I find myself grabbing the horns. Is there any real benefit to staying on the aero bars up hill? I just don’t seem to be able to generate the power going up hill aero. Are there positional adjustments(ie sliding ahead on the saddle) that would help?
Brent
if your speed drops below 18 MPH, use the base bar, changing your position will allow a break for your leg muscles and back, and will allow for better use of climbing muscles.
yeah,…get Rotor Cranks!! Seriously!!
(I’m on a roadie w/ clip-ons) - my rule o’ thumb for races is:
14 mph or faster, I’m in the aero bars, and 13 mph or less I sit up.
I’ve seen folks at races sitting up on moderate hills, and even some standing and hammering, when their speed was 16, 17, 18 mph, and it just didn’t make any sense to me. I spun right on by them in the aero bars.
I think you still get a decent aero benefit from being in the bars when the speed is in the mid-teens. For training rides, or JRA rides, I’ll sit up more often climbing and at higher speeds, just to get a break, since I’m not necessarily on the clock then. YMMV.
The better fitted to your tri-geom bike that you are, the less you will use the horns even in climbs. On my road bike, I never hesitate to stand whether in hills, flats, or after turns, but that’s just my riding style.
Stay in the aero possition and pull up on the aerobars. Use the aerobars for leverage. This may require some practice as I’ve found that it requires a bit of upper-body and arm/forearm strengh.
Disgusting hairy arms belong to Slowman, I believe. That is the watch he took off the homeless man in Sante Fe.
Stay in the aero possition and pull up on the aerobars. Use the aerobars for leverage. This may require some practice as I’ve found that it requires a bit of upper-body and arm/forearm strengh.
that’s exactly the point! you don’t use the aeroposition uphill to be aero but to make the powerful muscles of the back and upper body contribute to your speed.
it takes a relativly strong upper body tough and i imagine it to be kinda hard if your seat is too far forward.
but if it works - it works great!!!
Just remember one of the points of coming out of the aero position on climbs (and going to the tops on road bikes) is too open the lungs up for the extra effort. If you are huffing and puffing because you can’t expand your lungs enough to take in the amount of oxygen needed on the climb it doesn’t matter how aero you are.
it is not about being aero!
even on the flats many people are not in the speed range where aero really matters, so let’s not talk about the 10mph we’re going uphill with …
and “it’s not about the bike” (either) … 
I believe someone posted an answer that falls in line with my testing. When my bike is configured so I am in my very forward “aero” position for racing, I actually find it much more comfortable to ride uphill aero (I rode almost the entire 11 miles up Palomar aero). However, when I am on a road bike, I need to sit up (and back). However, that’s because I seem to suffer more on the road bike (even though I was slow going up Palomar in 1:45, it was a consistent effort). There is something to be said about being vertically above the bottom bracket (I actually kept realizing I was moving FORWARD going up Palomar) on long rides…at least for me.
As far as an “advantage”, I think it’s more about comfort. Those John Cobb tests had determined (at one point it was on his website) that anything below 16-17 mph of apparent speed (which is different than actual speed i.e. 12 mph into a 5 mph wind, 10 mph into a 10 mph wind, etc.) the savings in potential energy (weight, position, etc.) would supersede being the most “aero” (ok, that was a very vague generalization based on my not so perfect memory).
So, do what feels comfortable for you. Either way, when the engine gets bigger, and body gets smaller, going UP will become easier
Stay in the aero possition and pull up on the aerobars. Use the aerobars for leverage. This may require some practice as I’ve found that it requires a bit of upper-body and arm/forearm strengh.
i just read that recently and tried it on my last training ride…got a ton of power that way and was able to go up a large portion of hills that way…