Originally Posted by
denaffen
Please, can we stop talking about frame size. Again, this isn't one bike. Multiple bikes. A variety of sizes. A variety of stems. A variety of bars. This isn't a case of me getting on one ill-fitting bike and making a sweeping proclamation.
Being able to ride in the drops is almost always a bike fit issue, so I'm not sure how we can stop talking about bike fit. Like I said above, riding on the hoods should be where your body/hands fall naturally, and it should be comfortable for miles, so much so that you mostly ride on the hoods. With a shallow drop bar like the Highway One, if the bar is set up so the hoods are that comfortable, then you should be able to get in the drops ALMOST AS comfortably, and pedal smoothly for at least a mile or two. If you can't, then it's either the fit, or your own flexibility.
As far as fit goes, it could be something as seemingly unrelated as saddle angle. I've sometimes set up a bike and even though I don't feel like I'm falling off the back of the saddle, I feel like I have to reach out to the bars. A slight adjustment of saddle angle puts the hoods where they should be. Too much, and I feel like I'm being thrown at them. It's a matter of a degree or two.
When you're on the hoods, do you feel like you can sit up without having to push off the bar, or would you fall forward?
EDIT: If you're not uncomfortable in the drops, and you can pedal comfortably in them, just consciously do it more. Think of flat bits of road, especially into the wind, as a time trial and see how much faster you can go in the drops.
But, you know, they're your bikes, and you're free to do what you like.