Aerobars

[singletrackmind]

Yep, the armrests flip up out of the way (spring loaded). Mine are adjustable, both in length of the bars and width of the rests. Without the aerobars the front end is lighter and slightly more responsive....but I didn't notice any problems after having them on for a short time and never gave it a thought until after I took them off for a little bit. It's really a non-issue to me.

It does take time to get used to riding them, but not all that much, guess since your weight is distributed on the bike differently it makes sense that it wouldn't feel the same. I practiced on some nice looonnnngggg straight smooth roads and it was all good pretty quickly.

[HillSlugger]

guess since your weight is distributed on the bike differently it makes sense that it wouldn't feel the same.

I think with the increased weight directly on the front, little changes in weight distribution are transmitted right through; you lose the compensating arm/muscle movement of bent elbows that would otherwise dampen them out. Also, you end up steering from a much narrower arm spread. It takes some getting used to.

[roadie gal]

I'll second the Profile Air Strykes. They have a wide range of adjustment fore and aft so they can be tailored perfectly to your body. I like the fact that the arm rests do flip up so you can use the whole bar.

It takes a little bit of time to get used to scooping the arm rest down with your elbow to get into aero position, but once you've got it, it becomes natural.

My only caution is if you get upset by noise from your bike. The arm rests do rattle if you hit a bumpy section of the road (which around here is ALL of the road).

If you shop around you can generally find them on sale somewhere, either Performance or tri sites like Trisport, etc.

[HillSlugger]

I ended up with Profile Designs T2+ aerobars and am very happy with them. My wrists are more comfortable, my forearms are better supported, and the bike feels to be under better control.

[RoadRaven]

My aeros do not join in the middle... and I have bar end shifters now.
They present a much more aero profile than bars joined at the end.

We picked up a second hand pair of the joined style depicted in the photo quite cheaply. We cut them down so only the straight bits were left, attached the shifters and taped them up. Ideal.

Having said that, I do know you do Tris, and I have heard the longer bars, and the different "grip/positions" offered are good on the cycling sections of a tri.

I only TT over 18-25km distances, so not moving for 35-40 mins is ok.