Drops or Hoods??

Got new bike last weekend and did 26k in an hour. Completely new to road cycling so it felt kinda awkward. Took me a while to get used to the gears (Shimano 105), and wasn't sure whether I should be down low on the bars or up high. Found it hard to change the gears when gripping the drops...felt like the levers were too far away. So has anyone any tips. When should I be in which position? How to handle the gears? Thanks in advance.

smacl

I find gear changing and braking easiest in the drops, might be worth having someone look at how your levers are positioned on your bars and set them up to suit you a bit better. I also changed from ergo to compact drop bars which I prefer.

For me drops on steep descents, bumpy descents, into the wind, and when looking for some extra speed. Tops more on climbing. Moving around between hoods, drops, tops and corners at other times.

marketty

That's good going for your first hour. Don't try to stay in the drops all the time, it's the best position aerodynamically when descending or cruising along quickly on the flat, but not necessarily the best for getting power from the legs. I'm usually on the hoods or tops (the flat middle bit of the bar) especially when climbing. Go with whatever is comfortable and feels 'efficient' at any given time. The great thing about drop bar compared to straight bars is that you have several different positions for different situations and comfort

Thanks for the replies. Ya it felt more comfortable on the hoods...felt more natural, maybe as I was used to mountain biking. Next thing to sort is the gears. The supplier explained to me about cross chaining, so I need to get used to that now!

awec

I never change gear in the drops, always when I'm on the hoods.

hardCopy

I use the hoods for any kind of traffic or manoeuvring, drops for high speed. On hills or long days touring I'll use the tops and 'sides'?

rollingscone

It took me about 5 monhts but I've learned to love the drops.

1. Drops are much safer/nicer in descending even though it took me a while to get out of nervously reverting to hoods on long descents.
2. Wind section is reduced which is not only good for aero but also feels considerably safer in blustery conditions.
3. For cornering, your centre of gravity is lower and you feel much more in tune with the bike.
4. For braking, you have way more leverage at the bottom of the brake lever than pushing from the hoods.

Try getting comfortable stopping and dismounting/unclipping in the drops, I found this was the exercise that took the fear out of them for me.

For traffic and climbing I'd ride in hoods 100% of the time but I find that now I ride in the drops whenever I can, because it just feels right.