Aero bars

Been thinking about the use of aero bars on my bike, and while I doubt I'll fit them this year I have been thinking on rides recently that my bike would feel very unstable on rougher sections of road. At the moment (my wheels are Khamsins) any time I take one hand off, either to signal (or because it's winter, clear my nose) I get a lot of wobble and I'm guessing this is due to the frame and/or wheels not being very stiff, would that be right? I just feel that I wouldn't have much control in an aero position...

it always feel strange when you first start to use them - some people ( like my daughter ) are OK immediately but others really don't get on with them.. The only way to find out is to try them yourself - please find a quiet bit of road first though!!!!!!

All the roads round where I live are super quiet as I live in the middle of nowhere, however they are quite lumpy which would take a bit of getting used to, especially with a bit of wobble, thanks anyway!

I could never get on with them and have always had my doubts as to the advantage they confer in a triathlon. Yes, they work in a time trial but are a complete nuisance on a more technical course. I look at some of the tt bikes used in triathlon and wonder whether the cycling position will make it difficult to run afterwards. Having said that, they are very fashionable in triathlon and, as we all know, the first rule of triathlon is to look good.

I had aero bars fitted on my previous bike and bought them when I did a season of TT's. I found that if you go at a reasonable speed, if you go over a bump, if you keep your grip and keep on the straight you will be ok, but if you loose grip or start to slow down it's more difficult to control and might come off the bike.
I only ever went in the aero position on long straight stretches of road , or with small bends where you can keep up the speed. You definitely need to come into an upright position at anytime you think you might have to stop, like at junctions or an obstruction. But as you grow confident with it you will be able to manoeuvre it much easier.

FWIW My preference is for the ends of the bars turned up rather than pointing straight out. It is more comfortable on longer rides as your wrists are in a more natural position. I know the straight out kind is more aerodynamic and all the pro's use them but I am not convinced you can hold your shoulders in a strong position, hence your back with the straight out type. If these are held locked the legs have something to push and pull against.

One thing against is if you have deep carbon wheels on the front you may fight against them in a side wind but you can always move your hands.

For TT's and Tri's they make a big difference.

Apparently studies have shown that the more open leg to torso angle on a TT bike makes it easier to run off the bike than a more closed angle on a road bike, even with the seat forward. I'm not in a position to say but I'm sure there are plenty of people who can confirm/dispute this.

Tri/TT possition is pretty much the same as road possition only rotated forward with your ankle being the point of pivot, i.e. hips further over BB, front end lower. That's the problem with just adding aero bars to road bikes, they tend to bend you in the middle.

Your road angles should be preserved as much as possible whilst increasing aerodynamics.

But yes riding a tri bike makes it easier to run afterwards. There are some minor differences between a triathlon setup and a out and out TT setup too, if I recall correctly, for TT, UCI rules state that the nose of the saddle must be 4cm(?) behind the BB, there is no such rule for triathlon so you will see steeper seat tube angles and saddles that are directly above or even slightly in front of the BB etc.

It will all vary by distance too.

Rob,
I agree most tri's people are looking at safety and not the bike spec finer details but I think it is worth taking care because the European Championships specify UCI compliant bikes. You dont want to get caught out by an over zealous official. But at most competitions you could ride a butchers bike and get away with it.

UCI rules for those who are in to this kind of thing UCI rules are here http://www.uci.ch/Modules/BUILTIN/g...bjTypeCode=FILE&type=FILE&id=NTI0MDY&LangId=1
and ITU rules here
http://www.triathlon.org/docs/competition-rules-20080601-vf.pdf

There are some good discounts on Quintana Roo's (evans) and Ceepo's which are not compliant. The steering to bottom bracket tubes > 8cm deep is a gotcha too. UCI change the specs all the time, inovation appears to be banned.

ITU rules say you have to wear shoes too. This might be interesting in Eilat as the sea shore looks to be about 400m from the bike transition.

I get along with my TT bars really well, good for sprint triathlons and sections where you can gain clear aerodynamic advantage, nobody can dispute aerodynamic advantage once they have tried them. Spend some time getting used to the position, I can even lean around roundabouts with them now. but as a general rule try and keep the weight on the front wheel when cornering for maximum grip, as some people end up moving their weight to the back more when using TT bars (avoid cornering with them in the wet... ends badly).

You need to get them set up correctly though, for your body to use the aero position effectively.

Aerobars were a brilliant addition to my cycling kit, I reccommend to use them! It took a while to get used to them though! There is a such a different in pricing out there though!

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2012 Fitness goals
Sub 11 ironman
Sub 3 1/2 hour marathon
blog - Best Aero Bars

Ahhh, I was thinking of the chocolate type when I clicked on the thread