grahammmw

Bought some over the weekend. Went up and down the road with them yesterday and thought that i would never be able to get used to them.

Actually had a sleepless night thinking about how i was going to fall off.

Anyway - 20 mile commute to work this morning with some nice straight quiet roads and after the initial 'oh my god these are going to kill me' thoughts, I managed to settle into them quite quickly. Definitely saw a marked improvement in the speed i was able to generate for the same effort. The brakes do seem an awfully long way away!

Managed a couple of long turns keeping them in place and by the end was feeling relatively confident in a straight line as long as i gave myself enough time to nudge around potholes etc.

Suspect it will take me a while to get confident enough with them to take corners and downhills but for a first ride very happy.

OldTryGuy

Welcome to the aerobar club. Have been using them for years with great success. Last night I installed a set on my 7 speed, 38lb, $100.00 grocery grabber Magna. Been doing some club rides with it lately and have a little problem keeping up when they hit the 28mph mark.

Campag4life

OldTryGuy...what is your aerobar of choice? I have been trading some emails with Profile Design lately. I have particular interest in their model with flip up pads such that the top of the drop bar can still be used when not down in the aero position...also promotes clearance for out of the saddle pedaling.
Do you change your road bike position...move the saddle forward when you mount an aero bar on a road bike?
Thanks.

OldTryGuy

On my Giant Propel I have the Airstryke with the pads taped down. I rode for a long time without the pads taped and liked having the availability of top bar grip but after getting the Propel I found that the pop-up feature just wasn't needed. On my grocery grabber with 6" rise bars I have the T1+. Going out for a club ride momentarily and I am sure they will be fine. My choice for these bars was predicated by the fact that I have bone spurs in wrist limiting angular motion and a right shoulder that needs replacement so the position these bars provide feels more comfortable.

My saddle is where it belongs for fit and I just shift the butt when riding. When getting down and dirty I will shift forward and will be riding the nose of the saddle with more pushing back on pedal stroke.

Campag4life

OldTriGuy,
Thanks for your response. Have to ask...on your grocery getter with 6" riser handlebar...presuming it is regular mtb pull back riser handlebar...what do you use to shim the clamps for your Profile T1+? The diameter on a typical mtb riser bar is 22mm as you know and the T1+ by design has clamp ID that mounts to a basic 26mm dia. road drop bar...or can be shimmed to a 31.8 OS drop bar. So curious how you mount them?

As a side bar, the T1+ even though it has fixed and not flip up pads...the elbow pads can be moved back a lot which is a major consideration if mounting to a std. bike not meant for a drop bar with longer top tube. The Stryke type bars as you know...you can not move the pads much back from the centerline of the handlebar so top tube length is more critical to position.
PS: I have considered doing the same as you and mounting an aerobar to my 29er.

BoSoxYacht

"Welcome to the aerobar club. Have been using them for years with great success. Last night I installed a set on my 7 speed, 38lb, $100.00 grocery grabber Magna. Been doing some club rides with it lately and have a little problem keeping up when they hit the 28mph mark."

AdelaaR

Good choice.
Once you get used to them you'll love 'em (depending on fit and fitness)

OldTryGuy

For my grocery grabber I took the bars off my CAAD 8 late last night and Rube Goldberg with, please don't chastise me, Duct Tape. OK, you can stop laughing now. I rode 24 miles with the club this AM and 10 additional on my own with great success. Only got to 27mph today but finally rode comfortably in the paceline and pulling in the 21 to 24mph range. Funny thing is the tape allowed movement while riding basically providing a floating sensation for the bars.

Campag4life

I guess my question is...if you mounted your CAAD 8 drop bar on your grocery getter...why do you need duct tape? Your aerobars should be compatible with a dropbar.
Please clarify if you would...thanks.

OldTryGuy

Sorry about the confusion. I took the aerobars off the CAAD 8 and installed them on the steel riser bars on the GG bike, thus needing the shim-tape. Very, very unsafe because of float action so when I get around to it, I will properly shim.

AdelaaR

My kids are getting confused because they are growing up with a dad who has four bikes and each of those has an aerobar.
Hybrid, TT bike, road/tri bike and stationary training bike
Once you go aero you never go back.

Carbonfiberboy 

Don't try to take anything sharper than a gentle sweeper on them. Come off them if you can't see the road ahead. Never ride them behind another rider. Don't ride them in traffic. I don't recommend riding them at over 30, though I have done straight line descents at 40 or so on them. If you're going to use them, you have to practice on them for at least 1/2 hour of continuous riding a couple times a week. I've been riding aero bars for 15 years and these are my rules. I've never fallen, had, or caused an accident while using them.

AdelaaR

Don't say that!
"Over 30" is what aerobars are for!

OldTryGuy

If I followed your rules, I'd never be riding.

Campag4life

Got it thanks for the clarification. If your CAAD8 had an oversize bar then you may have the 26.0mm shims that reduce down to standard std road drop bar. Using these shims in combination with say some trimmed strips from an aluminum beer can should work to reduce clamp size down to 22mm of your riser bar...wouldn't take you long and be much safer of course. The duct tape solution as you say takes balance but also depends on how far back you position your elbow pads which can turn an aerobar into a teeter totter as you may know. Flatbar bikes tend to have a longer top tube and why the T1+ is a good bar for them because pads can be moved well behind the handlebar center...Air and Carbon Stryke bars can't be.
Cheers.

Campag4life

I notice everybody has different rules when it comes to aerobars. I paceline with TT bikes all the time. Rule of thumb is 'care' when riding i.e. knowing the limitations which establish how you ride. This shouldn't preclude pacelining with other TT bikes.

Carbonfiberboy 

If you're riding or training for a TTT, of course you ride the 'bars. If you want to paceline with tri guys, help yourself. But since you can't draft on a tri bike leg or on any TT other than a TTT, I really don't get the point. Personally, in maybe 60,000 miles of riding I've never seen tri guys drafting each other.

My "rules" are specific recommendations for folks new to aero bars and for those who have come to value survival over speed. I would have thought the recent thread with that video would have made an impression.