Originally Posted by Divebrian

I think the right wheels make the biggest difference (same track, under the same conditions), disk vs 4 or 5 spoke vs deep dish spoke are dependent upon track, indoor/outdoor, head wind, cross wind, etc. Beyond that, I believe rider comfort and positioning are the key factors. If you rarely train with aero bars, putting them on for a competition could actually be a hinderance. If you ride drops the majority of the time, you practice standing starts in them, can get fairly low and aero in them and can give 100% throughout the entire effort, they are faster for you. If you do all of your training in drop bars, then decide for competition that you need aero bars, have to slow down to go from standing start position to aero bars and then are all over the track trying to control yourself while in a foreign position, aero bars are actually slower. However, if you train all the time in aero bars, that may be a different story. This is coming from a Masters prospective, rather than an Elite rider that has time to train in them hours a day on a regular basis. By the way, anyone interested in buying a pair of 3T Revo LTD aero bars? Used twice....just kidding, but not really.

Originally Posted by Divebrian

I believe this has to do with the rider comfort I eluded to in my post. Not only physical comfort, but mental comfort. A lot of it depends upon the size of your upper body, length of legs, crank length and flexibility.....go too low and your knees are hitting you in the chest, your breathing is restricted or you can only produce 90% power throughout the effort. If that is the case and you raise the bars up, now your legs have clearance, you can breathe more freely and you can give 100% effort across the effort, then the higher bar position is better even though you may be giving up a little aero advantage. Not saying that is the case in all instances, but I do see that happening for some....