JoeOxfordCT

Good Morning !

I am going to be buying a new road frame and transferring the components off my existing bike. I am going to add a set of aero bars. I will be riding mostly solo and centuries with a few group rides sprinkled in when I can fine time. I won't be competing in any events...unless as part of a relay team. I am 5'10", 180lbs, w/normal proportion arms/legs/torso. I would typically take a 56cm frame.

However, everything I've read about Tri positioning says you need to move your saddle farther over the pedals to make the best use of aero bars. I am not interested in buying a Tri specific bike. I want to use a road frame and just tweak the setup to get as aero as possible without totally destroying climbing position. (Lots of hills here in western CT.) So should I order a 58cm frame so I can move my peddling position forward without shifting my center of gravity too far over the front wheel ?? If I stuck with a 56cm frame I would most likely have to get a longer stem. Frame will most likely be a CAAD9.

Anything else I'm not taking into consideration ??

Thanks,

J.

Bacciagalupe

Just as a friendly reminder, you really can't use aero bars in group rides -- except for those times when you fall way behind the paceline. You will not have enough control when in the aeros.

Also, if you're using the bars for centuries and do not plan to compe or do TT's, you might want to focus on setting up the aeros for comfort rather than in a Tri / TT position. This may also result in a position that does not require any major changes.

I'd find an LBS that is good for fitting, get some clip-on aero bars, have 'em set you up, and tweak as needed.

JoeOxfordCT

I was aware of this....there is a guy in one of our group rides who had aero bars but he's never in them on our rides. He says they're definitely worth an extra 1-2mph over being in the drops.

astonmartinag

I've really never understood why people like these so much if they are just doing regular road riding. The only ideal moment to use them is in a tri, TT, or if your route is completely flat. A really good drop position vs. a clip on aero position that you might be in won't get you more than a .5mph difference at max. Furthermore, its a b**** climbing with those in the way on a long climb. Just my thought on them

JoeOxfordCT

All other things being equal, if I'm riding a century and I want to make time (read not be on the hoods) for the next 20-50 non technical miles, I'd rather be on aero bars than in the drops......

dstrong 

+1 I rode my first century almost completely on my aero bars. For me it's a very comfortable position for a long grind. Mind you, it was a pretty flat century so moving to the shifters frequently was not a concern.

As far as position is concerned, when I put my aero bars back on last month, I slid my seat forward about 3 cm and dropped the nose about 1 cm. That change doesn't really affect the comfort of my position on the hoods or in the drops.

Psimet2001 

Way back when TT bars first got popular I use to use some Scott DH full bars and some LeMond Clip-on's almost all the time.

Now I would never dream of it. Just too squirrely on a road bike.

That said I am in the process of doing a poor man's TT bike. I bought a base bar, brakes and bar end levers for my current clip ons. My seatpost is a bontrager infinite adjustment style clamp that will let me flip it 180. My intention is to have 2 full setups.

Loosen the cable anchors on the derails and brake calipers, pull the faceplate on the stem and swap out the whole front end anytime I need it for a TT event.

I have little experience on clip-ons in the "modern" era (meaning when I have had decent form and known what to look for) and they do make a stellar difference.

That said if I see another rider in the clip-ons while climbing a steep hill at 4-6mph again....I think I'll scream. At least once I catch my breath.

roy5000x2

I found clip-on aero bars useful when riding across country. Having that extra position to be in was useful, and I definitely noticed a difference in my speed when riding in them on the front of a group ride. I also found them to be much more comfortable than riding in the drops. Like Bacciagalupe said, set them up for comfort.

JoeOxfordCT

.....and my question regarding frame size ? 56cm vs. 58cm **********?

"....However, everything I've read about Tri positioning says you need to move your saddle farther over the pedals to make the best use of aero bars. I am not interested in buying a Tri specific bike. I want to use a road frame and just tweak the setup to get as aero as possible without totally destroying climbing position. (Lots of hills here in western CT.) So should I order a 58cm frame so I can move my peddling position forward without shifting my center of gravity too far over the front wheel ?? If I stuck with a 56cm frame I would most likely have to get a longer stem. Frame will most likely be a CAAD9....."

Chucklehead

You don't necessarily need to change your position. You really only do that to put different muscles into play. Try seeing how it feels to move a little forward on the saddle first and see how that works out.
I've done a 4.5 hour century over rolling terrain with mine on and without changing saddle position.
Plus, It's harder to climb in the saddle with your saddle slammed forward.

JoeOxfordCT

Nice looking setup....Blue ?
What's that seat tube angle....looks >73 ?

Care to elaborate about your bike setup then.

Harder to climb in the saddle because what exactly ? Knee over pedal position ? Arm/handlebar position ? Some of both ? Neither ?

How does your position affect your out of the saddle climbing ??

Chucklehead

It's 74.

My bike is set up for one thing: Crits. But what I've learned is that as I've moved up over the course of the season, I'm spending more time on/towards the front and chasing. And because of that, I tend to use the forearms on the tops position to get as aero as possible. At some point, I just decided it would be easier to work those muscles out regularly if I had a set of aero bars, so I bought a set of Profile T2+.
At first, I was using a separate saddle/post combo and would switch them out depending on the workout I intended to do, but I eventually just chucked the other saddle and post and just stuck with my race set-up.
I've noticed that it's not as easy to climb with the saddle slammed forward, but I couldn't honestly tell you why that is. I'm sure someone can explain the physics of it. But it seems to me that I don't get the same leverage with the quads?

Also, having certain types of clip-ons will make it difficult to climb out of the saddle because of how far back the armrests extend. The model I have extends pretty far back, so my knees tend to hit them if I don't pay a little extra attention. There are models you can buy that sit directly on top of the handlebars and don't get in the way.

Spin Cycle

After using them for a couple of years, I removed my aero bars about a month ago. They allowed for comfortable low effort riding on flats in centuries and double centuries, but there's really not enough flat terrain around here to justify having them. Besides I got onto a "purist" and "minimalist" bent...

Since removing them I've found that:
- I have more power
- I'm enjoying using the drops instead of the aero bars
- It's nice to have the tops of the bars back for that extra hand position
- I've lowered my handlebars lower than I was comfortable in the aero bars without losing comfort, and gained better steering response and cornering

No telling if/when I might change again, but for now I'm really enjoying the current setup.

RFC

I have experimented with aero bars for years on both road bikes and tri bikes. I even put a set of profiles on a MTB that I had converted into an all purpose commuter. Given that, I accept all of the caveats above about not using aero bars in groups, crowded traffic conditions, etc.

Now, the reasons that aero bars can be fun and useful on a road bike.

1) There is no question that properly set up aero bars, even on a road bike, will give you an increase in speed. In my case, that can be 10-15%. Aero bars allow you to go farther faster.

2) The properly set up aero position is very comfortable, takes pressure off of your hands and wrists, and allows you to rest your upper body on a bone-to-bone platform.

3) Aero bars allow different hand positions, other than the pure aero tuck.

4) Aero bars can be fun and add a little variety to your ride. Many of us work out on truncated suburban "courses" which may involve a 2 mile flat run, 1 mile hill, turn around a 2.5 mile track, etc. For me, those kind of runs are more interesting if I treat them as separate sections of a course, each requiring a different approach. So, when I get to that 2.5 mile track, it's fun to drop to the aero bars, find the power position, and become the machine for a while.

With that, for road bikes, I much prefer minimalistic bars. That is, the more compact clip-ons with low mounted cups set up no farther back then the top bar. If you keep them light and small, they don't make your bike feel clunky. For example, recently, I took an old U-shaped set of Scott aero bars that I had around, stripped them down to just the bar and the cups, and put them on my Litespeed Ultimate. They work well and add another variable for the ride.