Categories: Defining MomentsEtiquetteReverenceTechnique

Defining Moments: Hood Position

If I spent half a summer riding with one hand on the tops and one on the hoods, I spent the other half riding with each hand deliberately gripping the hoods differently. As any young Cyclist growing up in the United States in the late 80s, I had a major thing for Greg LeMond.

I imagined Greg to be the perfect Cyclist, as youth often does of their heroes. I modelled my position on his; when Scott Drop-Ins became available, I hastened to save up for a set and mounted them on my bike. In the interim, I mounted some mountain bike bar-ends on the drops of my regular Cinelli bars. (If I could ask Greg one question, it would be whether he ever actually used his Drop-Ins in any race situation. I’ve never seen a picture of him riding in them, and after having owned a set, I can tell you those babies were the flexiest bars I’ve ever had on a bike.)

But I digress. Back to me and my BFF, Greg LeMond. However much I idolized him, one personality trait I knew we didn’t share was an obsessive/compulsive need to have things be symmetrical. I am all about symmetry; my hoods have to be mounted at exactly the same height, the cables have to emerge from the bar tape at exactly opposite the other side, the gap between the tape and the stem has to be exactly the same on both sides of the bars. LeMond did not share this compulsion, a fact most readily demonstrated by how he gripped his hoods with each hand usually sharing a different number of fingers in front and behind the brake levers.

I could understand that people might differ on precisely how many fingers should be in front of the levers and how many behind, but the idea that one could grip their bars with an uneven distribution across hands completely blew my adolescent mind. If I was going to win the Tour some day, this was obviously a skill I needed to have.

So I set about practicing holding the hoods the way he did; one hand with no fingers in front of the brake lever, the other with all but the littlest hand-piggie in front of the brakes or two fingers in front, two in back on one hand, one finger in front on the other – the quantities were irrelevant so long as they were not the same on both sides.

But I couldn’t do it. It drove me crazy – it twisted my guts up inside. And that was when I realized I would never become a Pro Cyclist, if I lacked such a basic skill.

But every cloud has a silver lining, and with my failure came an interest in the various ways one could grip the bars. The first obvious point to make is that the classic “three-position bar” actually offers about a trillion positions, although I admit I lack both the skill and the fortitude to count them all, and am therefore unable to confirm that figure.

I find the hoods offer the most interesting position variations; depending on how you grip them, you can stretch your back or shoulders, settle in for a relaxing spin, or go low and aero for some Passista hammering. Most importantly, if you add a scowl or a grimace and a little bend to the elbow, you can instantly look the Flandrian Hardman.

[dmalbum path=”/velominati.com/content/Photo Galleries/frank@velominati.com/Hood Position/”/]

frank

The founder of Velominati and curator of The Rules, Frank was born in the Dutch colonies of Minnesota. His boundless physical talents are carefully canceled out by his equally boundless enthusiasm for drinking. Coffee, beer, wine, if it’s in a container, he will enjoy it, a lot of it. He currently lives in Seattle. He loves riding in the rain and scheduling visits with the Man with the Hammer just to be reminded of the privilege it is to feel completely depleted. He holds down a technology job the description of which no-one really understands and his interests outside of Cycling and drinking are Cycling and drinking. As devoted aesthete, the only thing more important to him than riding a bike well is looking good doing it. Frank is co-author along with the other Keepers of the Cog of the popular book, The Rules, The Way of the Cycling Disciple and also writes a monthly column for the magazine, Cyclist. He is also currently working on the first follow-up to The Rules, tentatively entitled The Hardmen. Email him directly at rouleur@velominati.com.

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frank says:

Mar 19 2013 at 12:48 pm

@mcsqueak

@frank

The Knuckle Ball: Two fingers on either side of the lever body.

I don't ride the hoods that often unless I'm in a group where I really need fine control and braking ability. Since I ride solo so much, the tops are where I am like 80% of the time, and I use the drops when I really want speed or when I want to sprint up a short hill quickly.

But there is one way I grip the hoods which I call "the lazy superman", which is to cup your palm over the top of the brifter (god I hate that word), sort of like how you'd hold the stick shift in a car. It gives you a nice, stretched out position without going as deep as you are in the drops.

You should practice riding on the hoods more; the tops are way too neutral. You'll go mo fasta and get mo betta.
actor1 says:

Mar 19 2013 at 1:25 pm

hand on tops for warming up & descending. hands on hoods/drops for climbing/hammering. opens up the chest more for more air, but i try to move them closer to regulate breathing & slow the heart rate a little. but that's just me, quite a bit off from peaking.
actor1 says:

Mar 19 2013 at 1:26 pm

*hands* on tops...
lordmoos3 says:

Mar 19 2013 at 1:39 pm

@frank Why does Sastre have a binky in those pics?
mcsqueak says:

Mar 19 2013 at 1:42 pm

@frank

@mcsqueak

@frank

The Knuckle Ball: Two fingers on either side of the lever body.

I don't ride the hoods that often unless I'm in a group where I really need fine control and braking ability. Since I ride solo so much, the tops are where I am like 80% of the time, and I use the drops when I really want speed or when I want to sprint up a short hill quickly.

But there is one way I grip the hoods which I call "the lazy superman", which is to cup your palm over the top of the brifter (god I hate that word), sort of like how you'd hold the stick shift in a car. It gives you a nice, stretched out position without going as deep as you are in the drops.

You should practice riding on the hoods more; the tops are way too neutral. You'll go mo fasta and get mo betta.

Riding on the tops is the only way I can contain the beast within. Don't want to go accidentally ripping off crankarms and such...
Ron says:

Mar 19 2013 at 1:52 pm

Am I the only one who changes hand positions a lot? Sometimes I try to kind of meditate on the bike & just roll along in one position for as long as possible, letting my mind go. But, I usually find myself moving my hands frequently, often without thinking about it.
Dinan says:

Mar 19 2013 at 2:30 pm

@Ron

Am I the only one who changes hand positions a lot? Sometimes I try to kind of meditate on the bike & just roll along in one position for as long as possible, letting my mind go. But, I usually find myself moving my hands frequently, often without thinking about it.

You are far from alone, Ron. I do the same thing. If I'm feeling good on the bike and emotionally relaxed I can sort of just go into a zen like trance and hold one position for miles without really thinking about it. If I am fatigued or agitated I am all over the place. In the drops, own the hoods, flat on the bar. I guess my riding position is just as moody as I am....

-Dinan
Dinan says:

Mar 19 2013 at 2:31 pm

@Dinan

Sorry that is supposed to be ON the hoods. Apparently my spellcheck doesn't work when I am on the shitter.

-Dinan
Simon says:

Mar 20 2013 at 1:23 am

@unversio

I'm not debating that he's in perfect control of his danger. Most hitmen are. It's the entirely hypothetical possibility of him being in control of my danger I was worried about.
Simon says:

Mar 20 2013 at 1:32 am

@Spun Up

On average, have the hoods moved higher on the bars in the pro peloton in recent years? Seems like fewer riders these days have them as far forward as Merckx did. The photo of the Schlecks shows hoods that appear to be as high on the bars as mine, and I'm a 44-year-old lardass with three fractured vertebrae. I've managed to work my way down to one 5mm spacer below the stem, but if I pushed my hoods as far forward as Merckx's, or even Frank's, I would look like Marty Feldman after a few weeks. How high constitutes a Rules violation?

I've been concerned about this in the recent past. I came to my own private conclusion that placing the hoods so that a spirit level reads level when placed to the highest point - the titty bit - and the flat of the bar before it begins to drop was just about right fit-wise and as high as I'd want to go aesthetically.