Defining Moments: Hood Position
If I spent half a summer riding with one hand on the tops and one on the hoods, I spent the other half riding with each hand deliberately gripping the hoods differently. As any young Cyclist growing up in the United States in the late 80s, I had a major thing for Greg LeMond.
I imagined Greg to be the perfect Cyclist, as youth often does of their heroes. I modelled my position on his; when Scott Drop-Ins became available, I hastened to save up for a set and mounted them on my bike. In the interim, I mounted some mountain bike bar-ends on the drops of my regular Cinelli bars. (If I could ask Greg one question, it would be whether he ever actually used his Drop-Ins in any race situation. I’ve never seen a picture of him riding in them, and after having owned a set, I can tell you those babies were the flexiest bars I’ve ever had on a bike.)
But I digress. Back to me and my BFF, Greg LeMond. However much I idolized him, one personality trait I knew we didn’t share was an obsessive/compulsive need to have things be symmetrical. I am all about symmetry; my hoods have to be mounted at exactly the same height, the cables have to emerge from the bar tape at exactly opposite the other side, the gap between the tape and the stem has to be exactly the same on both sides of the bars. LeMond did not share this compulsion, a fact most readily demonstrated by how he gripped his hoods with each hand usually sharing a different number of fingers in front and behind the brake levers.
I could understand that people might differ on precisely how many fingers should be in front of the levers and how many behind, but the idea that one could grip their bars with an uneven distribution across hands completely blew my adolescent mind. If I was going to win the Tour some day, this was obviously a skill I needed to have.
So I set about practicing holding the hoods the way he did; one hand with no fingers in front of the brake lever, the other with all but the littlest hand-piggie in front of the brakes or two fingers in front, two in back on one hand, one finger in front on the other – the quantities were irrelevant so long as they were not the same on both sides.
But I couldn’t do it. It drove me crazy – it twisted my guts up inside. And that was when I realized I would never become a Pro Cyclist, if I lacked such a basic skill.
But every cloud has a silver lining, and with my failure came an interest in the various ways one could grip the bars. The first obvious point to make is that the classic “three-position bar” actually offers about a trillion positions, although I admit I lack both the skill and the fortitude to count them all, and am therefore unable to confirm that figure.
I find the hoods offer the most interesting position variations; depending on how you grip them, you can stretch your back or shoulders, settle in for a relaxing spin, or go low and aero for some Passista hammering. Most importantly, if you add a scowl or a grimace and a little bend to the elbow, you can instantly look the Flandrian Hardman.
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Ahhhh, there is so much right with this thread and pics that it is like I have ended my time on the wagon and off the booze early! Chapeau Frahnk. Such a great piece!
I suffer through a multitude of hood – hand relationships, always in seeking the V. Then, out of nowhere, La Volupte. Nirvana is achieved for a fleeting moment…
When I was 14 I worked in the potato fields of the North East for two looooooong weeks and many weekends to put the dosh down on a Raleigh Shadow five speed racing bike.
Raleigh helpfully provided an instruction book on how to ride it.
One illustration showed three basic hand positions and my teenage mind took the message that on bends one should have one’s knitted mitt covered hands on the bends of the bars and for at least a year every time I went round a corner my paws went on the bends (sans mitts – I doubt if anyone within 50kms possessed track mitts).
As we were:
a) Poor
b) Scottish
actual pictures of men racing bikes were not available and I just had to make it up as I went along.
To my credit I did suss out that my father’s choice of faux tweed jacket collar and tie was unlikely to be the kit of choice in Continental racing – however I was fine with tucking my flared jeans into my Pathfinder sock/Clarks Commando shoe combo.
I’d love to see the pros racing in wet jeans…
Will go Rotundo or Tornova — with the drops perfectly level. And then tune my grip. Yates gangnam style!
I am keen on the phantom tt bars.
Also, the tops while climbing may not be the most stylish, but with a loose grip and a big smile it is really un-nerving to those hunkered down on the hoods grimasing and nodding away.
Sastre a doofus!?! I object!
@Graham
We must not be talking about the same Sastre.
@pink
Climbing from the tops is a perfect style. Your big smile may not be so good. Unless your cycling nickname is the Joker.
Perfect
another perfect
Great post! I had to think about what my hand positions are – they come so naturally. Mostly, I’m a one finger front, three behind. I spend a lot of time with both hands near the stem on the tops. If I’m super relaxed, it’s four fingers behind the hoods.
The RdV image is noteworthy as such a position was possible due to the relatively small differential between saddle and bars. Many modern riders would have a hard time getting there because f the greater differential.
Is #3 Koblet? The “pedaller of charm”?
Still have my Scott drop-ins too. Always a wee bit sketchy unless riding straight and flat.
As I take my turn at the front coming down the front straight at the local downtown Twilight Criterium I imagine how many people are saying to the person next them “Look at that swank, fat old bastard with his forearms on the tops, wrists/hands hanging limply/casually as he leads the race.”
Probably none, but I know Eddy is smiling.
Oh man Frank, the Scott Drop-In bar comment was too funny! I also clammped on some Onza MTB bar-ends to mimic the position unitl my own Scott bars arrived. When they were finally on the bike, I wrapped them in neon green (I think) and put my own Scott decals on the drop-in bit, to look just like the world champ. They were certainly flimsly. if anything Scott gets credit for creating adverstising real estate out of nothing. I I bought into it.
@pink
Any hints on technique ? Climbing on the tops with hands just resting, no grip, is great for engaging your core.
Two fingers on the bar, two fingers on the hoods: I can shift on the right with my ring finger, and on the left, slide my index and middle finger to go up/ down/ trim.
When I’m cooked, or at the limit, I’ll use the palms on top of the hoods, wrist support method.
Chatting it up at an easy pace, it’s on the tops right near where the tape ends. It’s actually a Merckx-send that I have a Garmin that mounts to the stem now, as all the older versions required being mounted to the bars which made this position not work perfectly.
Never miss a detail do you Frank? I’ve always thought about proper hand position and cycling, tho I probably thought more about hand position when I was a teenager…………Awesomeness!
When I ride on the hoods I almost always have to be symmetrical as well. The only exception in as ever so brief moment when I might bring one hand on the bar for an adjustment of some sort. Otherwise it’s the ocd symmetrical two-finger split on my bikes.
-Dinan
@wiscot
That’s funny you mention that, wiscot. I had to take a minute and imagine how I do position my hands while I ride. It’s not something I have spent much time thinking about, just something that settled in naturally. i’ll have to try some different hood positions next time I am out….
-Dinan
Hood’s, Drop’s, Top’s, Scott’s and crowd favourite – Spinaci’s! They just got outlawed when I was about to put some on.
Here’s a few positions from Cinelli;
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On average, have the hoods moved higher on the bars in the pro peloton in recent years? Seems like fewer riders these days have them as far forward as Merckx did. The photo of the Schlecks shows hoods that appear to be as high on the bars as mine, and I’m a 44-year-old lardass with three fractured vertebrae. I’ve managed to work my way down to one 5mm spacer below the stem, but if I pushed my hoods as far forward as Merckx’s, or even Frank’s, I would look like Marty Feldman after a few weeks. How high constitutes a Rules violation?
Solid article Frank, It really becomes second nature over time and what works well for the conditions. Three under, one over for me, that is on anything remotely flat. Then on the top of the bars when climbing in the saddle, just so that the thumbs touch each other and the sign of Merckx appears on one side and the “V” on the other. Only then do I tuck them under the bars. @ Scaler911 mention a few i use as well.
I always appreciated Cipo’s super high hood position – apparently set up that way so he could maintain a very high level of comfort whilst lazing away in the bunch. The only time he would strike a pedal in anger, he would be in the drops, so why adopt anything but the most upright leisurely grip possible at all other times?
Almost like he considered lower hoods to be only required by those peasant domestiques who had to labor on the front for hours.
Interesting topic – it took me a long time just to ease off the death grip I had on the bars. Still figuring positions out but I don’t have “the claw” after a long ride.
@sthilzy
@sthilzy
Nice, on classic bars all of those positions work great for me. Hands close to and on the stem with a flat back is a super aero position, though I always paid the price in aching triceps. Small hands make for iffy lever gripping while in the drops, and after nearly Jensing from hitting a bump I couldn’t see on a downhill in the rain and squeezing the front brake while trying to just keep a grip on the bars, I prefer the 4 finger grip when in the drops. I’d rather fastgun to the levers when needed.
Great article, Frank.
Oh, and one I really like for getting Belgie is the hands cupped over the top of the levers and hoods, palming the hood/lever junction as it were. Not so great on really rough roads.
@sthilzy mmm – buzz not ride with Mr. Number 7
So many great positions. Hands on the top, so you can admire your wrists, like Krabbe. Hands draped over the top of the hoods, for casually deliberate hammering. Phantom aerobars. All the permutations on wrapping fingers around the levers. In the drops. Getting asymetrical is a whole other level.
I am also an OCD type. Bar tape, cables, hoods everything must be symmetrical. It took me quite a few attempts but finally my wrapping skills have matured so that I am only using one set of tape for the bars and they are evenly spaced with the same number of twists on each side.
Hand position is three under one on top.
Interesting bit of trivia.
When talking to my friend who has been fitting riders/racers for years and now teaches fitting, he noted that if anyone puts their hands on the brake hoods any differently than just hooking the thumbs over them with the fingers on the brake levers, you can almost guarantee that they have raced their bikes.
Riding on the hoods I usually split the fingers evenly and drape them lightly down the lever and bar. Hit the little flappy paddle with my ring finger, and use the leverage from my index finger on the big paddle. When I’m really working though I do wrap them around the front and underneath. Newer Shimano levers have a nice indent on the top that accommodates a strong grip. On the tops I space my hands so my thumbs come in and hit the stem bolt holes, or widen out to the bends(?) to open up the chest more. The drops are stupidly compact, so only one hand position really. For climbing I sometimes stretch out with my palms on the shifter “nubs”.
Not quite sure how you define this…other than that the owner’s a dangerous loonie who should never be crossed…
@Simon And with his flagrant violation of the Three-Point System he could sell advertising space on his forehead.
When I started wrapping my bars and re-cabling myself I started to get a bit OCD about the symmetry but no matter how careful I was with the set up, resting the levers on a flat surface to ensure they were in the same place on the bar, etc, I was still suffering pain a numbness on the rollers. An unrelated trip to the physio was a moment of revelation – one leg was a good deal longer than the other and if that was the case then it quite possible that the rest of me was asymmetrical. I suspect that, subconsciously, that has allowed me to relax more and it’s much less of a problem.
@Simon That’s utter lunacy, he’d have no more control than if he took the bar and stem off and held on to the steerer tube.
Couple of great shots of Nibbles. Looks more like he’s tapping out a quick text to the missus.
@Spun Up I’m going to go out on a limb here and state that any hood position copied from a picture of The Prophet cannot, by definition, be in violation of The Rules.
@Simon
@Chris
no he’s fine he’s using his third arm in the drops to steady the ship….
Favorite position hammering on the flats= wrists on the tops just outboard of the stem… makes me flat, aero, and relaxed all while being Casually Deliberate and Rule #80 Compliant. Spartacus has this pose down to a science.
@Simon
Yates dangerous. Sure. He appears to be in complete control of his danger.
@Chris … oh, the SuperSix Hi-Mod EVO. Now THAT is a bike! Quite possibly the best all-around bike in the peloton this season.
@Anjin-san
I’ve not been a huge fan of Giant (no good reason, just never like the ‘looks’ of them). This changed my mind:
@scaler911 I have a Giant TCR Advanced and I love it but the propel is a thing of beauty. However, no matter the bike, the hardest thing I suffer from every ride is trying to decide which had position is best at the time. Hands on the hoods? on the tops? in the drops? Forearms on the top? impossible
@scaler911
All I see is one ugly crank.
And I’m a huge fan of Shimano. Other than that crank.
@G’rilla Agreed, that four arm set up looks wrong. I’ve always been a fan of the Cannondale Hollowgram cranks. I’m biased though. (The ability to swap spiders is great for old gits like me whose knees explode at the merest hint of an incline)
Back to hood position:
@Chris
Honest to god. When I got back into cycling I said, “WTF do you mean I can’t assemble a different freewheel for every damn ride?” That was part of the fun, in addition to being practical as hell.
@G’rilla
Totally agree. I can’t stand the design of the upper end shimano cranksets. Yuck.
I feel that it should be an international law that all decent-to-high end road handlebars be sold with measurement marks at the stem clamp & at the transition where the shifters are set in order to make symmetry easier to achieve.
Nice article, love the assorted photos. It’s very cool that some of you have made this a lifetime passion. For someone relatively knew to the sport it allows me to wonder about what I might have been like as a teen Velominatus.
@Spun Up
For sure. We’re changing our position a lot, and I don’t know if its better or worse. We’re riding smaller frames, lower bars, higher hoods.
I’ve moved my hoods up (or, more accurately rotated my bars) to find a neutral position. I think riders in the past used to use the hoods to create tension which the theory is provided more power to the guns – think Fignon with his low hoods.
@pink
One of my signature moves is that if I happen to be passing someone, I’ll give it a little gas right before I pass and then go full straight arms on the tops and chat a bit as I blow by.
Riding the tops is ultra-pro, but I really only can sustain a speed – if I’m accelerating quickly, its hard to gain enough leverage.
@scaler911
Your avatar made me watch American Flyers while building up the VMH’s bike last weekend.
@all
I’ll still grip the hoods and number of ways, but always symmetrically.
The Knuckle Ball: Two fingers on either side of the lever body.
The Pinkie Swear: a pinky curled over the nob on the hoods and all other fingers pointed inwards and forearms resting on the tops.
The Pinkie Swear Alternate: pinkie under the brake lever, all other fingers above.
The Strangle Hold: Two fingers in front, two in back or one in front three in back – and using it for maximum leverage.
@Marcus
I remember he won a Giro sprint in 2002 on the tops. He even surprised himself, that time.
@frank
I don’t ride the hoods that often unless I’m in a group where I really need fine control and braking ability. Since I ride solo so much, the tops are where I am like 80% of the time, and I use the drops when I really want speed or when I want to sprint up a short hill quickly.
But there is one way I grip the hoods which I call “the lazy superman”, which is to cup your palm over the top of the brifter (god I hate that word), sort of like how you’d hold the stick shift in a car. It gives you a nice, stretched out position without going as deep as you are in the drops.
@freddy
I was actually going to issue a point penalty to anyone who picked him on account of the leg-warmers over the bibs, but decided not to in the end. Riding like that at the start is one thing, to finish…well, I quite frankly don’t care HOW cold it is – there is no excuse for that!!
@Spun Up
Is it maybe because it wasn’t possible to slam the stem like you can nowadays?