ratebeer

After again seeing (how can you tire of it?) Greg Lemond CRUSH Laurent Fignon in 1989 TdF time trial, I wonder why a hybrid aero bar/traditional set up are still not standard on road racing bikes.

Road racers are not always in packs -- critical breakaways or chases could easily be decided by the existence or not of aerobars. Using aerobars in a pack when it's safe to do so would also have significant benefits even if there are many who doubt it (and global warming.)

Keith99

Because aerobars are not safe to use when riding in a pack and not safe when riding in traffic.

merlinextraligh

its against the rules.

botto 

because you can't control your bike as well when you're in an aero tuck.

only Freds and Triathletes (aka Fast Freds) try to ride aero-bars in a group.

shakeNbake

That name has been taken:

jimbud

Since European Cycle racing is a draft legal sport I'd guess there is a safety issue with allowing aero bars. Plus they want the bikes to conform to the old stereotypical European road racing bike look.

caloso

Nailed it with the first reply.

ratebeer

Of course, neither is riding with your hands off the bars but many cyclists do this.

Riding with hands on the drops is about as safe.

Serpico

cuz they're lame

jimbud

briscoelab

This instance has noting to do with conforming to a look.... it simply just isn't safe to have aero bars on bikes in a mass start race. The bikes are harder to control when on the aero bars.... and more importantly, if there was a wreck... those straight bars would cause more than a few problems.

slowandsteady

So why not use them ONLY when you are not in a pack or traffic? It probably isn't safe to ride no handed in a pack either, but they don't ban that....or doing #2 in a hat.

And why are there no recumbent races?

ratebeer

Tell that to this man.

MichaelW

It is mainly about crash safety, aerobars are too sticky-outy.

Keith99

Thats the problem with allowing aero bars at all. The determining when it is safe to use them is a *****. Only when alone? How about in a group of 2? When does a rider overtaking another rider become a group of 2? Is it fair to penalize the front rider in this situation when he is going all out and has no idea he is being caught?

And as someone else already mentioned aero bars can basically gore someone in a group crash.

ratebeer

Again, short stubby aerobars are as safe as riding in the drops or riding holding the center of the handlebar or the top tube (as some nuts on hill climbs). You have to move your hands about the same distance to break in any of those cases.

Categorize this under hysterically senseless scare tactic: Two questions:
1. Aren't toothy chainrings much more dangerous? The odds of a weighted (rider attached) chainring hitting a downed body is much, much greater than being gored by an aerobar.
2. Is there any documented case anywhere in the world of anyone, anywhere being gored by an aerobar ever? Even if there were some sudden worldwide rash of aerobar gorings, couldn't you just curve the bar ends?

grahny

I find that SLAM bars change the bike's handling characteristics enough that I don't like them... smaller, under the handlebar clip on aerobars are helpful to use as just another hand position on long rides.

BladeGeek

That sums it up.

slowandsteady

These explanations makey no sense.

urban.one

mmmmmmmmmm.... aero bars.....

bikingshearer 

No, no, no, he's Fast Freddie. That extra syllable makes all the difference.

popdelusions

There's always this argument

https://www.cinelli.it/EN/spinaci.html

botto 

incorrect. his nickname is `fast freddy'.

popdelusions

As for Spinaci, there's the question as to whether something like that would be any more "dangerous" than the now popular brake-cable hanging aero position, demonstrated below by Zabriskie in 2004.

I'm not sure I really have a position on this issue. I think in practice the question so far as safety goes is largely about handling and weight distribution and not only about quickness of reaching the brake levers. Certainly slam bars with forearm cups and pads would be REALLY bad in that respect, but as for the Spinaci-style bars, who knows? Better or worse idea than resting the wrists on the bar tops?

popdelusions

Nah, it's "Freddie"

https://fredrodriguez.com/