz I figured if there's something I can do that will make my body more apt to hold a "good" body position, I want to take advantage of that!


Thank you Velogirl, for sharing your wisdom and experience!

Karen in Boise

[Kano]

Liza and WurkitGurl -- Thanks to you ladies too! It's good to know of things I can work on, and that I'm not the only one who forgets to keep my body relaxed! It's also good to know that it will all get easier with time, too! (now if I could just go buy myself a can of patience...)

Karen in Boise

[RoadRaven]

I'm with Velogirl too, I think that its your body getting used to the new demands.

I remember my hands used to ache after every ride, because at the start of leaving there is alot of downhill (600' to sealevel) and I used the brakes alot.
It took a while until my hands didn't ache so much. And that was merely because I was holding them so tight and didn't use that muscle-action anywhere else in my life.

Likewise when I got my TT bike, new position and my shoulders and neck ached. They still do when I haven't been on it for a few weeks.

Just suss that out before you alter your bike too much.

[Grog]

No WAY am I descending in the drops! I can work on focusing -- that will be like thinking "uncurl your toes, silly" the first few weekends we ski each year! But the drops for descents? Oh, I don't think I'm ready for THAT! (maybe I'll try on the straight-away one of these days...)

This is one strong reaction against a piece of advice that's very important in terms of safety. The point of descending in the drops is not to go faster (at least not at your stage) but to give you better access to the brakes (more braking power) and to allow you to push yourself back on your saddle with more strength, AND to brace your arms more efficiently in case you need to stop suddenly. You will be much more stable and in MUCH better control of your bike. I cannot strongly enough join my voice to Velogirl's in suggesting you practice this very important skill.

[RoadRaven]

The point of descending in the drops is not to go faster (at least not at your stage) but to give you better access to the brakes (more braking power) and to allow you to push yourself back on your saddle with more strength, AND to brace your arms more efficiently in case you need to stop suddenly. You will be much more stable and in MUCH better control of your bike. I cannot strongly enough join my voice to Velogirl's in suggesting you practice this very important skill.

And adding my voice to theirs...

It may feel strange to begin with, but it gives you a much safer centre of gravity, you are less likely to get into an "out of control" situation.

Practice on less steep grades... and build up to the descents you are talking about.

It is so much safer. Yes, it is much faster - but only if you want it to be... I sit on the brakes alot still, but I always descend on the drops - (at the risk of repeating myself) it is safer for downhill, and for downhill cornering.

Have a go, relax and enjoy

[SheFly]

+1!

Practically the only time I do ride in my drops (outside of sprinting) is on downhills. As RoadRaven and Grog have both stated, this is a MUCH safter position for you than on your hoods trying to reach the brakes.

Give it a try!

SheFly

[Kano]

Okay ladies, I will work on this drops thing on the hills, but not until I get the brakes shimmed so that I can reach them better while in the drops! Right now, it's not the place to be if I want to get my hands on the brakes, I swear!

I agree, I did make a strong statement to say "no way" but it's the way I've been working, and am likely to continue at least part of the time for now. I know there's stuff to learn, but the "hoods position" is something I'm still adjusting to some over the comfort-beast upright position, remember, and it feels hugely scary on my hill! Grog, you talked about the reasoning behind descending in the drops, which Velogirl left out. Now I know that it's a safety feature and that I really do need to learn it, so I will practice drops on wee bitty hills and build up confidence, so that I can do it on bigger hills too! (after I get those shims, though, so I can get to the brakes while in the drops!)

I promise, I will!

Karen in Boise

[teigyr]

Hmmm, I feel like my center of gravity is off when I'm in the drops. Of course 10 mph down a hill is FAST for me

For those who recently started using the drops instead of the brake hoods, was it a scary adjustment?

[velogirl]

I'll equate riding on the hoods to driving an SUV, and riding in the drops to driving a zippy little sportscar. We all know that the center of gravity on an SUV is very high, so you have to slow down when turning or risk rolling the vehicle over. A sportscar, on the other hand, has a low center of gravity and just loves to zip around curves. When riding switchbacks and twisty descents, you really want to hug those curves like a little sportscar.

[Eden]

It definitely takes some time to get used to the position. My parents taught me this from the time I had a drop handlebar bike so it always been pretty natural for me, but it's one of the things we usually have to tell new racers all of the time - get in your drops, get in your drops, get in your drops! You should always descend in your drops as it is more stable, ideally you want to take corners in them too. Most people are afraid that they cannot reach the brakes when they first try the position. While some people really cannot and need to adjust the position of the levers on the bars or get shimmed out, a lot of people just need to get more comfortable doing it. Even with my tiny hands I don't have to have shims or short reach levers. I do usually keep my brakes a little loose so I can have my fingers around the levers without actually braking (this also keeps me from acccidentallly braking in the pack if I'm startled). I did find with my Fuji that the shop set it up with the handlebars tipped way down so that I was sliding down the drops and yes! I had a hard time staying in the drops, much less braking in them. I had to turn the bars so that the drops were much more level and move the levers up the bars a bit to be comfortable both in the drops and on the hoods.

For racers - races like crits - always in the drops! If you are in a tight pack in a road race, its a whole lot safer too - with your hands in your drops you are much less likely to lose control if bumped or to lock handlebars with another rider. Always in the drops for descents and sprints.