It’s no secret that I’m prone to riding in the big ring as much as possible, mostly on account of my not being a giant sissy. In accordance with the ISO Non-Sissy Standard, I also never read instruction manuals or ask for directions when lost. I make sure to only rarely ask my VMH to turn up the radio when Adele comes on, usually followed quickly by an ernest explanation of how I thought it was Metallica, and how Rolling in the Deep ripped off the opening to Enter Sandman. The record does show, however, that I occasionally fly into hysterics when surprised by an insect or amphibian – but that’s just good common sense.
Pantani’s in-the-drops climbing style has always impressed me, but he’s only one of the riders who won races going down in the drops looking for more power on the climbs; Jan Ullrich was often climbing in the drops as well as our mate Johan Museeuw – not to mention Richard Virenque and so did Frank Vandenbroucke. Looking at that list, I wonder if the UCI should explore adjusting the test for EPO to examine time spent climbing in the drops.
Riding the route of Liege-Bastogne-Liege with Johan last Keepers Tour, I noticed a pattern in his riding style. Whenever the gradient increased on a climb, instead of changing gear he just moved his hands to the drops and rose out of the saddle to casually push the same gear over the steep. It looked so easy, it was impossible to resist trying it myself. At first, there is a strange sort of sensation, like you’re dipping your nose into the tarmac. But then when you switch to the hoods, you notice an immediate loss of leverage. After practicing it, it becomes second nature.
Someone once told me that the key to going fast is to try to break your handlebars, and that’s just what I’ve been trying to do lately although I hope I’m ultimately unsuccessful. Since gleaning this trick from Johan’s riding style, I’ve been staying in the big ring longer and climbing out of the saddle in the drops, pulling hard on bars and feeling them flex. Its not always faster than spinning a low gear but it has the benefit of taking the load off your cardiovascular system and putting it on your muscular system – a handy thing if your form is missing something or you’ve got massive guns (which I don’t).
This has brought another notion to light: the lower the hand position, the better able you are to find the leverage you need to turn the pedals. This is one of the principle issues with the sit up and beg epidemic, apart from it looking crap and being less stable. But hand height seems to impact power; I’ve noticed that when I’m climbing on the tops, I can breath easily and I’m able to maintain a speed well, but acceleration is difficult. To accelerate or hold a pace up a steep gradient (which is almost the same as accelerating), I’m better served riding on the hoods where my position is a bit lower. But when I really need power, I go looking for it in the drops.
All this brings into question the current trend towards compact bars and flat hand positions between the tops and hoods, with the drops only a bit lower. Compare that to the deep drops ridden in the past, in the style of Eddy Merckx and Roger de Vlaeminck where the hoods were halfway between the tops and the drops. The modern bar shape and hood position seems to reduce the riding positions to as few as possible, while in the past, they were designed to provide as many as possible.
In any case, big sweeping drops look the business and I’m pretty sure they are in complete compliance with the ISO Non-Sissy Standard.
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Climbing in the drops works for short climbs sure, where leverage is key (that's why the hills are called punchers, no?) but I was always taught to move the upper body as little as possible on longer climbs. The tops are the place to just rest your relaxed hands. Of course, you're going to have to hold on tight to attack for sure, but since my name ain't Pantani, my hands are going to the hoods (which are correctly placed on proper bars).
Side note regarding the non-sissy standard: it needs to be applied to those "flopping" sports in a major way.
I totally agree. The first time I rode with some pros (Note - hey slowed down to let a few of us hang out with them for a couple of days- this is by no means a boastful statement of my cycling ability) I also couldn't help but notice they would not downshift so much on the small rises but instead just power over and I was often just spinning 20 rpm above them as they pulled away over the crest. I now consciously try to limit the downshifts and drop a bit of cadence and HTFU.
I slogged on through, but damn, the opening paragraph is excellent. I'm kidding, the whole things is slick.
Interesting thoughts on the trend of bar shape, which reduces hand positions. Less variety is never a good idea. I try to use the tops, hoods and drops frequently during rides, if nothing more than to just keep the hands, neck, and upper back shifting to avoid stiffness.
I too avoid the inner ring. Last evening was riding the bike home from the LBS after they did some work on it. Was in shorts and sneakers, decided this made it okay to go for the wee one. Dropped my chain, couldn't get it back on by shifting. I can't remember the last time I dropped my chain in #1.
Thus, I see many, many months of Big Ringin' it.
What Ron said.
I have some distance to do in June as I am attempting a Lejog. On recent 'training' rides (erm coffee shop visits) I tend to ride very much within myself, always looking to conserve energy. I now think I need to get out of that comfort zone, and train harder to fight easier. Probably all a head thing.
When I purchased my 'custom' frameset (it wasn't custom built for me but would have been the bike the builder would have built for me), I had an in depth discussion on just this point regarding compact handlebars. I had been riding them on my Ridley and the builder said that he absolutely thought that they were a mistake for me and that I should get a classic or deep drop bar as compacts don't offer enough variation in hand positions. I took his advice and have been much happier. My position is admittedly pretty sit up and beg on the tops and even the hoods, but I can ride in the drops all day. Its much more comfortable and I feel I have better control of the bike and better braking performance from the drops. When I need a bit of respite or want to vary my position when climbing - there is actually a variation to be had.
I've looked at compact bars, but for someone like me with long orangutan-like arms it seems like the extra bit of drop in the bars is preferable vs. some advantage from being compact. Maybe the pros do it because they have a ridiculous amount of drop between saddle and bars?
With the weather improving and the necessity of Rule 9 waning, I'll learn from Ron's mistake and endeavor to use the big ring on runs to the local breweries.
I guess reading this at work is permitted since there's mention of ISO standards. I ended up with compact bars as they were touted for small hands, and I was thinking in terms of reach to the brifters from the drops. Hate them, and looking for something more traditional.
"Its no secret that I'm prone to riding in the big ring as much as possible, mostly on account of my not being a giant sissy."
I couldn't help notice that the story changes once the descent begins. ;)
All true and there's some sage advice hidden in here. I moved to traditional bend bars last year and haven't looked back, but am still not as low at the front as I'd like to be. Just can't get my neck to be comfortable on rides over two hours.
I love my compact bars and nothing will dissuade me from that. And lets not forget, compact bars are > ergo bars.