To be clear I am talking about descends on MTB like trails, with bumps, holes, rocks, roots and cornering.
Until now I always went in the drops with one finger on the breaks. That gave me a strong grip with full control of the breaks. Downside was of course impacted bike handling and trail preview due to the deep front position.
Now watching the Leadville coverage I saw drop bar riders descending with their hands rather on the hoods. I cross checked with some CC vids and saw they do the same. So to my full surprsise thatĀ“s a thing!
Since then I am trying it on my gravel bike but I canĀ“t seem to figure it out.
Bike control on the hoods is indeed far superior. My issue is break and bar control.
What I tried:
Normal palms-on-the-hoods grip, 4 fingers on the break levers. That gives we full breaking power but if the bar rocks heavily up & down itĀ“s way too easy to lose grip, totally unsafe.
Same but only one or two fingers on the breaks while the others keep grip on the bar. Here grip is sufficient but I miss leverage on the breaks. I.e., I canĀ“t fully block the wheels. Emergency breaking is impossible.
4 Fingers on the breaks, hands outside of the bar and only the thumb on the hoods. This kind of gives be full break control and also sufficient grip, but it gets uncomfortable as hell after a minute.
Am missing something? How do people descend on the hoods with full bar AND break control?
Locking a wheel with 1-2 finger braking should be possible if your brakes are setup properly, if you canāt itās an opportunity to work on your grip strength.
No brag, I just want to get to the bottom of the issue. I am stronger than 99.5% of people, so stregth is probably not the issue.
So you think the proper grip for those descends is 2 fingers on the levers and two on the bar? I.e., thatĀ“s how these Leadville and CC riders do it?
If I say I canĀ“t block the wheels this way I refer to trying it on tarmac. I have the Rival Etap AXS breaks with 160mm discs. Maybe they are particularly weak? I miss any comparison with other gravel breaks unfortunately. Maybe worth adding that I have 90Kg.
What do you think is more likely, my grip strength is better than yours or my cable operated Avid BB5 calipers with sintered pads on 160mm discs are more powerful than your hydraulics?
I run the same brakes on my tandem which has an all up weight including me and my stoker around 150kg and have no problem stopping, albeit I run 200mm discs on that bike,
Have the hood in the āvā between thumb and index finger. Wrap little and ring finger round the bar, underneath the levers, overlapping with thumb. Have index (and maybe middle) finger on the brake lever (from above).
If you canāt fully use the brake levers from that position, check the lever reach.
Hm yes, I think thatĀ“s pretty much what I am trying.
Ok, you both seem to confirm that this is how it should work. Then at least I know how to keep trying.
Maybe worth mentioning that my AXS levers have the shift actuators between them and the bar, which prevents setting the lever reach close to the bar. Maybe thatĀ“s part of my issue?
But I will try playing with the reach once more.
The new Sram Red brakes allow one finger breaking. I have the older Sram Red brakes and do two finger breaking with the levers adjusted all the way out. So, two fingers on the brakes and two fingers wrapped underneath. I use the hoods 100% of the time, no matter the terrain.
How are you guys setting up your hood angles/handlebars and lever adjust. I have heard on a podcast somewhere that it helps to lower the frontend and run a shorter stem (ages ago so I canāt remember where or who said this). Is this true
I also have strong grip strength (at least compared to many other cyclists) but it feels super sketch and like i am missing some brake strength. The drops feel much easier, but I want to try the hoods. I am not willing to buy the new SRAM Red.
You probably just need to ride on the hoods more, and get used to it.
In terms of setup - hood angle, stem length etc should be so that your reach is correct. The lever adjust has to do with hand size (people with small hands might want the levers closer).
Aside from making sure your handlebar set up on the hood is dialed for your reach and you can get a good hold of the brakes when needed, it just really comes down to what you feel most comfortable in.
Personally, Iāve always stayed on top of the bars, rarely did I go on the drops because I felt unsafe and like I wasnāt able to maneuver the bike as well. But I know plenty of people that love being on the drops 24/7 haha, so Iād encourage you to do what feels most safe and in control to you when youāre hitting the descents.
If you are making that change, then like @splash mentioned, you may just need to ride on the hoods more
Curiously, I have the exact opposite experience in terms of control on rough descents - I find my grip/control, and subsequently confidence, on hoods is nowhere near where it is in the drops. I tend to brake a lot more and be a lot more nervous in general when Iām on hoods vs. drops. Even more pronounced with flared bars ā¦
Try e.g. lifting the front wheel, bunny hopping, fast cornering, resetting your rear wheel in tight corners etc. in the drops versus the hoods.
I had 1.800 meters of descend in total today and for the first time forced myself to stay on the hoods with two fingers on the breaks. With lotĀ“s of good will I even could manage blocking the rear wheel on tarmac, no chance on the front, though.
I had to go down slower then usual and it felt everything else than comfortable.
Am I right in assuming that this takes time to master, lotĀ“s of?
Any hydraulic brake should all for single finger braking. Thatās like the whole point. Control is superior in the drops. I think pro roadies are now descending with hands on the straight bars by them stem for aerodynamics (at the sacrifice / tradeoff of control)
Does it make any difference as to how much āup curveā there is on the hoods?
Iāve certainly seem some aero bars that look very flat at the hoods, and my normal bars have a very pronounced up which really helps my thumb and first finger latch in with a v grip (almost to the point that I could ride with fingers free rather than gripping)
After trying everything including working on my grip, power, getting used to stay breaking from hoods up to changing the pads to trickstuff power, I was close to giving up on the matter before I almost accidently stopped by a bike shop where I tried all exposed bikeĀ“s STIĀ“s, which included different Shimano and SRAM models.
Absolutely all of them offered way more comfort, space and leverage compared to my own Rivals paired with my rather big hands (most XXL gloves are too small for them).
On my way home now having the comparision I noticed how my hands are even uncomfortabley cramping on the hoods while just properly holding them on a rougher part of the trail without any breaking.
I now ordered the new RED STIs.
Maybe that helps someone with big hands struggling with Rival STIs.
Are you talking about Sram Red vs Sram Rival? Mechanical or AXS? I think the mechanical hoods have exactly the same shape for Red and Rival (and Force and Apex).
I also realised I donāt quite hold the hoods as described above. What I actually do is hold the hood (not the bar) under the lever between thumb and at least the ring finger. The little finger I curl out of the way. Index finger goes on the brake, middle finger either helps on the brake or on the bar(hood), whatever is needed. For all-out braking I remove all fingers from under the brake lever and use the first 2 for braking.
