Getting used to "racing position" on a road bike

[dayva]

Awesome! Thanks for the advice everyone! I am going to get it fitted tomorrow evening at the shop where I bought it...

[Crankin]

I admit I don't feel right in the drops, even on my bike with the great short reach where I can squeeze the brakes quite easily. I just don't like the feeling of speed. I feel out of control. I can go 30 routinely, but once I get over that (rare), the brakes go on. And if I'm descending a hill with turns, forget it. I am slow. Probably the only person who makes up time on the climbs.

[ny biker]

I generally brake more on downhills than the people I'm riding with. I'm particularly uncomfortable cornering on a downhill. It's actually something I'm trying to work on. Not that I want to go really fast, but I think it could be dangerous to brake too much on turns due to the risk of skidding. And on a group ride, slowing too much could cause problems for the riders behind me.

I like to ride the in drops on flat roads, and often I'll stay that way on small climbs or on descents. But despite the physics, I generally am most comfortable on the hoods.

[dayva]

Yeah, on my commuter bike, which I was doing road rides on until I got this road bike, I never really got to doing more than 20mph on a downhill. I think it will just take some getting used to...when I first first first started riding a few years ago in NYC I remember how terrifying just going downhill on the bridges was...and that couldn't have been more than 12-15mph...learning curve!