Do you lose power in the drops?

[sparknote_s]

When it's windy out I like to go into the drops, but I immediately notice that it feels like I lose a tremendous amount of power, it seems mainly from the up stroke. I notice that my pedal stroke is more of just down stroke and I get a bit bouncy almost. When I go back to the hoods I can smooth the stroke out and it feels much better. It is much easier to 'pull up'. I think it is because in the drops, my knees and quads are so damn close to my upper body, that just must not be a very powerful position for your legs. But then again, if I raised my seat any then my I would be rocking because the bottom of the crank would go down too far.

Whatever the bone is called that goes from your ankle to your knee, I noticed it is longer than my friends, and we are the same height. This might have something to do with it, but how can I fix that on my bike?

Would a shorter crank possibly help? Then I could raise my seat a couple more centimeters due to the bottom of the crank stoke being higher, PLUS it would be even more because the top of the crank stroke would be lower. So if I shortened the crank by 2.5 cm, and raised the seat by 2.5 centimeters then that would be like 5 centimeters lower my knees would come up to my chest?

Does this make sense?

Thanks.

[Adam-from-SLO]

When it's windy out I like to go into the drops, but I immediately notice that it feels like I lose a tremendous amount of power, it seems mainly from the up stroke. I notice that my pedal stroke is more of just down stroke and I get a bit bouncy almost. When I go back to the hoods I can smooth the stroke out and it feels much better. It is much easier to 'pull up'. I think it is because in the drops, my knees and quads are so damn close to my upper body, that just must not be a very powerful position for your legs. But then again, if I raised my seat any then my I would be rocking because the bottom of the crank would go down too far.

Whatever the bone is called that goes from your ankle to your knee, I noticed it is longer than my friends, and we are the same height. This might have something to do with it, but how can I fix that on my bike?

Would a shorter crank possibly help? Then I could raise my seat a couple more centimeters due to the bottom of the crank stoke being higher, PLUS it would be even more because the top of the crank stroke would be lower. So if I shortened the crank by 2.5 cm, and raised the seat by 2.5 centimeters then that would be like 5 centimeters lower my knees would come up to my chest?

Does this make sense?

Thanks.

I'd go to your local bike shop..... and have them take a look at you while riding your bike/on the bike. They should be able to assess the situation much better, then the large majority of us here on the boards. ;)

Ride hard,..... but ride safe :D

[el Inglés]

try raising the bars a bit ?

[babylou]

try raising the bars a bit ?
Yes, try raising the bars a couple of cm.

[Fat Hack]

I don't know about you guys, but I wouldn't be altering much of my position just to cater for riding in the drops. You should be able to ride "aero" when bent over, with your hands on the hoods.

Having said that, I'd guess the problem is that your bars are too low and/or you're not felxible enough through the hamstrings, butt and lower back, so when you bend over more, your hamtrings are put under too much stress.

You could also try a bar with a shallower drop.

The shin bone is the "tibia", and there are all sorts of formulas on the net that calculate crank lengths, although these ones tend to favour the use of longer than normal cranks:
http://www.zinncycles.com/cranks.aspx
http://www.cranklength.info/
http://www.billbostoncycles.com/crank_length.htm
http://www.nettally.com/palmk/crankset.html

[RC2]

I'd go to your local bike shop..... and have them take a look at you while riding your bike... I'd 2nd that. In general lack of flexibility comes into play, but the aero advantage gained by riding in the drops is at a bit of a trade-off vs. comfort. Practice it and it will feel more natural. Nothing wrong w/experimenting w/different bar positions either.