The ski bends point upward at roughly a 45 degree angle. The S bend point more forward than up. Without a rider behind them, the S bends are more aero. With a rider, the ski bends are usually more aero because the hands block more of the chest scoop. The ski bends alsodon't force you to rotate your wrists forward and allow your hands to relax more. For half and full distance events, I think the ski bends are a better choice for most.

What fat and slow said is mostly true.

However, and this may be as incorrect as it gets, but when I am on my tt bike my torso is about parallel to the ground. So I don't feel like blocking the air from hitting it is necessary. Because of that, I use s-bends, and I find no discomfort whatsoever.

So while fatandslow may be right, I think you should take into account the rest of your fit to choose.

one points up at the end, the other doesn't.

one will be comfy for some people, the other comfy for others.

most people find ski tips more comfy. There is usually no aerodynamic difference, with hands on them.

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Kat Hunter reports on the San Dimas Stage Race from inside the GC winning team
Aeroweenie.com -Compendium of Aero Data and Knowledge
Freelance sports & outdoors writer Kathryn Hunter

Thanks for the feedback. So its just personal preference? And looks? No real advantage one over the over?

Now, take this with a grain of salt as I went from F-bend to a ski bend position but I saw a substantial improvement. Just the hand position alone saw a reduction from a CdA of .213 to .205.

I also used S-bends in the past and have always found the Fs to be more comfortable. But both look way faster then ski-bend setups.

http://vid560.photobucket.com/...ANTE_zps9936cebe.mp4

Edit: the video shows the first and last runs. There were many changes other than what I describe above. However, the change in hand position was what I was trying to convey.

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Usually. If you wanted to go all out you can test different hand positions in a wind tunnel and figure it out for yourself. But since there is no way to know, just go for comfort.

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Kat Hunter reports on the San Dimas Stage Race from inside the GC winning team
Aeroweenie.com -Compendium of Aero Data and Knowledge
Freelance sports & outdoors writer Kathryn Hunter

are we missing something in the video (a shred with just a change in hand position?)? the video shows two runs, but it looks like quite a bit changed (back & head in addition to the extension type/hand position).

The video was to show the change in hands. The total change was much more involved as I changed drop, saddle position, helmet, front wheel, as well as the hand position. Final CdA was .198 and my initial run was .221.

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Not meaning to derail topic too much... But did you notice your leg does a funny "twitch" at the bottom of the pedal stroke coupled with a slight twisting of the hip. Could it be your seat....

I'd rather not derail the op, but yes it has been noted and no I don't think it's the saddle.

What I learned in the tunnel, was that for me there was a big gain going from a f-bend hand position-which is very similar to s-bend-to a ski bend. But Jack is right you don't know unless you test, and that is why I tested.

Also, one of the other posters mentioned that his flat back would probably preclude him from gaining, but as you see in the video my back was pretty flat to begin with. Point is you don't know until you test.

Not to derail this thread into the value of the tunnel, but that front wheel gained me a .004 drop in CdA. That is nothing to sneeze at but it cost me over $1k with tax. My trip to the tunnel was less than that and the position changes netted me a drop of .018. In watt speak at 26 miles an hour I'm saving 4 watts with the wheel and 18 with the tunnel and 7 of these were the hand position.

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What stood out most of all was how much your head dropped and moved forward. This had to have an impact on your drag numbers, I'm guessing. Was this a result of your hand position change?

No, the head position was done before the hands. We first tried the short tail but it was too uncomfortable. That saw a drop from the base of .221 to .214; however, going to the tall tail took me from .221 to .213. The following change was the hands position which I described above. Then we moved to the lower position. First we tried 1cm and saw an additional drop to .202 then an additional 1cm drop netted zero improvement but I found it more comfortable, so we kept it.

However, I guess it should be noted that by moving my hands it probably also stretched me out a bit which probably helped get my head lower. I'll look at the photos of the runs and see if it made a head change. I'll post them up when I get home.

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A picture says a thousand words, but I only need three: you were right.

Looks like I dropped my head with the shift of the hands and even when looking at the 1cm drop, which came after, my head doesn't really drop anymore just moves forward. So, interestingly for me the hand position dropped my head and lowered my CdA where the bar drop made little difference in comparison.

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Your statement below is interesting. So ski bends look slower?


But both look way faster then ski-bend setups.

To me? Yes. But that is partially because most run them so long or do not cut them down. I modified my F-Bends into ski bends but actually hold the shifters not the extensions., so it still looks fast (the shifters have been angled up more so since the pic was taken):
versus:

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Another hate to hijack question…. but I'm looking at a similar set of changes to stretch out and get lower. I also need to rotate my hips a bit more forward. Can I ask what saddle you are using? Zoomed in on the pics, but couldn't quite tell.

It is a Dash Stage 9 and it appears that Dash has lowered it's prices.

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Just a n=1, but i had 3T ski bends on my P2. I found them way too angled. The degree was a bit too 'upright' even if you wut them down at the ends if that makes sense. There are heaps of ski bends out there that are more comfy and dont point so high up in the air, but i found the 3T brand to do this. I just got s trek SC and switched to S bends and it is heaps better

I agree on the different ski bends.

Personally, I bought ski bends too long (accidentally) and cut them down so they have the same angle of bend but further out, now they don't angle up too high. I'm using the alloy Visions.

jaretj

This might be imaginary, but to me ski bends seem more stable from a steering stand point (than S Bend).

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"...the street finds its own uses for things"

I believe my issue is my ski bends are too short

Mine are set so that my hands lay right on top of my shifters. I can either put the shifter between my middle finger/ring finger or fold my fingers under/right behind them. It just depends on what kind of riding I'm doing.

If you are scrunching back to keep your hands on the shifters then they may be too short. Can you use a longer stem and move the pads back at all?

jaretj

My hands are slightly beyond the shifters. Otherwise I like my armrest position. I should be able to extend the bars out/forwards, correct?

Just to add a comment, I've suffered from carpal tunnel syndrome over the years, including surgery on my left wrist. Ski bends help by keeping my wrists at a more neutral angle, keeping pressure off the nerves in the carpal tunnel. I can't ride s-bends very far without experiencing pain and numbness in my hands.

Mark