If I’m specifically set up on my road bike to be in and aero position on my clip on aerobars, how does this affect my normal road bike set up for pure group cycling events.
Should I leave the bike set up in the aero set up for a cycling event and just take the aero bars off or should I change my entire set up back?
Yes, the setups are typically different. Since you can rest your elbows on the aerobar pads, the tri position tends to have you riding “steeper” with your hips rotated forward, and more weight supported by the arms.
I’d recommend leaving the bike in a road setup, and adjust the clipons to get comfortable.
Usually bringing your seat forward is the main thing you want to do. If you use shorty bars you won’t have to make too much or any adjustment.
So what is the downside if I leave it in the aero set up for a pure cycling group ride or race?
I do a bunch ride only a couple of times a year and might do one pure cycling event, just for training and variety.
Depends how much it differs from what you’re used to. I have my seat completely forward also when I’m doing normal road riding as I found it’s simply the most comfortable position for me but if you prefer sitting further back then you’ll have two different positions. The benefit of using shorter ITU style bars is that they allow you to stay in your road position.
Handling.
Your weight is shifted forward. This one fact alone makes handling shaky. How do I interpret ‘shaky’? In a blink of an eye, something unexpected happens and you twitch. A road setup gives you that little bit of stability that you’ll never appreciate because you didn’t go down. The forward tri setup will encourage you to go down, probably with others, and you spend all post ride discussions focusing on that gravel/squirrel/car/water bottle/ etc and forgetting that, while your setup didn’t ‘cause’ the accident, it certainly didn’t help avoid it.
Yes, an experienced/skilled cyclist probably never goes down, or causes others to go down. People will argue “Nah, not that big o’ deal”. But, it’s the biggest difference in the two setups.
Try a road setup with regular bars and STI shifters/brakes with ITU shorty bars for when you want to tuck! You might lose a little bit of power in the aero position because it’s not optimized. But, it’s still aero AND safer when with the group.
So what is the downside if I leave it in the aero set up for a pure cycling group ride or race?
I do a bunch ride only a couple of times a year and might do one pure cycling event, just for training and variety.
As mentioned, the handling will be twitchier, and the forward weight distribution will make it worse for descending.
Also, with less weight on the saddle, your arms will need to support more weight, which can get uncomfortable since on drop bars muscle is supporting the weight (vs. skeletal system on aero bars).