Originally Posted by
Koyote
Well, if a person has a real reason (besides ego) for wanting to go fast, aerobars are of limited use: you can't use them in a road race, and in gravel racing you really only see them in very long events which have some relatively flat and smooth terrain - which isn't a large portion of that scene. And most riders aren't such Strava ***** that they will use aerobars just to nail a KOM.
I gave in and added aerobars to my gravel rig last summer after seeing lots of people at events - including people at the pointy end of races - with them. They do help a lot - I certainly won't ride them in a paceline or on particularly crappy gravel, but they are fantastic for, as you say, long events, for smooth sections of gravel, and for the short pavement sections.
They do add comfort, but they also are much faster. I run a shorter stem on my gravel bikes with a slightly shorter reach than my road bike to accommodate the aerobars.
I do occasionally use the gravel bike on a road group ride before work during the week (I commute on the gravel bike). The group doesn't mind if I sit on the front on the bars. They also know I'm not going to be on them in a paceline.