Some Body Part Needs Strengthening

[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.

[Starfish]

My 105s are double shimmed, and for me, it makes all the difference in feeling safe and secure in the drops descending. Before, descending in the drops was quite scary because I couldn't reach the brakes well enough. Now, a fairly short time later, I feel downright scared if I try to descend on the hoods.