Aerobars Question
 

Which of these two are best, and why?

http://www.amazon.com/Profile-Design...uminum+Aerobar

http://www.amazon.com/Profile-Design...uminum+Aerobar

I know what you are trying to do and would advise that you proceed with caution. Aero bars have their place (mostly with triathletes and ultra endurance cyclists), but are not a solution to hand pain or numbness even on short rides.

Neither if you're not riding a Tri/TT bike.

Just because they'll sell them to you doesn't make it a good idea.

I have used both models and currently have the T4+ on my bike. Pop up were nice since they allow for top bar grab when climbing but mine rattled when riding over bumps. Fixed allowed grabbing pads for more upright riding and easier arm plant when transitioning to the aero bars from hoods, drops or no hands.....:)

I find my aero bars useful on short or long rides and very comfortable when dropping on to them. They have helped with hand discomfort.

I prefer the airstrykes. I use them for riding into headwinds but it is harder to control the bike with the aerobars and when positioned so far forward, I am riding on the nose of the seat and it puts a lot of pressure on the jewels and causes numbness in places other than the hands. So I use them sparingly. They also take a lot of area from the handle bars that could be used for other gear.

I'm ok with my hands until about the 20 mile mark, gets numb but I usually overcome it by resting, riding with no hands, changing positions, etc... But then it tends to really start bothering me about mile 15 or 20 of a 40 or 50 mile ride.

I know aerobars aren't ideal for a hybrid bike like my Roam 2, but anything where I can rest them while still peddling away can't be bad, right?

Why is using them on a hybrid such as my Roam 2, not advisable?

Without aerobars I'm lucky if I can ride 50 miles without pain/numbness. With them, 24hrs straight without any hand issues at all.

I've put the aero bars on my cheapo hybrid a number of times and rode with the 20mph+ average guys for rides of 40+ miles. Have ridden the hybrid to 60 miles without the aero bars and sure would have liked to have had them on at that time.

I'm not a professional fitter, but I have been cycling since about 1975 and have helped a lot of people with fit and comfort on their bikes.

I've come to one conclusion. If your hands are numb, your saddle position and/or tilt is wrong.

Wait, what?? He didn't mention handlebars at all....

Nope, your hand should not support your upper body weight or resist you sliding forward on the saddle. Most people don't even realize they are sliding forward on the saddle, but subconsciously adjust and push themselves back with their hands constantly while riding. This put a lot of pressure on the hands and in exactly the wrong place.

You should be able to sit on the saddle squarely without sliding forward. You should be able to bend forward and rest your hands on the handlebars WITHOUT supporting your upper body weight. That means on the hoods and tops of the bars and with a minimal reasonable amount of weight supported in the drops. Same with flat bars. You're supposed to use your hand to steer, not do the equivalent of 20 miles of push ups on a 1" diameter aluminum pipe.

Once you have that right, your hands will stop getting numb.

I keep hearing that, and I can see where saddle position can definitely hurt the situation, but it's hard for me to understand how someone can be leaned over that far WITHOUT there being pressure on the hands. Gravity takes over. The Roam isn't an upright position bike. I have an XL frame (being 6'4") and the saddle height is proper, according to everything I've read, and how it feels. Leg almost 100% extended on the down-pedal. When it came from the LBS, I had to get the saddle height right, and also the tilt. They had it pretty much level, and my hands went numb FAST. I tried to ride without hands, and it felt like I was sliding down a park slide. I've always had my saddles tilted slightly up in the front, and I did the same here and it helped a lot. Any more tilt upwards though and it would look ridiculous. I've played with the fore and aft, one extreme to the other, but the middle position seems to suit me best.

I appreciate your help, and anyone else's for that matter in trying to help me figure this out. Thanks.

This. Man o man this is spot on. +10000 rep for posting this.

That should tell you something is going on with the fit/saddle. It could be that you lack flexibility in your back, pelvis, hips and core, and any lean forward causes you to tilt your entire pelvis forward, rather than bending at the back while keeping the butt flat on the saddle. You need to do more research to figure this out.

Whatever the problem is, the solution isn't to put even more of your weight forward by using aero bars.

As I was saying, aero bars make sense for some, including ultra endurance cyclists, triathletes, and time trialists.

Well, that was before I tilted the saddle upwards in the front. Now, I don't have that problem of feeling like I'm sliding forward.

As I said, the Roam isn't an upright bike, having practically a flat bar. And I don't want to be upright. If I had, I would have bought a Cypress. I got the Roam to be more angled over, out of the wind. But unfortunately, being angled over puts more weight on the hands. Being more upright with a taller bar takes the weight off.

As far as saddle position goes, the only thing that makes sense to me, as far as too much weight on my hands, is maybe I have the saddle too high. But according to how my leg seems to be perfectly extended on the down pedal ...I can't see saddle height as being the issue.

you comfortable leaning over that low? Its mostly you hunched over that reduces aero drag .

I bought one of Zzippers fairings Title for the aero benefits, first,

then set bars up higher behind the bubble..


Limited to Either/ Or? get the one with the flip up arm rests so you still have use of the tops of your bars

Sit in a typical dining room chair with your feet on the ground in front of you. Lean forward 45 degrees. Lean forward 60 degrees. Lean forward 90 degrees with your chest against your thighs. Stick your arms out in from of you. Go back to 45 degrees. Go back to upright. Your arms should be pointing straight up now.

Did you have to put your hands on anything to do that?

It's maybe a bit simplistic, but your bicycle is no different.

It'll be easier to understand after you try riding some road bikes, drop bar and all.

On a road bike, the majority of your bodyweight will actually be in the back, where your butt is, not the front.

Bracing our feet on the floor, or on the pedals, allows us to use the core muscles to keep less weight on the hands. Pedaling harder, less weight on the bars or saddle. With your experiment, if I pick my feet up, straight up a couple of inches, I tip over. The saddle position helps us balance against our pressure against the pedals, saddle and bars, with the core muscles as the main mechanism for that. As I see it.

I sometimes rest with my forearms on the ramps while holding the hoods (does anyone else do that, or is it just weird?). I really wish for aerobars those times, and feel like that's enough reason in itself to install some.

You also said- "but are not a solution to hand pain or numbness even on short rides."

Some people can find no relief, even after one or more professional fittings.
For those people aerobars can be a godsend. Even on short rides.

Except no one rides with two feet in front of them. Try that same experiment using only one leg out front and add in different body types (relatively long or short torso) and it's not quite as clear.

I think the main reason you see a lot of older cyclists with aero bars is their muscle strength has declined and they can't press with as much force on the pedals. This naturally puts more pressure on the hands.

Have you tried bar end extensions? These clamp onto the ends of handlebars, extend forward and bend back towards the center. They provide additional hand positions which may help with the hand pain.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...E11ZV5GA5N2K9X

Doesn't matter how well your bike is fitted some people just can't be stuck in the same position for 2+ hours without feeling some discomfort.

Aero bars can take the weight off your hands but they do increase the stress on your back and put a lot of weight onto your forearms. Many also put the hands into an awkward position that requires you to rotate the wrist forward. If you're not young and/or flexible they can be downright uncomfortable.

Aero bars on almost all my bikes, including flat bar, mountain, road, and track bikes. Nerve damage near my left elbow makes them necessary, but I'd probably use them anyway. I've never seen any disadvantage to their use except the small amount of added weight.

Bar ends are of minimal use for ameliorating hand discomfort, in my experience.

I used airstrykes on one bike in the past; zip-tied the pads down to stop the rattling after the first few rides.

It's really strange the varying degree of opinions on this. Seems to me, they could only help as well, but I can only speculate not ever having used them. I talked to my guy (the owner) at the LBS where I bought my bike, and he highly advised against them. Saying that I'm not really curing my problem, only masking it. He was also against them from a safety standpoint, saying how a rider doesn't really have proper control of the bike, and not enough access to the brakes while using them.

I can see both sides, so it's rather difficult knowing which way to lean on this.

There's a component of anti-triathlete prejudice involved in the naysaying, coupled with the tendency of communal opinions to reduce over time to a few simple binary it rules/it sucks responses, some of which have no basis in experience.

Keep in mind that you don't have to use the aero bars every minute that you're riding. I spend maybe 15% of my time on the bike using the aero bars, but I'm definitely glad I have them during those times.