Look Pro: Going Belgian Style
To keep chickens is to walk a path towards introspection. From the songs they sing after laying an egg (which I assume is “chicken” for “I’m Every Woman“) to the sheer glee they show when they find a worm in the mud, chickens provide a perfect example of living life in and for the moment. The most interesting aspect of their social interaction is whenever a new chicken is introduced into the flock: all of them freeze in place and stretch their necks out as high as they can, the winner presumably being the one whose head boasts the highest elevation.
As a Dutchman, I am born with the genuine belief that I can stretch my head higher than anyone in Belgium can. Where Americans make Polish jokes, the Dutch make Belgian jokes; we unrightly view them as a sloppy, dim-witted lot. Jokes of indoor airstrips, helicopters with ejection seats, and windshield wipers perplexingly installed inside the car windshield filled my youth and caused endless side-aches from laughter. This is all to say that I carry a healthy sense of superiority over our neighbors to the south with two notable exceptions: riding bikes and making beer.
Especially when it comes to riding bikes, Belgians have the market cornered on Rules #5 and #9, not to mention the entire lexicon pertaining to being Casually Deliberate and every Look Pro article not having to do with climbing, if you can ignore Lucien van Impe. But mostly, they own the art of riding Belgian Style.
Riding with hands on the hoods is a critical element of finding both power and comfort on our machines; it blends aerodynamics with leverage and casual cool like no other position does. The key to keeping from getting sore (or even numb) on a long ride is to constantly change positions; beyond the tops and drops the Belgians have explored the vast world of possibilities of riding on the hoods like no other group has. Learning from their lessons, we can distill the usual V points of reference:
- Riding elbows locked is strictly for relaxation or intimidation. If you’re laying down The V, keep your elbows low to the tops like Roger de Vlaeminck. (Pronounce it Correctly: The Flemish pronounce “Roger” like the French, “r oh ‘sz ai “. There is no Dutch/Flemish version of “Roger” as in “Roger Rabbit” – the closest name would be “Rutger” as in “Rutger Hauer” who is not as cool as Roger De Vlaeminck.)
- Keep your wrists rolled in and elbows tucked towards the top tube. This applies to the drops as well, but its still a good time to bring up the point. We’re riding bikes, not wrestling elephants.
- Experiment with how many fingers go in front of the brake levers and how many go behind; whether or not to also wrap the bar itself with your pinky and/or ring fingers. Mix it up to keep your shoulders loose on long rides. If you get out of the saddle, make sure you grab a handful of hood like grabbing the horns on a buckin’ bull; don’t stay choked up on the bars as you’ll lose leverage and steering control.
- Always keep a loose grip on the hoods. You’re riding a bike, not trying to milk a cow; keep enough tension in your hands to maintain control of the bike but not so much that you’re suffocating the poor thing. And speaking of grip…
- Belgian Style riding is best employed in smooth or moderately technical terrain. If shit be gettin’ bumpy, best to grab the tops or drops. Thumb holds and rocky bumps don’t mix and you don’t want to do a Jens when a blind bump comes knocking.
I have always done 90% of my riding from some version of the hoods. I feel most control from hood positions. Drops on major descents or murderous head winds only for me.
How, I wonder aloud and so invite photographic enlightenment, did Belgians ride on the hoods in the old days of short gum hoods buried in the deep valley between steeply sloping ramps and skyward cable housings? I can’t even fit my whole hand on a Nuovo Record brake hood. They feel like they’re made for children.
Just an observation: it seems riders who started riding years ago (more than one decade or so) as opposed to more recently seem to favor riding Belgium style a little more. For myself it was to keep my cinelli bar tape as pristine as possible (owing to a mixture of bike pride and cheapness). Badassness is a nice byproduct.
The position depicted in the intro picture is exactly the one that we should adopt in order to transfer as much V as possible to making the bike go faster on a “flat” road and this, according to a new study (which lacks replication in order to assess interindividual variation among cyclists and bikes, but what can you do… this study was conducted by engineers… not evolutionary biologists…). See:
http://pip.sagepub.com/content/early/2014/09/18/1754337114549876.abstract
Here I thought I was German and Swedish. Turns out a Belgian barmaid slipped in there somewhere.
Seems to me that when I’m trying to move it on flats this works better than the drops. Think it has anything to do with long monkey arms?
@John Liu
I never thought you’d ask.
@Ccos
Two words: shallow drop bars. Even Rotundos are shallow compared to old school bars. Riding in the drops was a commitment with the drop was halfway down Eddy’s 19cm head tube!
@John Liu
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CAcQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.theracingbicycle.com%2FGran_Sport.html&ei=wltIVMCrEdityATPy4LgCA&bvm=bv.77880786,d.aWw&psig=AFQjCNG8Chjc-o_OPyUjvWMHVoGjB7VnIg&ust=14141145594
Eddy seemed to manage.
@frank Right! True enough, the fall in altitude going into my cinelli drops causes my ears to pop.
I guess I must have Belgian in my blood because that’s pretty much how I ride.
@frank –
I’m shocked you forgot this pic-
The young lady early this fall knocking off a 10 mile TT PR was Belgian dang near 100% for little over 30 min’s vs in the drops insisting she has more control… just maybe, she secretly wants to keep the white bar tape pristine. I wouldn’t be surprised. Getting the forearms parallel with the top tube is just worth the effort. Regret my inability to figure out embedding the .mov file and crummy screenshot. Cheers
@wilburrox shooting a video in portrait mode? For shame.
But it looks like the nipper was killin’ it.
Not much aero action happening here, in this situation the hoods are being used as an anchor point to help extract the very last fumes out of the fuel tank 100k & 3,000m deep in to a ride…
@ Frank – you gotta go Chaka Khan with ‘I’m Every Woman’. Whitney’s version just doesn’t cut it.
I did a Jens several weeks ago. Will be a while before I am back to form. Amazing how the pros seem to shake off crashes. Maybe their youth, pain tolerance, or secret sauce.
Yes. This is the cause of much unneeded discomfort that should be otherwise channeled into V. People wonder why their hands hurt after four hours of deathgrip on the bars. Just this simple change created huge improvement when I figured it out.
This is also the key to good technique on pavé or offroad – it’s impossible to maintain control over the bike unless you loosen your grip.
@DeKerr
Thanks! I needed that to be brought to my attn ! I’d swear I’m clueless about some things. One would think it’d just be natural to landscape the video but I don’t know what I’ve been thinking. Again, thanks.
And she did indeed kill it as she’d knocked 53 seconds off her previous PR. This was her first attempt on the 700c bike after migrating up from the 24″. I suspect that come springtime she’ll be breaking the 30 min mark and 20mph avg.
@frank
There’s more too it than just shallow drop bars, though.
Seat to bar drop is much more now than it was in the 70’s and 80’s, and in some cases the modern hoods are almost as low as old-style drops.
http://inrng.com/2013/01/cycling-position-change/ has some measurements.
@Dave
Or getting paid a load of money to get back on and HTFU?
@frank
Picture 3. That’s one helluva mullet.
Lead picture. I had to look twice to see that it was Terpstra not Tommeke. The Dutch champ bands on the sleeves were the clue. Those bars sure ain’t level.
“Belgian Style” riding becoming prevalent is a function of a billion factors. Modern STI/Ergo levers (or rather, the demise of the downtube shifter) are probably a root cause: Suddenly it’s as easy to shift from your hoods as it is from the drops, whereas before the drops were the shortest way between shift- and brake-levers. Ergo, you lower your bars to put the hoods where your drops used to be – the default position changes name, but it’s still the same point in space. Now your drops can be lower for sprints, descents or when whenever you’re hauling ass and need the leverage.
@wilburrox
She was also probably more aero than if she had her hands on the drops. Less surface area = mo fasta. Level forearms on the hoods is second only to clip-ons in terms of speed.
I finally got round to buying a copy of A Sunday in Hell.
de Vlaeminck’s style (and kit, and sideburns) = astonishingly cool.
@wiscot
@@blackpooltower watched it the other night – I thought Roger deserved the win, Demeyer was wheel sucking at the end. Incredible film.
@rfreese888
It gets even better after the 100th time.
Cold weather Belgian style= long sleeves plus no gloves.
@frank
Dug around yesterday to find 3ttt bars and bid. Nice used bars 23.75 and includes shipping. Going MEX 158mm to the drops.
@rfreese888
When you learn the ropes as one of the 3 Musketeers (Pollentier, Maertens and Demeyer) you learn to be crafty. Some say wheel-sucking, others say riding smart. Demeyer died of a heart attack at 31!
Well goddamn, am I relieved. I thought I was the only one constantly changing how many fingers I have in front/behind the hoods/lever. Phew!!
Also, I have owned “A Sunday in Hell” for a good few years now. I have never been able to force myself to finish watching. Something about keeping it forever new and awesome. I’ve started it countless times, but I have yet to watch the finale. It’s okay, I know my logic is illogical.
@Ron
There’s a helluva lot about this site that’s illogical, but we keep coming back for more and more . . .
Great read! My immediate thought on seeing the “riding the hoods” BelgiumStyle was that Alex told me that whatever I did during my Paris Roubaix Cyclo, do NOT ride the hoods on the pave’. Only the tops or drops, NEVER the hoods. I took his advice for at least the first twenty sectors but on one of the final sectors, being completely brain dead, as well as physically dead, I forgot and hit a sector on the hoods. FUCK! And I had thought that they were hard on the drops! Closest I came to crashing that day was by far trying to ride pave’ on the hoods.
But, being the good Velominat that I am, I actually read the entire article and saw your Vth reference point about the pave’. Spot on!
@EBruner
This to me is a very bad habit; the hoods are too easy to slip off from; the drops are much safer because you’re not just holding on by your thumbs.
One of my most strictly-adhered to principles for descending is to do it in the drops; I get what you’re saying about getting sore but I’ll take sore over in the ditch or on the face.
@Owen
I switch between them, no question. But for a combination of power, control, comfort, and speed, there is little that tops the hoods.
@Haldy
Or this one.
This one is more badass than it is demonstrative of my point.
And lets not forget the biggest head-scratcher in terms of leg warmers ever:
@frank
I agree completely on descending to be in the drops, and I do on ‘real’ descents. But on generally level, climbing, or rolling hills I have been a hood rider for 30 years. Just natural to me. On rough or uneven pavement I will quickly go to the tops, or sides behind the hoods.
@Buck Rogers
I’m with you. @Marko rides them on the hoods and it fucks with my mind. For me, I have been moving more and more towards riding them in the drops; they flex more and your hands feel better in the long run.
@wilburrox
There is so much awesome in this photo, including the bumble bee kit and aero fucking helmet. Those are V-inch cuffs on the socks, I think as well.
@DeKerr
The fact that cameras even allow this to happen is enough to start imposing trade embargos.
@rfreese888
I am pleased to confirm that I have neither the inclination nor the experience to estimate which version of that crap song is the version that “cuts it”.
@Dave
Or the frequency with which they do it?
@antihero
Fo sho
Very humbling. To the inadequacy of my legs, lungs, and spirit, I now must add the wimpiness of my thumbs. Is there any tiny part of me that measures up to the Ancient Rouleurs? Maybe my earlobes.
@frank
So…much awesome… V-ness in these pics….
@The Grande Fondue
Great reminder of a great article. Still if you look at the drop to the drops from his saddle, that is about the 20cm I have from my saddle to stem so all I’m lower than him is the drop on the bars themselves (rotundos so not lots of drop)
@@blackpooltower
The best part is when Moser comes flying by. That’s some grace on the stones.
Paaaaaaahh-reeeee, Rooooooooooo-bay.
@rfreese888
I saw that the first time on my birthday in the 80’s or 90’s and I was so totally devastated that Merckx didn’t win. But now I love RdV and I’m devastated fuckn’ Demeyer won. Cheap win, but I never appreciate the value of drafting.
@fignons barber
Trudat!
@unversio
I am pretty sure those are the ones I have; I will double check.
@John Liu
You can always get a mullet.
I couldn’t work out why my bar tape was wearing on the tops at the curve, until I noticed my wristwatch bracelet clasp was in said same position, when doin’ it Belgium styles! It is THE position, way faster , but a word of caution when standing up with your hands ON the hoods, it is a completely different position to hands BEHIND the hoods! Your body weight is a lot further forward and steering is very different. A light touch on the bars is also a great skill, never grip the bars (unless sprinting in the Final), you almost want them to ‘float’ in your hands so that they are able to move but only just, try climbing with your palms flat down and open on the tops this will engage your abs.
@wiscot
It surprises me sometimes how we are frustrated with how a race is won, rather than an all out ‘results are all that matters’ attitude. I mean, I don’t condone gambling at all, but in horse racing I’m pretty sure no one gives a fuck how the horse wins, just that it crosses the line first.
Wheel sucking or no – there is no moral honour in the act, but to the victor the spoils. And in the case of someone like Gerrans, tactically holding someones wheel and outsprinting for the line is smarter racing than trying to lead out and losing. Because in the end you won. Right? Yes, it’s right, but it is also so, so wrong.
It just loses honour with us fans I guess. As if cycling had a culture of honesty, integrity and gentlemanship/gentlewomanship to uphold…
Oh and re: heart attacks – a close family friend of some repute in the 70’s advises most of his adversaries and friends from the peleton at that time have gone too soon. Someday someone should research the higher than average development of heart arrhythmias, as well as early life heart failure in cyclists, and whether it is the strain (Cortisol, immune reduction) or substance abuse…
@frank
If you aren’t spending at least 25% of a hard ride on the drops, meditate on why, start doing some stretches or admit to yourself that you have slammed your stem entirely for aesthetic reasons.
@Ron
I have at least a half dozen different hand/finger placements I deploy on the hoods. 11 speed campagnolo offers so many comfortable options.
@antihero Lesson from martial arts – relax anything you don’t need. Which in this case is just the legs, lungs. and a bit of brain.
@frank
Fair enough Frank but Chaka Khan used to gig with Miles Davis who thought she was the real deal. You may not like that song but Chaka is worthy of respect.
My current ride has flat bars so I’ve never been able to ride the drops – except at velodrome sessions.
However, my new #1 is coming in a couple of weeks. I’m tremendously excited.