Originally Posted by
one4smoke
It's really strange the varying degree of opinions on this. Seems to me, they could only help as well, but I can only speculate not ever having used them. I talked to my guy (the owner) at the LBS where I bought my bike, and he highly advised against them. Saying that I'm not really curing my problem, only masking it. He was also against them from a safety standpoint, saying how a rider doesn't really have proper control of the bike, and not enough access to the brakes while using them.
I can see both sides, so it's rather difficult knowing which way to lean on this.
There's a component of anti-triathlete prejudice involved in the naysaying, coupled with the tendency of communal opinions to reduce over time to a few simple binary it rules/it sucks responses, some of which have no basis in experience.
Keep in mind that you don't have to use the aero bars every minute that you're riding. I spend maybe 15% of my time on the bike using the aero bars, but I'm definitely glad I have them during those times.