Aero Bars?

Serendipity...my dh, on our ride on Sunday, said he wanted some of "those bars that stick out in the center". I said, "no you don't. You don't want to ride in that position for very long, and your handling is squirrelly when your hands are that close to the center."

So now here's a whole thread about why he shouldn't get them!

I've never raced, but I often rode with my forearms on the flat tops of my 10 speeds when I was a teenager. I never did it for long, because you really can't steer from there, or brake for that matter. But I understand why you would want to try that position once in a while on a long ride. I haven't tried it on my current bike, but my son does it to open bottles sometimes when we're just tooling along. I try to discourage it.

Karen

Me + aero bars = disaster ;) Nuff said.

I'm curious about why they're undesirable in group rides. Is it that you can't control your line as well?

I'm not interested in getting them, but wondered if they had any value for the touring crowd. I'm always curious about other handlebar designs.

I have clipons. I don't use them in group rides. Because the clip ons don't have brakes on them, so you have to switch positions to suddenly break. And the bike feels a bit more squirrely when you're in the center as opposed to steering in the drops.

It takes me 5 minutes to screw on my bars, so I usually only do it a few times before a tri to get used to the position again.

I think it's really a comfy position, personally, but don't see the need of it even for long rides. I find the drops just as comfy.

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Originally Posted by dachshund

I'm curious about why they're undesirable in group rides. Is it that you can't control your line as well?

I'm not interested in getting them, but wondered if they had any value for the touring crowd. I'm always curious about other handlebar designs.

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A big reason is that you don't have quick or ready access to your brakes -- and when you need your stoppers, you usually need 'em badly ;-) Even the specialized time trial bikes that the pro rides and some triathlon folks use have the brake levers on the regular handlebars, not on the aerobars.

A lot of my female friends here buy and install aerobars on their bikes to help them cheat the wind...

Aerobars are specialty tools for special types of riding -- specifically to let you go as fast as possible in as straight a line as possible. Your balance on the aerobars as well as the way your bike steers is way different than if you're riding on the regular drops. In group rides, you need to have quick reaction and control of your bike in order to react to the actions of the riders around you, and you simply don't have that when you're on aerobars. Yes, pro riders do it in team time trials, but few of us mere mortals put in the practice that they do...

Tom

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Originally Posted by Dog

Cycling friends have suggested that I get aero bars for my bike. Any feedback or recommendations. I like to ride longer distances and organized rides.

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Just out of curiosity... what reason did your friends give you for suggesting aero bars? Do you race TT's or plan to race TT's, or it's just for training purposes?

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Originally Posted by PscyclePath

A big reason is that you don't have quick or ready access to your brakes -- and when you need your stoppers, you usually need 'em badly ;-) Even the specialized time trial bikes that the pro rides and some triathlon folks use have the brake levers on the regular handlebars, not on the aerobars.

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Um, yeah, I can see how that would be a problem. Thanks for the explanation.

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Originally Posted by smilingcat

interesting comments so far

Eden races. so do aicabsolut, ehirsch83 (emily), indysteel (maybe)...

Those of us who are racing or have raced say absolutely not to aero bars in group rides. Just noticing the difference in our perspective from non-racers. I would also like to add that I didn't make this statement because of arrogance or superiority complex for having raced.

For what is worth, maybe Mr. SR500 is a safer rider than I am. I'm no poster child for safe rider. I have major crashes behind me. Yet, even with unsafe riding faux paux I have commited, I would disuade anyone to ride with an aero bar (clip-ons on the traditional drop bar included).

TT position is really too hard on my back.

smilingcat

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I agree. I don't think the racers here are trying to be snobby or superior. Instead, we've seen what can happen in tight quarters at speed, and for everyone's safety, it is important that everyone get a good fighting chance at avoiding a bad situation. A guy who rides in one of the groups I ride with only has a TT bike. He is a very stable, safe cyclist. Yet I still don't like that he can't just use a road bike with the group. The setup just doesn't maximize safety, even with a skilled cyclist. Bad stuff happens sometimes. It may be someone's fault. It may not be (front flat, pothole, squirrel, gravel, whatever). When you're in a group, you owe it to the others to try to be as safe as you can be. Everyone messes up sometimes and overlaps a wheel or whatever, but removing your aerobars or using a road bike instead of a tri bike is a choice you can make ahead of time to try to keep things safer for everyone.

As an analogy, a guy on my team showed up for a ride recently on his fixie. Ok, fixie riders should 1) only bring them out for flat, easy lap night or something similar, and then 2) ride at the back. Not only did he not stick to the back, but we were doing a route that involved one very long and scary downhill (for those with brakes and freewheels). He preferred to skid and fishtail periodically to try to stay under control than use the brakes he had on his fixie. We yelled at him. Fixies, like aerobars, really do not belong on group rides where subtle changes in speed occur frequently, and especially not when hills are involved. I don't care how skilled you are on a fixie. I don't care how skilled and stable you are on a tri bike. They are for riding solo.