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Help! with Aerobars Indoors vs Outdoors
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Hi everyone,
Just over 4 weeks out to IM Canada for me and only started riding outdoors for the long rides about a month ago…Does anyone have any tips, experiences or advice on aerobar comfort…All winter I’ve been training on them on the trainer and have had 0 problems, so comfortable that I feel I could literally stay in the aero position for 6+ hours and be more than fine.
First outdoor ride and every subsequent outdoor ride however and I get a horrible pinch/stabbing feeling on my left trapezius area into the upper back. This starts not even 30 minutes into outdoor rides and it’s quite bad to the point where it hurts enough that I have to stop riding and I feel like I have a relatively high pain tolerance for most things.
Has anyone else experienced this and what was your fix?
Any help is very much appreciated!
Thanks!
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Re: Help! with Aerobars Indoors vs Outdoors [anthonyng15] [ In reply to ]
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Your upper back hurts from working to hold your head up so that you can see down the road when riding outdoors, something you don't have to do when riding indoors. The fix is to ride more outdoors to build up the strength to hold your head up.


Steve

"If you ain't first, you're last." Reese Bobby Talladega Nights
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Re: Help! with Aerobars Indoors vs Outdoors [anthonyng15] [ In reply to ]
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Your position is different when you are forced to look up the road. All winter you've acclimated yourself to a position that you can't use in a race. I'm afraid the only answer is more time in the saddle, on the road. You might try changing the front end a bit to ease into a more comfortable position but that is obviously not the desired end result.

You also might have a flawed body posture to begin with irrespective of how the bike is set up. Get one of your buddies to video your ride out on the road, you may be surprised how you look compared to how you imagine you look. A correct back alignment makes it a little bit easier to keep your head out of the wind but still catch a glimpse of the road ahead. It's a very specific body position that's taken me at least 4 months of outdoor riding to get used to.

When I'm doing a recovery ride or segment on my Trek SC I always start thinking about how I'm positioned on the bike. Pelvis rotated forward, lower back relaxed and supple, head shrugged down to the shoulders and hands out on the bar end shifters. I know I still have work to do but I'm confident I can make it through my first race distance in a pretty good body position.

The move to indoor training has been a blessing for those who really depend on it (Canadians!) but can be a crutch for some folks when they realize how unprepared they are for race conditions.

"They know f_ck-all over at Slowtwitch"
- Lionel Sanders
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Re: Help! with Aerobars Indoors vs Outdoors [anthonyng15] [ In reply to ]
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Next season, when you're riding in aero on the trainer, always look ahead, just like you would when riding on the road, rather than staring at the floor. Specificity. Specificity. Specificity.

There might be some fitters who can help you, but if you increase pad stack and widen pads slightly (maybe 1cm wider and 1cm higher), it may help. You may as well give it a shot and see if it helps.
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