I decided to use today's ride to add some more data points. First, great discussion on attributes and preferences around drop bar shapes. On today's ride I thought more about hand comfort. When talking about bike comfort, I like to talk about the three contact points - feet, seat, and hands. As a general rule I'm trying to allocate my weight among those three points, with my hands taking as little as possible. It's pretty simple - the harder your legs are working, the more weight they are supporting and, consequently, your seat and hands are bearing less. For me, at a moderately hard effort, my hands are supporting negative weight, i.e. I'm pulling up on the handlebars in opposition to the force being pushed downward into the pedals. So, much of the time when I'm on the drops my palms aren't pressing into the top of the bar. Riding at a lower level of effort puts more weight into the seat and hands. Hence, wider saddles and swept back bars for a more upright position - more weight on the seat, less on the hands.
Today's ride was a relatively easy one, which for me is defined by breathing rate and how hard I'm working my legs. Total distance just over 40km (25mi), at an average speed of exactly 16mph. Unlike yesterday, today featured a bit more wind. According to the records at our sailing center, wind is SSW this morning, 9-13kts (10-15mph, 17-24kph) on my way out (heading north and a bit west), rising to 11-16kts (13-18mph, 20-30kph) as I came straight south back home. My average speed going out was 26.4kph and my average speed coming back was 25.0kph. It's worth noting that the ride out is quite a bit hillier, curvier, and woodsier (so protected from the wind a bit) than the ride back. Also, I'm leaving out of those stats the top of the triangle, which is relatively flat, going straight east. On the way out I spent most of my time on the tops or the brake hoods. On the way back mostly on the drops or the hoods or a position I didn't mention, my full aero position with forearms on the bar tops and puppy paws over the front of my handlebar bag. That position has two purposes, the obvious aero one and also to take all weight off of my hands. So, somewhat ironically, I use that position most when I'm riding hard and when I'm riding easy. A similar position that I find works well on the Noodle bars is hands on the hoods, wrists and forearms on the handlebar bend behind the hood. Not quite as aero efficient, but close, and also takes weight off the hands. The final couple of miles of the ride are a flat, straight section of road straight south. I rode for a while on the bar tops, sitting upright, at about 23kph. Then I went into my aero position and, using my finely calibrated leg & lung dyno to keep a steady effort, found my speed went up to about 25kph. Not as big a difference as I thought there would be, but if I was working in zone 2 instead of zone 1, the difference would have been bigger. Forecast is for ABQ-worthy winds this afternoon. I'm not dedicated enough to the science to want to go back out and add more data points. Ted Durant Milwaukee WI USA -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/1f971258-f0db-4ded-be4a-0c9d693c7bffn%40googlegroups.com.
