Fifty Plus (50+) - Is this too FRED

Since I don't like drop bars (yes I have ridden them for several years off and on) and I agree with the drop bar folks that flatbar roadbikes have some limitations with regard to positions I have been riding this year with a base bar only setup (profile T2 wing). The setup has had both bar end shifters and brake levers on the ends of the bars and the upkick on the end of the bars is configured just about as hoods would be on drops.

Now that I'm this close I'm thinking about adding a set of short Aero bars to the package more for long ride comfort and for upwind riding then for pure speed and racing.

Has anyone here done this for routine riding. How'd it work out?

added picture per request

pictures?

I've ridden these TT bars with aerobars and barcons for some 9 mile commutes and a few 20 - 40 mile rides. They work out well - I mostly concentrated on the new "ergo" saddle that wasn't.
The areobars take weight off the hands and the TTs are great when standing.

http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/8456/1011266sj4.jpg

TOO Fred???

It looks so sleek that I wouldn't even consider it to be Fred material.

TOO Fred???

It looks so sleek that I wouldn't even consider it to be Fred material.

+1
If that's Fred then I don't want to know what I am... :cry:

Maddmax & Robtown-
Barring the Aero bars- This is how I had my last mountain bike set up for a while. Only problem I had was that they were too thin for The lumps I kept hitting and after the 3rd pair- I went back to conventional bars. But Comfort- Absolutely perfect.

Roadies seem to have a violent reaction to the use of equipment like this by someone who is likely not to even see the TDF pelaton go by, let alone hang with it.

My point is since I'm already 3/4 way there, are there advantages to the full setup other than raw speed.

So far Robtown's reply is encouraging. I have heard of riders using these for longer distances for comfort and my favorite road riding haunts are along beaches where wind (big wind) is common. It is highly unlikely that I will suddenly start to show up at the local TT's to champion the 60+ class.

Besides, its geougious machinery and the mechanic in me wants to play.

I personally think it's brilliant.

SB

That looks really cool to me, go for it.
IMHO, if the group your riding with thinks that's FREDish or is down on you for riding with those bars, your with the wrong group anyway.
Before my recent neck problems sidelined me, I was riding with a group that included folks with flatbars and hybrids. That's the kind of group I like. Before you think they're slow, the typical cyclist in this group rides at 18 MPH some slower and some faster with some averaging 22+. No one looks down at any other rider's equipment, it's all based on capability to complete the ride, AS IT SHOULD BE.

i think it looks great! i'm guessing that would turn out to be mighty comfortable on the long road.

be well,

jim

In my experience, aero bars mean extended reach, low position on the bike and very little control. Unless they are very high, or you are lean and limber, you would not likely this a useful/comfortable position.

Seems to be a pretty kludgy and contrarian solution for what a properly fitted drop bar already gives you. If only people would first do whatever they need to do to minimize their pot belly (if they have one, and let's face it, most of us 50+ people do to some extent), work on their flexibility, and then just let themselves get used to a road bike with proper reach and the bars about an inch below the top of the saddle. It's comfortable (although it might not seem so at first), efficient in headwinds, and you get much more efficient power transfer to the pedals for the same amount of effort. Does it look "freddish"? No, not really. Dorky would be more like it. But to each his own, and I wouldn't even mention the dorky aspect of it if you hadn't asked specifically about whether it's freddish. But if you don't mind that, and it works for you, use it. Who cares what it looks like, really.

They don't look comfortable or easy to control to me. But then, I do like drop bars.
If they work for you then that's good enough for me. But if someone used them just to look different although they were not comfortable, then that would be kind of silly.

We are 50+ There are no Freds here... Now we are just eccentric gentlemen... and ladies...

I've ridden these TT bars with aerobars and barcons for some 9 mile commutes and a few 20 - 40 mile rides. They work out well - I mostly concentrated on the new "ergo" saddle that wasn't.
The areobars take weight off the hands and the TTs are great when standing.

http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/8456/1011266sj4.jpg

If I didn't like my trekking bars so much, this setup, would be my next choice.

Roadies seem to have a violent reaction to the use of equipment like this by someone who is likely not to even see the TDF pelaton go by, let alone hang with it.

My point is since I'm already 3/4 way there, are there advantages to the full setup other than raw speed.

So far Robtown's reply is encouraging. I have heard of riders using these for longer distances for comfort and my favorite road riding haunts are along beaches where wind (big wind) is common. It is highly unlikely that I will suddenly start to show up at the local TT's to champion the 60+ class.

Besides, its geougious machinery and the mechanic in me wants to play.

I have aerobars on the tandem.

Pros - On a long ride, it is very comfy to ride on the aerobars and they reduce aero drag.
Cons - One needs flexibility to take advantage of the lower position and produce power.

Too Fred...I am not sure. Was the design inspired by the Borg - resistance is futile. Are you part of the collective? :eek: What do you look like when connected to the bike:eek::eek:?

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u250/rallen94402/borg.jpg

Looks like one comfortable setup. Want pics when you get the aero bars on!

Some of the parts are in the mail. Obtained a new (takeoff) set of Profile GT Jammer bars on EBAY. My T2 wing is already set up with almost the exact dimensions for the top half of a drop bar so the shorter reach jammers (designed for use with a normal drop bar) will go along with that. I will probably make the changeover during the winter recabling as the shifters will probably move over to the aerobars in the more normal position. I anticipate that this will leave me in a position pretty much the same as when the drop bars were on but with my hands out front instead of down. I hope the aero helps in upwind situations and the armrests provide another place to lean on. I have already learned to love the brake levers as they feel and act so much more like my MTB levers. (the brake lever position was the thing that I hated most about the drop bar setup.)

Robtown, I finally noticed something in your picture that qualifies you as a hero. There is a mirror located on the end leaning on the garage door. Max points for function over style. :D

I will submit a post when the conversion is complete.

I've ridden these TT bars with aerobars and barcons for some 9 mile commutes and a few 20 - 40 mile rides. They work out well - I mostly concentrated on the new "ergo" saddle that wasn't.
The areobars take weight off the hands and the TTs are great when standing.

http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/8456/1011266sj4.jpg

Your tux fit's nicely with this hardware.... :-)

If drop bars were good enough for Eddy, Fausto, and Lance, I don't see why anyone would need anything else. ;) As "Style Man" would say, "The Fred part is simply your insecure need to seek approval of others who probably have less of clue than you do."

On a serious note, I wouldn't know how to even begin adjusting a setup like that for comfort.

As a newbie around here I don't understand what "Fred" means. I get the intent -- but where does the term come from?

BF member roadfix has a setup like this on one of his bikes and he goes everywhere with it and he seems comfortable.

Your tux fit's nicely with this hardware.... :-)

Absolutely, got to keep the standards high for the ladies. I did see another gentleman on the WO&D MUP riding in a tux this spring.

BTW - I love the Dura-Ace barcons, I just bought another set for the drop bars of my Paramount (8 speed). They work great either friction or indexed.

Took the day off to install most of the parts today (so much for waiting for annual recabling). On and off the trainer for several hours to get all of the adjustments approximately where I want them.

First, the base bar and brake handles stay the same as they are in the position that I have been riding them this summer.

The aerobars can be adjusted for length and the rotation of the kickup for the hands. The position of the cups and pads can be adjusted for length and two angles. One angle is about the axis of the clip on bars and one angle is about the angle as viewed when looking down through the pads from above. As I have not spent any time riding these yet I suspect that my elbows are still sticking out too much to the side instead of being tucked in together.

New Dura-Ace cables will be in Thursday and hopefully I'll be able to get off somewhere quiet to relearn how to go in a straight line. Unfortunately the weekend is gone to a previous engagement. After a few rides to get everything near the final position on will go the bar tape and pictures will follow.

As to the Barcons, I fell inlove with them very early this summer. Exactly why is it that everyone changed over to STI's..:D

... As to the Barcons, I fell inlove with them very early this summer. Exactly why is it that everyone changed over to STI's..:D I don't know, either. I love my non-indexed SunTour ratchet barcons!

I don't know, either. I love my non-indexed SunTour ratchet barcons!

+1
Most perfect bicycle component ever made imho.
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d195/GonzoDawg/eBay/th_barcons2.jpg (http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d195/GonzoDawg/eBay/barcons2.jpg)