H2Orat

My belly is too big (once again ) but once it goes, I've got no problem with the drops on my road bike.

thepartsguy

I was a road cyclist before getting my first mountain bike in 1996. Had been on drops since early 70s. I have less numbness riding hoods or drops on my road bike than I do on straight bars or bar ends on mtb. Had drops on my gravel bike for years too.

Ross520

Wouldn't it be more comfortable to wrap those?

steelrider58

Actually, I did! This photo shows the setup just before I put some Cinelli tape around the barends and the exposed parts of the handlebar. I can't do tape on the grip areas since I really see a huge comfort improvement using the ergonomic grips.

steelrider58

Agreed... I've already re-routed the front brake below the handlebar. This is just the best photo I had to show the handlebar setup.

Ross520

Gotcha! Glad it's working for you.

tgenec86

Welcome to the Grand Illusion
Come on in and see what's happening
Pay the price, get your ticket for the show...

Thread going strong. Illusion? As has been shown - the variables are as numerous as there are riders. Position, riding style, body type & composition, flexibility, bike type and 50 shades of yellow jerseys all play a part.

And you may ask yourself
Am I right? Am I wrong?
And you may say to yourself
"My God! What have I done?"

livedarklions

Basically, "the average rider" is a theoretical construct that doesn't exist in nature. We all like what we like because reasons. Conversations where people tell other people what they should like are often entertaining, but only because the person doling out the "advice" is being funny, intentionally or otherwise.

donhaller 

Before I lost 100lbs I couldn't comfortably use the drops. Many years later and a stronger fitter cyclist that doesn't have a belly in the way any longer I find myself using the drops way more than I did in the past. I can now use them to help in headwinds, and or just to change up my posture when I'm getting tired.

GnipGnop

Before I got into road cycling but still rode a road bike, I switched out the drops to flat bars. Both my bikes were downtube shifters so I could do it easily. As I got more and more into road biking, I switched back to drops. I heard someone used to climb in the drops way back when, so I'll practice that every so often to expand my riding position options. Like others, belly fat is the biggest inhibitor to me using the drops. I love the feeling when I go into the drops and there's no fat in the way. Hopefully that doesn't last too long after winter this year.

jadocs

The difference between riding your bike and driving your bike.

livedarklions

I'm not 100% sure what this is supposed to mean, but as someone who does a lot of road riding with flat bars and drop bars, I call BS. Both positions have their charms, and neither of them feels at all like driving.

Namnad510

I'm almost always on the hoods. I think my issue is flexibility.

livedarklions

I think if you're comfortable that way and enjoy your riding, it isn't an "issue."

I have one bike I'm almost always on the hoods and hooks and another I ride mainly on the drops. The geometry of the bikes is completely different, so it's all about comfort over long hours. You might ride the same bikes differently, neither of us is "wrong".

terrymorse 

As long as you’re able to use all the positions, preferring one for most of the time is fine.

But if you never use the hooks, you won’t be able to access them when the conditions warrant.

pakman3999

Honestly I just think they look much better, probably gonna try to swap out the flat bars on my commuter bike when I get the chance

Rides4Beer

This. The drops felt weird when I first started riding, but the more I used them, the more comfortable I got. Now it just depends on what I'm doing, just cruising around, I'm on the hoods or the flats, if I'm descending or hammering it, I'm in the drops. Stayed in the drops pretty much the whole time during my gravel race last weekend.

livedarklions

What you guys are missing is that hand position is intrinsically a YMMV thing. I use all positions, a lot. But I also know people who only ride the hoods because they're not doing any riding that demands much else, and they're very comfortable doing that. I'm not going to tell them they need to expand their repertoire for the sake of doing so. There's plenty of mountain biking techniques, for example, I'll never learn because I try to stay off any tough gravel as I hate riding it. Telling me I won't have those techniques when it's good to use them is rather besides the point.

terrymorse 

What you are missing is that any cyclist can find themselves in a situation that warrants the hands-on-hooks position.

livedarklions

Safe to say that that statement is not unmeaningless. Any cyclist can also find themselves in a situation that warrants wearing a bulletproof vest.

terrymorse 

Thank you for injecting absurd hyperbole into a serious discussion.

livedarklions

You're welcome. Thank you for your endless campaign telling other people how they should ride just like you.

shrtdstncrdr

Woe unto those who find themselves in that situation while riding their flat bar bikes.

Whoa I say!

terrymorse 

"they should ride just like you" = further hyperbole.

My "campaign" is to encourage cyclist to learn and practice time-tested skills. Born from spending too much time in emergency rooms and urgent care centers getting under-skilled riders patched up.

Happy Feet

What a saint., out there trying to save the world from itself.

This is Bike Forums, an internet discussion group where everyone just shares their opinion. People with campaigns become tedious pretty fast - just ask the VC and helmet advocates. FWIW, it does come off as you trying to tell everyone they should ride the way you do whenever others say people can ride the way they like.

A little mental extrapolation suggests you come from a road racing background in the past where there are some set rules but you don't seem to grasp that not everyone comes from that place or even has a desire for road racing at all. Throughout the thread you've talked about nth degree of control at nth degree of risk (paraphrasing) but many just slow down and don't push the limits of control at speed. When you do that almost all of your arguments fall flat.

I've worked as an EMT, Physical Rehab Assistant and in a cemetery burying people. Imagine the street cred that gives my opinions about safety, seeing it from every angle... but in the end it's just my opinion. YMMV and that's ok, considering the experience of cycling covers a vast range of styles and a vast number of enthusiasts.