ROAD RIDING SKILLS: Beginning Riding Position

ROAD RIDING SKILLS: Beginning Riding Position

WHETHER IT WAS THE KARATE KID OR LUKE SKYWALKER, THE wise men of 1980s movies learned that to do anything well, you have to start from the basics. “Wax on, wax off” and “feel the force” were the building blocks—without them, your opponent would handily beat you down.
First off, remember that the bike is on your side—although gravity may be your foe, your bicycle is not. Its spinning wheels naturally create a gyroscopic effect due to their centrifugal force. This effect makes it extremely difficult to tip over while in motion. So the first key to balance is having enough momentum to keep upright. As long as you’re moving around 5 to 6 miles per hour (which is a very average walking pace), your bike will keep moving forward, usually in a straight line.
When it comes to balance, three is a magic number for points of contact with the bike. Your body contacts the bike at the handlebars, the seat, and the pedals. Of these, the handlebars and pedals are the most important part for staying balanced and in control of your bike—which is why it’s easier to stand up and pedal than to ride with no hands. Your handlebars are a no-brainer because they obviously are used to steer. The body weight resting on your pedals through your feet is just as important though, because that downward pressure—especially when it’s applied evenly—will also help to keep your equilibrium.
Just like in the movies where the heroes spend countless, mindless hours getting the basics down pat before they move on, you’ll want to practice these skills often if you’re just learning to get comfortable with a road bike. If you’re very new to riding, practice in a parking lot or on a bike path. Like the stars that save the day, you’ll want the basics to become second nature before you test them on the road—where traffic, other riders, and unforeseen obstacles are added into the mix.
A word of support for the novice road rider: If you have never captained a road bike, your first rides may feel as if your body is being thrown unnaturally, dangerously far forward. Because your whole torso is lower to the ground, it can seem as if you may go over the bars at any second and that your teeth are in danger of being rearranged by pavement. Stay relaxed and continue to practice in low-traffic areas. In short time, your fight-or-flight reptilian brain will learn this position is as comfortable and as safe as any other—because it is. Have patience if it doesn’t seem natural on day one. Like anything new, time and practice will eventually make it seem second nature.
How your body sits on your bike will never be static. Cyclists shift their weight around as the road beneath them changes. Whether climbing a hill, descending, shifting, or experiencing bumps, moving your center of gravity will help the bike work to your advantage.
Wherever you’re in contact with the bike, you are the suspension system. Think of how badly your car would drive if you didn’t have shocks and every little bump translated directly into the steering wheel. Yikes. In the case of the bike, you have natural absorbers built into your body—your shoulders, neck, hands, wrists, elbows, knees, ankles, and feet. That’s a lot of vibration dampening, but it works only if you stay relaxed. This is the key to hours of enjoyable, safe riding.
Strangely enough, this starts not at any of those joints, but in your diaphragm (the big muscle below your lungs that controls your breath). Make sure you’re taking full, deep, steady breaths—especially if you’re in a situation that makes you nervous or excited (like a sprint in a race). The more you clench up, the faster you’ll lose control. Also practice letting go of tension in your arms, shoulders, and neck. Keep all of your joints soft and slightly bent. The more rubbery and loose they are, the quicker they’ll be able to respond to changes in the road and the less fatigued you’ll become. Staying relaxed saves energy and keeps you in the best control possible.

NEUTRAL POSITION: This is where the bike is designed to be ridden most of the time—on flat or gently rolling ground. Your hand position will generally be on top of the hoods where you have access to the brakes and shifters. If the bike is properly fit, you should be able to freely turn your head and neck to look around, should not have too much pressure on your hands, and should feel comfortable sitting for extended periods of time. If you’re riding for long stretches where you don’t foresee shifting or stopping (and you’re confident that you can move your hands quickly to the hoods to access the brake levers in an emergency) you can also switch your hands to the top of the bars, closer to your body. This will allow you to take some weight off of them and change your back and neck position slightly.
In either of those hand positions, you’ll want to keep your bottom square on the saddle when riding in neutral. If you took a snapshot of your body from the side while riding, your torso and arms should make an almost perfect 45-degree angle. As mentioned before, your feet should be taking a good portion of your body weight into the pedals, so your saddle isn’t overloaded.
Having a seat position that is too low can cause serious problems for your knees, hips, back, and, most critically, your booty. Low saddle height causes the weight to be unevenly distributed into your sit bones and the soft tissue between them. This can cause discomfort quickly—even on a seat that fits you properly.
Your spine should be straight, keeping your back, neck, and head in alignment. Keep your shoulders broad and away from your ears, and your chest forward. This allows your airways to remain open and makes it easier to breath. Keeping good posture will also prevent the cyclist “hunch” that plagues riders, causing neck, shoulder, and back pain. If you feel as if you can’t easily do this without straining, the bike may need a professional fit.

DROPPED POSITION: When you need to lower your torso or center of gravity, the C-shaped lower portion of your handlebars—called the “drops”—is there for you. This position is most often used when descending, especially down long, steep inclines. Your torso will be bent more forward from the hips and your wrists will torque up a bit so you can readily reach the brake levers.
Riding in the drops makes it slightly harder to shift, but makes huge gains in braking ability—especially helpful on extended downhills—because you have a closer reach to the brake lever for both a quicker reaction time and the leverage to make a more powerful stop. This seems as if it would increase the pressure on your hands, and while it does, you’ll also be taking most of your weight into your feet because you’re coasting downhill.
When you shift to this position for descending, you’ll also make a slight shift of your weight back off your seat. Note that while you’re taking your bottom off the saddle, you’re not raising it up much, but bringing it backward toward the rear wheel to give you more traction. Your body will naturally shift forward on downhills, and this position allows you to push the weight back a bit to counterbalance.
By bringing your hands lower on the bars, your torso also shifts closer to the ground. This is good, because a lower center of gravity will make it much easier to balance and stay in control. If you try to remain in neutral position on steep descents, it will be harder to brake and your high center of gravity will make you feel wobbly and less stable. Again, your spine should be as straight as possible.
This same principle is applied to cornering. The shift in weight distribution helps you stay stable and in good contact with the ground.
Because riding in the drops is so much more aerodynamic, it is also a great choice for battling headwinds. Taking your torso and face out of the wind can add a few miles per hour to your speed. Pedaling in the drops changes which muscle groups are called on for power. When trying to beat a headwind, staying seated in the saddle will shift the workload to your glutes. Especially if you’ve been on the road for a few hours, this shift can give your other muscle groups a much-needed break.
Finally, if you’re a racer, the drops are where you’ll head for your big sprints. This time, instead of grabbing the bars near the curve and close to the brakes, you’ll hold the flat part close to the bars’ ends. Raising your back and hips straight out of the saddle, you can push and pull on the bars for the ultimate leverage to help your legs pump. For anyone who’s watched a pro bike race, this is a somewhat difficult maneuver because it’s easy in this position to look straight down at the road and forget to watch where you’re going. Also, torquing the bars for force makes it harder to steer straight. Don’t try this for the first time in a race situation—get plenty of practice in first.

STANDING POSITION: As you spend more time in the saddle and find your comfort zones, this is a more intermediate maneuver. Standing on the pedals calls for using yet another muscle group, so most riders find it difficult to do for longer than 30-second to 1-minute intervals before their legs fatigue too much to continue. Most often, cyclists stand on the pedals to climb but also use the move to give their muscles and soft tissues a break.
To stand, place your hands on the hoods in your neutral riding position. As you rise up, your weight will naturally shift a bit forward, which will cause your bike to lurch. Keep your arms relaxed so you can easily make this transition without swerving the handlebars. Also note that for a split second your speed will slow during this transition. If another rider is close behind you, give them a little warning first.
With your torso slightly bent forward, keep your hips (which essentially are your center of gravity) still, mostly centered above and just in front of the nose of the saddle. It should almost look like you’re on an elliptical machine—the legs doing almost all the movement with very still hips, arms, and torso. You may use your arms for some side-to-side torque, but the movement is happening in the bike, not in your body. Though the bike may be tilting from one side to another, it should still be traveling in a perfectly straight line. This is how you conserve the most energy.