Tell me about clip-on tri bars...

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Anyone use them? I have several multi-sport friends encouraging me to get some for my bike before my next duathlon. I'm not sure I see the need or that they will fit well on my narrow handlebars. I believe mine are 40cm--pretty narrow. As it is my Garmin "pseudo-wrist" and quick-release mounts take up a lot of real-estate. I'm not sure there would be room left for my hands if tri bars were added.

I should add that I am reasonably comfy in my drops for a fairly long distance and my next du only has a 20k bike leg. I don't have any other duathlons planned until next Spring, so I don't know that I'd even bother this year.

[hulagirl]

I have the Cobra T2 carbon aero bars by profile design.

I have a 42cm handle bar.

I have/had a light and garmin watch mount on my bars as well.

I was also comfortable in my drops.

Aero bar riding for me, helps me to relax my upper body/biceps/chest and focus the work more on my legs. It's also very beneficial for me for bike to run transitions. It seems to take a bit of the work off my thighs so that they can be fresher for the run.

Most importantly to me, it is another position choice. I do my best when I can change positions. Bull horns are not for me, but hoods, drops, aero bars and then up to aero bar pads if needed give me 4/5 different positions to chose from.

My light and my garmin now mount on my aero bars. The garmin mount is just held on my rubber bands and the light is mounted on a nubbin that sticks out from the middle of the bar. (see the link above there is the UCM mount) They also make mounts that go just over your headset.

I take off my light for races.

And I put my water bottle in between the aero bars. Also a nice option!

If you are worried about hand placement on the bars, you can always look for aerobars with foldable arm rests.

Try them out though - the angle that your wrist has to sit will probably be a big issue. I didn't think I would like the T2's as they are almost totally flat. But I LOVE them much more than angled bars and prefer the ability to "rest" my hands without feeling the need to grip.

Denise

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Denise, you leave your bars on all the time, then?

That's something else I'd have to consider, what "style" of bar to get...I have NO clue. There are so many shapes and angles and models...I guess I'd be best off having our LBS guy help me out, though he's not a multi-sport guy (he's tried tri bars for time trials and didn't really like them, apparently).

[hulagirl]

Yes I leave them on all the time. They don't get in the way for me. And I really do appreciate the position change.

There are so many different types. Do you have access to a multisport shop that can put you on a trainer and spend time with the different options? I really didn't think it's like the flat par but it was much more comfortable than the angled bar for me. And I don't think they get in the way as much as the angled bars do. Short and to the point. ;-)

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Yeah, I don't get the angled ones, either. I look at them and can't figure out how they would be comfortable...wouldn't they force a person to have their wrists bent at a weird angle?

We don't really have any multi-sport specific stores. Our favorite LBS has limited tri items for bikes. We have a really nice running store about an hour away, but they seem to offer mostly the clothing end of tri stuff (tri shorts and swimwear), not hardware for bikes.

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Read up on "shorty" aero bars. They're really what's best for road bike geometry/set-ups.

I use (and like) thee Profile Design Jammer GTs on my BMC.

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Ahh...just answered my own question.

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My computer is mounted on my stem. This of course is dependent on things like stem length and computer size.

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My computer is mounted on my stem. This of course is dependent on things like stem length and computer size.

I thought about this, but I can't rotate my Garmin (forerunner), so it would be sideways. Not a deal-breaker, but it would harder to read and operate that way. My stem is 100mm, so it probably is long enough to do that.

[hulagirl]

I did try the shorty's but found the T2's felt shorter, less bulky and better arm positioning/support on the pads.

You might want to check profile designs page as the airstryke's have foldable arm pads.

And I use the garmin Quick release mount for my 310XT. It allows you to mount to North South or East West bar directions.

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I did try the shorty's but found the T2's felt shorter, less bulky and better arm positioning/support on the pads.

You might want to check profile designs page as the airstryke's have foldable arm pads.

And I use the garmin Quick release mount for my 310XT. It allows you to mount to North South or East West bar directions.

Unfortunately, I'm reasonably certain that that mount won't work with my Forerunner 305. The "pseudo-wrists" will work with any of the devices, but not the quick-release mounts. The quick-release for the 205/305 doesn't allow for rotation. Crummy that they haven't developed one that will.

I wonder if the Airstrykes would be too low on a road bike, as the aero-bars come out from under the handlebars, instead of above.