Seattle Forrest

It seems like the forum is split about 50/50 on whether they're a good idea for me. The seat thing is a bad omen, since we pointed the nose of the saddle up a little during the fitting - I felt like I was going to slide off going forward, and was using my hands/arms to brace myself and stay on the bike. But if I'm only looking to use them from time to time, to move around, maybe this isn't as bad as it sounds.

So I tried your advice, and got a set of clip ons. They're a lot like these:



But aluminum rather than carbon, and without the bar holding the two of them together. They've got the flip up pads, so I'm hoping that having them on the bike won't prevent me from occasionally riding on the tops. I got them for $30, wrapped up with fancy cork tape. At that price, it seems worth finding out whether they'll help me, and if not, I'm sure I can sell them easily enough.

Unfortunately, though, I seem to have funky handlebars. They've got a 31.8 mm clamping area, but the bars themselves are much less wide than that, and flare out in the center to meet the stem. So, I would need to mount these fairly wide to make it work, but the cables to my top brake levers are in the way, and I can't get them on without pulling off the bar tape ... which I redid about a week ago. What a bummer!

CliftonGK1

Re-org of the bars is a pretty typical pitfall for adding aeros. I just had 25.2 straight gauge bars without cross interupter levers back in the day and still had to rewrap to put on my 1st gen Profile aeros.
No flip up rests
No comfy moulded pads
Just a bent U-shaped tube with some bar clamps and closed cell foam pads on risers. I did have a "speedshifter" mount, which allowed me to move my downtube shifters to the front/center of the aeros.

For $30 I think you got a good deal for an experiment. Keep us posted on how you adjust to and/or like them.

Seattle Forrest

I saw similar ones at a LBS for $110 ( or $190 in carbon ). I've learned that tape is expensive! So I figured I'd better grab them quickly when I saw them on Craigslist.

I don't know if I'd really like to redo my bars, though. It hasn't even been a week since I retaped them; I got really nice tape ( comfortable, plus I've been getting complements on it ) and won't be able to reuse the stuff. So that raises the price a bit ... I wouldn't have got them if I'd realized this. They've got clamps meant to fit anything from 26 to 31.8 mm, so I think what I'll do is lend them to a lady friend, and put them on the next time I have any need to mess with my bars, ie when the tape wears off in a few years. In the meantime, I'll probably work on the exercises you suggested and see if those help the shoulders any.

Kamala

Aerobars or not, moving around on the bike will help. Every 10 or 15 miles I stretch arms, shoulders, and hands while I'm riding. Definitely loosens me up.

roadCruiser76

Can anyone else comment on how much of a speed difference it makes to use clip-on aerobars? I saw someone else mention 1-2 mph in average speed. Let's assume you're riding on a fairly straight, level route.

Homeyba

It depends on how "aero" your position is. Just because you have aerobars doesn't mean you have a very aerodynamic position when you are in them. Unless you have access to a wind tunnel, 2mph is probably optimistic. I would guess .5-1.5mph would be more realistic.

CliftonGK1

Let's compromise and call it 1.0mph increase.

For a century with a pre-aero average of 16mph, you'll go from 6h 15m rolling time to 5h 53m rolling time if you get 100% benefit from the aeros. Assume a 50% utilization of the aeros, and you're down from a 22m savings to an 11m savings. On a century ride for a PR, that's a significant amount. If you're talking about a longer ride, maybe you're looking at 22m savings (on a double) which is a very big deal. If you're looking to set some PR's then it's worthwhile to invest in the aeros.

Mr. Beanz

Yes, thank Goodness! Some riders have some unrealistic expectations. I rode with another clyde and he wanted to compete on the trail for funzies. Hey it was his idea to see the difference in our times/averages knowing he couldn't keep up but curious about the difference!

I averaged 19 and he later showed up with an average of 16. During the discussion of the results, he said his aerobars would have put him ahead of me in the 15 mile stretch!

I might have posted it but he said his 28 hole Ultegra hubs laced to Deep V's also slowed him down.

I'm using 13 y/o 600 (old Ultegra) laced to 32 hole Deep V's.

He's under the crazy assumption that his average would have increased by 3 mph minimum. Crazy cause he's had them on in the past for 2 years and couldn't even stay on Gina's wheel

Homeyba

I would go with 1mph as an average. It really depends on how you are set up. If you are set up in a good TT position like this guy you could be closer to 2mph. You won't be doing this for 100 miles though!


If you have a set up like this RAAM racer with the aerobars above the handlebars you are probably closer to 1mph but you are doing this for 3000+ miles.


Loose the aero helmet and get in an even more comfy(ie higher) position and you'll be less aero dynamic. These guys are, of course racers, your results will vary...

Kneez

The strongest argument against aerobars is that they look really silly.

bradtx

SF, I can't say they're better for you or not, but I have them on my road bikes. Primarily I use them for an alternate hand position, but don't always use them and never do I use them while with other cyclists...brakes are remote and there isn't enough fine control to zig zag around an issue quickly.

They're best used by the recreational rider on those long straightaways. I have two styles, one where the pads flip up when not in use and the other where they remain in the down position. Of the two I prefer the pads to flip up for more room on the tops. Transition to and from the aero bars usually involve going hand's free for a second or two...seems nautral for me.

Brad

NH Girl

So much to learn about cycling. Here I thought you were talking about these yummy Aero 'Chocolate' Bars. LOL jk!