Quote Originally Posted by smilingcat View Post
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
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.