I was wondering if aero bars would be bennificial for road touring.
Any information would be great. Thanks!

I'm not excactly a seasoned tourer, but I can't think of anything wrong with aero bars for touring. They'd give you another position to ride in, which should be a good thing.

If possible, try riding with a set before purchasing. Although they can provide a rest position for the arms, the aero position gives you significantly less emergency control and less stability than any of the conventional drop positions.

Thanks for th replies. I Really have no way of trying them out, however I feel as though they woud benifit my comfort with the added hand and and body positions. I plan on using front panniers and a b.o.b. on my T800. If anyone has any other thougts about this, I wouldl like to hear fro you. I had originally planned on using a handlrbar bag. Then I got to considering the aero bars. :confused:

Aerobars are made for speed, not comfort. That is the antithesis of touring. And they take up valuable handlebar real estate. You won't be able to use a handlebar bag, and it takes some effort to mount a computer with aerobars. I think that panniers and/or a trailer pretty much negate any aerodynamic benefit you get from aerobars on a touring bike. Riding on aerobars takes your hands away from brakes and shifters and makes you less stable. All in all I don't think they are a good idea for touring.

But, I use them on my touring bike. I like having a position that takes the weight off my hands and wrists entirely. They make a good place to mount a map holder. And you can strap your rain jacket to them with small bungee cords.

All in all, I don't think I'd recommend them for a touring bike. I used the on my other bikes before I mounted them on the tourer. If you were already using them on another bike, and sold on them, I'd say go for it. But you will probably be just as happy with out them.

By the way...are you sure you'll need panniers AND a BOB trailer? That trailer carries a lot of gear.

yeah, i pretty much agree with RegularGuy - aero bars are made for speed and they really make it hard to control the bike as well as shift gears and brake unless you buy special brake/gear extender which are usually not cheap. main problem is that your grip is really narrow to reduce your wind profile and this really hurts your ability to control the bike.

i think if you were touring really light then the aero bars might work out, but i don't think i'd feel safe riding with lots of weight in the aero position... and i would definitely try it out before a tour.

as far as comfort and addtional hand positions which i think is what you're probably looking for for touring --- look for something made for touring of just simple MTB bar ends - i prefer my mountain bike for touring and have long bar ends that give me 3 additional hand positions while still pretty wide with decent control - i can even lay my forearm/elbows on them like aero bars but again the bike control isn't ideal (although better than aero b/c a little wider)

Ive seen plenty of (usually german) loaded tourists using aerobars. There are several ways of using them.
Time trialling position: add them to some low bars for aerodynamics.
Triathalon : Use touring position rotated forward about the bottom bracket, to rest arms after a swim, and make better use of running muscles (ie a bike for non-cyclists)
Touring. Fairly high up and back (compared to racing) for a more comfortable and very slightly aero position.

You can use Spinnacci bars as an alternative to a set of aeros.

Wow, thanks for all the replies! I will ride more soon without them to see if I can live without 'em.