I swear the more I mess around with my tilt the more I like the steeper pitch of my bars. I’m about to go fill reverse J bend and just end my testing. I’ve been messing around with tilt and bars for about a year and right now have the Zipp 110s and a flat base bar. The more I pitch the more I like the feel. What is it about that position that makes it feel more relaxed versus normal S or straight bars?
I swear the more I mess around with my tilt the more I like the steeper pitch of my bars. I’m about to go fill reverse J bend and just end my testing. I’ve been messing around with tilt and bars for about a year and right now have the Zipp 110s and a flat base bar. The more I pitch the more I like the feel. What is it about that position that makes it feel more relaxed versus normal S or straight bars?
I have. The more I tilt the bars up the more my elbows can come together. I am looking to get a second bike this winter just for testing the position. The windtunnel showed it was faster for me.
I swear the more I mess around with my tilt the more I like the steeper pitch of my bars. I’m about to go fill reverse J bend and just end my testing. I’ve been messing around with tilt and bars for about a year and right now have the Zipp 110s and a flat base bar. The more I pitch the more I like the feel. What is it about that position that makes it feel more relaxed versus normal S or straight bars?
I swear the more I mess around with my tilt the more I like the steeper pitch of my bars. I’m about to go fill reverse J bend and just end my testing. I’ve been messing around with tilt and bars for about a year and right now have the Zipp 110s and a flat base bar. The more I pitch the more I like the feel. What is it about that position that makes it feel more relaxed versus normal S or straight bars?
That is an absolute stock standard position adopted by most in the know in the early nineties.
The swing to flat forearms was only because UCI rules for cyclist were introduced for horizontal forearms and the tri sheep followed in droves.
What is old is new again.
Early testing with new fangled power meters on bikes had quickly showed the mostly optimal position was 30 deg forearm angle and elbows really close which is easy to achieve with 30 deg angle because it relaxes the shoulders and arms.
I watched from the sidelines as tri people went UCI copy and because I wasn’t competing at the time, I just assumed that TRI rules had changed to match UCI.
When I discovered that the rules hadn’t changed, I just scratched my head and wondered why triathletes would give up the best position for fashion.
The more I tilt up the more pressure I feel in my upper back and shoulders and can’t mantain the position. Am I doing something wrong or it just doesn’t work for me?
I don’t have the money for wind tunnel testing (college student) but I do know that tilting my bars up has been wonderful for my shoulders. I was primarily a swimmer for many years, and so my shoulders are more sensitive to being stressed, at least that’s what I’ve noticed as compared to my peers. Tilting the bars up made my position go from being uncomfortable after an hour to being sustainable for hours.
The primary reason we try angling the forearms in every fit we do is because it’s more comfortable, when done properly, for most athletes. It just so happens to have an aero advantage for many of them, too, but that’s icing on the cake.
I’ve tried to go back and ascertain just when it was everyone decided to go with level forearms in the aero position. It had nothing to do with a UCI rule change, which came later. It actually appears to really have become popular in '03 when Jan Ulrich came to the Tour with a new Walser-designed TT bike and beat Lance in the time trial. The most visually striking parts on the bike were the straight extensions, and they soon became all the rage because they “looked” fast. Later they evolved into the s-bend extensions you see today.
I feel far more stable in the TT position when I can brace against tilted forearms. I felt that it took effort to keep myself back with flat arms, which may be a by-product of a fairly steep seat tube angle, but now I have my forearms raised I just stay put and can focus my energy on spinning pedals round. This was the primary driver for me, with the secondary driver being what folks like Jim have written… it might be more aero, which is a-niiiiiice! And anecdotally I seem to go quickly for the meagre watts I produce.
Not extreme-mantis, however.
I swear the more I mess around with my tilt the more I like the steeper pitch of my bars. I’m about to go fill reverse J bend and just end my testing. I’ve been messing around with tilt and bars for about a year and right now have the Zipp 110s and a flat base bar. The more I pitch the more I like the feel. What is it about that position that makes it feel more relaxed versus normal S or straight bars?
Eric are the bars you used reversed use bars? The forearm position you have is where I’m trying to get to but giant bars need a fair amount for clamping, struggling to find a suitable bar to use!
Yes reversed ski end bars. I’m helped though by the Aduro bar’s clamp which is well forward of the pads.
When using reverse bars, always use alloy, never use carbon.
You probably need USE Tula alloy extensions… very tall stack height and 30,40, and 50 degree options, and cutable at both ends to find perfect stack height
The secret is tilted pads.
I swear the more I mess around with my tilt the more I like the steeper pitch of my bars. I’m about to go fill reverse J bend and just end my testing. I’ve been messing around with tilt and bars for about a year and right now have the Zipp 110s and a flat base bar. The more I pitch the more I like the feel. What is it about that position that makes it feel more relaxed versus normal S or straight bars?
Eric are the bars you used reversed use bars? The forearm position you have is where I’m trying to get to but giant bars need a fair amount for clamping, struggling to find a suitable bar to use!
I don’t care if high hands were slower… I’d do it for the comfort.
But yes, you make a great point, we are not constrained by UCI rules.
Most people think that the important thing about the UCI fact is that the bikes are limited but really the key point is that the body position is limited.
I swear the more I mess around with my tilt the more I like the steeper pitch of my bars. I’m about to go fill reverse J bend and just end my testing. I’ve been messing around with tilt and bars for about a year and right now have the Zipp 110s and a flat base bar. The more I pitch the more I like the feel. What is it about that position that makes it feel more relaxed versus normal S or straight bars?
That is an absolute stock standard position adopted by most in the know in the early nineties.
The swing to flat forearms was only because UCI rules for cyclist were introduced for horizontal forearms and the tri sheep followed in droves.
What is old is new again.
Early testing with new fangled power meters on bikes had quickly showed the mostly optimal position was 30 deg forearm angle and elbows really close which is easy to achieve with 30 deg angle because it relaxes the shoulders and arms.
I watched from the sidelines as tri people went UCI copy and because I wasn’t competing at the time, I just assumed that TRI rules had changed to match UCI.
When I discovered that the rules hadn’t changed, I just scratched my head and wondered why triathletes would give up the best position for fashion.
When using reverse bars, always use alloy, never use carbon.
No snark intended, but why? Wouldn’t it be safe to assume that the standard carbon aero extension is constructed with a uniform layup meaning that one end would be as strong as the other?
I believe you have to drill some holes in the bars for internal cable routing when you reverse them. I would rather (and have) drill aluminum than carbon. For what it’s worth, I use alu extensions on all my bikes and have never noticed any difference from carbon.
When using reverse bars, always use alloy, never use carbon.
No snark intended, but why? Wouldn’t it be safe to assume that the standard carbon aero extension is constructed with a uniform layup meaning that one end would be as strong as the other?
Definitely not safe to assume that…
Yes reversed ski end bars. I’m helped though by the Aduro bar’s clamp which is well forward of the pads.
When using reverse bars, always use alloy, never use carbon.
You probably need USE Tula alloy extensions… very tall stack height and 30,40, and 50 degree options, and cutable at both ends to find perfect stack height
The secret is tilted pads.
I swear the more I mess around with my tilt the more I like the steeper pitch of my bars. I’m about to go fill reverse J bend and just end my testing. I’ve been messing around with tilt and bars for about a year and right now have the Zipp 110s and a flat base bar. The more I pitch the more I like the feel. What is it about that position that makes it feel more relaxed versus normal S or straight bars?
Eric are the bars you used reversed use bars? The forearm position you have is where I’m trying to get to but giant bars need a fair amount for clamping, struggling to find a suitable bar to use!
I’m thinking of doing this as well and have carbon bars. Is there a reason alloy is better? Is it just that they will hold better?
I can’t speak for all carbon extensions, but the ones that I have worked with have been directional. The shifter end has a noticeably larger I.D. to allow for shifter installation. This could mean that this part of the bar is not as strong, can’t bear as much load, and may not hold up to clamping stress as easily.
Having said that, we might just be talking about the firs 1.5" of the bar and the rest of it may have a uniform I.D.
Even though it’s very slight, I’ve always liked having my hands a little above horizontal for comfort. I also prefer ski-bend aero bars, I find it’s a more natural hand/wrist position.
Wouldn’t it be safe to assume that the standard carbon aero extension is constructed with a uniform layup meaning that one end would be as strong as the other?
no and no. please don’t.
I feel far more stable in the TT position when I can brace against tilted forearms. I felt that it took effort to keep myself back with flat arms, which may be a by-product of a fairly steep seat tube angle, but now I have my forearms raised I just stay put and can focus my energy on spinning pedals round. This was the primary driver for me, with the secondary driver being what folks like Jim have written… it might be more aero, which is a-niiiiiice! And anecdotally I seem to go quickly for the meagre watts I produce.
Not extreme-mantis, however.
Can you tell me what base bar and extensions you are using?
Yup… older Felt Devox Bayonet, carbon non-UCI ones with the deeper base bar. Use Tula 30 degree alu extensions fitted in reverse. Put the bend near the extension clamps and you can get a good amount of rise.