burnthesheep wrote:
lastlap wrote:
piratetri wrote:
Nope, but you will be much faster if you decide to add them.
Much faster is subjective...
How is the comment helpful at all? It lends itself to have people believe that it's minimal enough to not be worth it.
Almost like when people talk about changing an older triathlon frame for a newer one, yeah, that could be subjective.
This one isn't really up for debate as the piles of minutes saved aero-wise, and the skeletal/muscular rest for your body on aero bars possibility to improve your run.............there is no debate. It is "much" faster.
I think I have to agree with LastLap on this one. "Much faster" is pretty vague. And maybe much faster from a cumulative standpoint. In an Ironman, I would say sure simply because of the time involved. In a sprint, maybe not so much. It's not like the OP is going to pick up 5mph on his pace just by bolting on a pair of aero bars. Probably a lot closer to 1mph. Going from a 17mph pace to an 18mph pace in a sprint is barely noticeable. In an Ironman, ya, you'll see that.
I'm not saying this to deter the OP. I run aero bars on all my bikes. But I don't believe in overselling anything either. Just setting reasonable expectations.
And let's not forget, there are downsides as well. There is less fine control with aero bars so on twisty routes, they're all but useless. And they position your hands further away from the brakes, slowing reaction time. Going up steeper inclines, how much are you really using them? Just like anything, there is a time and a place.