Originally Posted by
Dean V
Aero road bikes have nothing going for them except for a bit more speed. They get blown around more in crosswinds, wrenching on them is more hassle due to hidden/internal cabling etc. More likely to have something rattle, and the ones with weird stems, bars, brakes etc just makes set up and everything else even worse. I have a Giant Propel SL0 which goes great and I use it for racing when I need all the help I can get, but for general training and riding around it is not the bike I use.
Bar/stem integration really puts a crimp on bar/shift lever ergonomics for sure. Many...like me....like to rotate the handlebar and are fussy about shift lever postion to achieve best balance between comfort on hoods and hook position for comfortable drop position riding. Can't do that with integrated bar/stem combos that save what?...1 watt at 30mph for all that inconvenience and cost while spending a lot of time on a bike? Yes, we as consumers have to make choices. Pros are given these bikes to ride and benefit is very questionable for the average weekend warrior.