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05-10-03, 12:17 PM
Alright, I'm going to let my newbieness hang out here:
My bike stinks, and I'm moving soon, so waiting to upgrade. Instead of road work, I've been working out on a exercise bike at the gym. Their bike has a really wide elbow rest that extends the whole width of the handlebar. I can put my hands in a position similar to drops, and still rest my elbows on that pad.
I've read that aerobars sacrifice control for aerodynamic form, and I got to thinking of a solution:
The standard drops have that half-circle shape that is about as wide as the rider's shoulders. The circle ends directly below where it started. Are there bars which continue past that point? If the bar continued (now straight again) further back, a pad could be placed at it's end similar to an aerobar pad. Putting your elbow here would allow you to assume the same low position, and thereby gain much of the benefit of the aerobars. It would allow better control by using a wider grip, and you would even have access to your brakes!
The other main drawback of using aerobars is that your arms lose much of their shock absorbing ability. This would also be solved because by mounting the elbow rest directly off the end of the drop, all that length of handlebar would flex to cushion you.
Is this all garbage, or should I apply for a patent?
Just curious
-john
My bike stinks, and I'm moving soon, so waiting to upgrade. Instead of road work, I've been working out on a exercise bike at the gym. Their bike has a really wide elbow rest that extends the whole width of the handlebar. I can put my hands in a position similar to drops, and still rest my elbows on that pad.
I've read that aerobars sacrifice control for aerodynamic form, and I got to thinking of a solution:
The standard drops have that half-circle shape that is about as wide as the rider's shoulders. The circle ends directly below where it started. Are there bars which continue past that point? If the bar continued (now straight again) further back, a pad could be placed at it's end similar to an aerobar pad. Putting your elbow here would allow you to assume the same low position, and thereby gain much of the benefit of the aerobars. It would allow better control by using a wider grip, and you would even have access to your brakes!
The other main drawback of using aerobars is that your arms lose much of their shock absorbing ability. This would also be solved because by mounting the elbow rest directly off the end of the drop, all that length of handlebar would flex to cushion you.
Is this all garbage, or should I apply for a patent?
Just curious
-john