Originally Posted by
merlinextraligh
Lots of bad advice in this thread. Mountain bikes are aero as a brick because of the flat bars and upright position.
And as for "It doesn't matter if you're not going 20mph plus" being more aero is always good, and aerodynamic improvements measured by total time are actually more significant for slower riders. i.e. if you ride a 40k in 1:20, a 2% improvement is a bigger time gain, than a 2% improvement is for someone who rides a 53 minute 40k.
Yes there is bad advice, and you're giving it.
And since you think aero is always good, then you try going up the biggest hill in your area in aero and tell me what happens. Then try it in normal position.
You should find that although the aero may lower your wind resistance, it also lowers your ability to breathe and pedal efficiently. The aero position was designed to increase aerodynamics at the cost of power and is only meant for downhill and fast flats.
Really, a 150 dollar road bike even without aero bars will be much more efficient than 75 dollar aero bars on a mountain bike.