…and I’m not sure how to ride it!

As bizarre as that sounds, I don’t. The gears/brake combo will take a bit of getting used to but what the hell do I do with my hands? Is there a specific time and place to ride in the drops? Climbing? Road/flat stuff? When should I be on top? I’m guessing bimbling and descending? Going to watch the Rapha Supercross at the weekend so will be watching closely how everyone there does it… guessing that’ll be a good way to learn!

Anyone any other tips? Its been 25 years since I last rode a drop bar’d bike!

Drops = moar aero
Aero not really a problem until you hit 15-16mph.

So, on the hoods unless you’re above that speed?

Works for me anyway.

Had a cross bike for a month or so now. Have ridden in the drops once in that time. Generally on the hoods or tops for me

As a very rough guide:
Climbing – On the hoods generally or tops for longer climbs though you’ll rarely use the latter IME.
Flat – Hoods or drops, hoods for bimbling, drops for pushing on.
Down hill – Drops as you’re more stable and have full access to the brakes.
Sprinting – Drops, anything involving a concerted effort to push on I find you’re better on the drops.

There are plenty of other scenarios you’ll come across so treat this as a guide only.

Pretty much same as road.

Hoods/drops when on flat
Tops or hoods when climbing (hoods for standed climbing)
Drop for going down or technical sections

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28LnQcMuk7o[/video]

I can get what feels like quite a good aero position* with my hands close together on the tops with elbows tucked tight in front of the body.

* ignoring belly drag obviously.

Drops for downs and rough stuff and sometimes steep climbs
Hoods for climbs and Pootling along and road sections
Tops for real Pootling

Or whatever works for you after a few rides 😉

Hoods most of the time.
Ramps if your on a long section that doesnt need brakes or change of gear.
Hooks/drops if you are sprinting out of a corner to drop/catch someone, riding flat out in an aggressive bunch you cant drop, or descending something really steep.
Tops, if your bimbling around at the back.

Complete cross novice myself – so this is my very limited experience:

I was told that when racing cross to basically stay on the hoods the entire time and I’ve pretty much been doing that.

Although people say drops for descending, if it bumpy/tech i find the drops seem less stable for me than the hoods as I find myself more over the front wheel. Also, if its bumpy switching handholds while going at race pace is not something I’m yet comfortable with. If its smooth though drops feel nice. I do use the drops as lunge says for grunty sprinting efforts. And whenever there is a headwind.

I can get what feels like quite a good aero position* with my hands close together on the tops with elbows tucked tight in front of the body.

* ignoring belly drag obviously.

Low cross-sectional area, often a good position, maybe even better than drops (if your hunched down a bit like you would in drops). totally useless for CX though.

totally useless for CX though.

True, for racing, but my ‘CX’ riding* nowadays involves long stretches of fireroad or even tarmac and inevitably there’s a massive headwind, and for some reason I find that position easier to sustain than properly in the drops

* proper old school XC riding, where you just go out and ride on some tracks and up some paths and over some hills to see what the views like when you get there. Just about the only thing my CX bike hasn’t been used for so far is race round a field for 45 minutes plus one lap 😉

As this is a CX thread can I state that my answer is based on riding a CX bike off road like it was intended for. If you’re talking about gravel grinding/gnarmac/all road different (although in fairness, not dissimilar) rules apply.

I’d say set it up right for you and you’ll be using all positions to your advantage.

HTH

😆

Drops = moar aero

Don’t know if that’s true. I think aero is more about getting the head/torso low, and you can do that from the drops or hoods.

Personally I find the drops more comfy/stable when getting the power down so tend to use them when blasting along the flat or up hill for that reason. I use them when descending as you can get more leverage on the brakes.

I hardly used them at all when I first got my CX bike though, and it wasn’t until I’d started doing a lot of core strength work that the drops started to make sense. Now I use them a lot.

What about sand, gravel and deep mud 😉

I find it weird looking at myself in photos. Last two races I have adopted a sven like right hand on the hoods, left on the tops. Not consciously.

In general for gravel and easy stuff I ride it like a road bike. In racing I spend a significant amount of time in the drops (which, thinking about it is a lot like racing).

Tops for climbing on.

Just to add that chicken levers (aka cross top levers) are a great addition for some – yes they give a narrow effective bar width but what they lack in width, they easily make up for in control due to a higher, shorter position. Mind you the advent of fashion mtb monkey bars means it’s a big change when you swap between bikes…

So, for me:
– Drops – fast road
– tops (with chicken levers) – climbing and anything technical offroad
– hoods – pretty much everything else including smoother, flowing offroad

Chicken levers:

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/article/pro-bike-adam-craigs-rabobank-giant-tcx-advanced-sl-28460/

What about sand, gravel and deep mud

I try to avoid using my CX bike for actually riding CX. But yeah, drops also for anything technical/sketchy.

I try to avoid using my CX bike for actually riding CX

Brilliant, just brilliant. Sod it, I’ll bite, so what do you use it for?

Arguments?

Brilliant, just brilliant. Sod it, I’ll bite, so what do you use it for?

That was a bit tongue-in-cheek really as I have a Croix de Fer which was originally sold as a “CX” bike despite not really being one. That and it’s got slicks on right now as I use it for commuting (my route is both on and off road) so it’s not great for anything too gnarly.

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28ADO9pC1BY[/video]

I try to avoid using my CX bike for actually riding CX

So do I. To be honest I suspect most CX bikes sold at the moment never get used for CX.

I got one because the cycle paths round here would be a bit harsh on a road bike.

I wanted clearance for bigger tyres, disc brakes, pannier/mudguard mounts, but still something that would be relatively efficient on the road.

My Rose CX fitted the bill nicely.

benji – Member

Tops drops for climbing on.

when it’s called for.

Brilliant, just brilliant. Sod it, I’ll bite, so what do you use it for?

I had a cross bike as my only bike a couple of years back and didn’t use it for CX racing either.

I used it in the same way I now use an MTB. It was faster on some sections and slower on others but my overall times for a 20 mile loop were better on the cross bike. (MTB and CX bike both single speed with same gearing)

Anyone any other tips?

Put some road tyres on it, and ride it on the road. Stick to the mountain bike for offroad 🙂

Thanks daz – thats always been my view on cross bikes but at least this way I can do some off-road stuff instead of being a pure roadie weirdo.

Yeah sorry about that. Seriously though, the only offroad I like riding mine on is flat fireroad type stuff. Even the cobbles on the towpaths are uncomfortable enough for me to resort to the mountain bike.

Another tip. Don’t do what I did and take it down the local steep rocky mountain bike descent on the first ride. Terrifying is not the word. 🙂

Terrifying but fun. I absolutely love riding my CX bike offroad and it’s made loads of my local trails much more enjoyable to ride as some would be dull on an mtb.

Yeah sorry about that. Seriously though, the only offroad I like riding mine on is flat fireroad type stuff.

rough stuff is fine IME, rocky downhills especially long ones are what kills cx bikes for me. (or more to the point kills cx tyres) Last year I did a LOT of cx riding riding offroad on a “CX bike”*. This year not so much, just got pissed off with having to reign it in so much on the downs. Did a few rides this year that were offroad up and along but I chose tarmac descents, which quite frankly is rather perverse 😯

*don’t want to incur the wrath of “true” CXers

Dave – CX bikes only exist to make you realise just how cushy fat tyred MTBs with suspension are. Or to put it another way, they’re god’s way of telling you to ride the 5 🙂

unless you have chicken levers, dont forget where your brakes are, sounds stupid but if all you have ever ridden is flat bar bikes, it can be done. on the first ride out on my cx, I had to slow down to go round a metal barrier, by the time i remembered the brakes were no longer on the top, it was to late, id hit the gate, I went over the top and landed like a sack of s**t and the new bike was left with a nasty 2 inch gouge in the head tube. 😳

unless you have chicken levers, dont forget where your brakes are,

I never forgot where the brakes were but I rode ss CX to begin with, only had bog standard brake levers where I did a lot of 1 or 2 finger braking while on the hoods. When I swapped to gears and STI levers I tried the 1 finger braking a few times only for the shifter paddles to jam against my fingers still hooked around the hoods/drops and prevented me braking properly.
There were a few tense moments where my brain fought against my instinct to squeeze the levers even harder and instead actually try to reposition my hands/fingers.
😯

I rarely used the drops until I changed the bars for something (Cowbells) with a bit more flare which made them soooo much nicer to use and now I use them a lot more.