I recently purchased a Kestrel Talon and have been using it with the drop/sti and some profile design aerolites clipped on. It has been working well, but I have been thinking about switching the frontend to a full aero setup. More than anything I think that its a “just because” type of thing, but I have been unhappy about having to get out of the aerobars to shift and find myself pushing harder gears than needed because I don’t want to pull out or aero to shift. Yeah, yeah dumb, I know.
I am just trying to make a pro/con list before taking the plunge. I am not sure if the cost and hassle is worth the gains I might see and figured that I’d check people’s opinions on this board since they are freely available and usually of good value. I have been trying to find recommendations on the site here but have not had a good luck with my searches. I suspect that the information is already out there and I am just making poor searches.
Also…if you have recommendations for equipment to check out that would be good too. Of course I’ll get what fits, but if there are things to look closer at or steer clear of I’m always happy to get input.
Oh yeah other important info: I am in a pretty flat place (NC), I am training for the timberman HIM (not really flat), I gravitate toward olympic and sprint races, although we’ll see what happens after the HIM. I don’t know what else would be useful.
Having clip-ons on an otherwise roadie set-up never hurt me in TTs. As long as you’re stable, the second it takes to make a shift won’t cost you much in the way of drag.
I have a Talon SL with Hed full aerobars on the front end…
If I didn’t have another road bike I would set the Talon up with drop bars and clips…
I rode the SL at Powerman, North Carolina…a decidedly UNFLAT race…and had no issues with shifting or wishing I had drops…but I certainly could have used a drops/clips setup just as effectively…
Bottom line…if the Talon is your ONLY bike…keep it as is. If you have another road bike that you would race when appropriate…then I’d consider an aero front end for the Talon…Frankly, though…you’ve got more important fish to fry than worrying over the front end of your bike…just train…
I like having an aero front end for triathlon over the drops with clip-on option. I had drops for my first four years of triathlon and I know I stay down in the aero bars more now that I have the full aero set up. The biggest negative is that it’s much nicer to drops when riding with groups. If you don’t ride with many roadie groups than that’s probably not much of an issue since fellow triathletes are usually pretty understanding about having the bar end shifting…until you run into them!
I probably didn’t help much, but from a triathlon perspective, I like the aero set up more. Of course the best option is to get a full time road bike and a full time tri bike. Then add in a mountain bike, fixed gear…
Unless you ride with a group, I thing that bar-end shifters are the only way to go.
More than anything I think that its a “just because” type of thing, but I have been unhappy about having to get out of the aerobars to shift and find myself pushing harder gears than needed because I don’t want to pull out or aero to shift. Yeah, yeah dumb, I know.
This is not a dumb thing at all. Triathlon is all about efficiency and aerodynamics. Aerobars will make you more aerodynamic, but not if you have to change position all the time to shift. Being in the right gear at the right cadence makes you more efficient.
Much as I am loath to disagree with TriBriGuy on this one, I think that flat bars with bar end shifters are the only way to go for nearly any terrain. Most races don’t have long sustained climbs, so you want to stay in your aerobars as much as possible and you want to shift as much as necessary to avoid pushing too large a gear. PM N.C. for me was one continuous click-click-click-click as you went up and down the cogs and back and forth from small to large chainring. My run off the bike was pretty fast and I caught a lot of people who hammered too hard on the hills.
If I only had one bike, it would have pursuit bars, bolt-on aerobars and bar end shifters. If you don’t have any climbing around then you ought to spend about 90 percent of your time on the aerobars, so you want to the shifter to be right there where you need them.
If you buy some, don’t lose your mind buying carbon anything. Plain old round aluminum will do the same job and a pursuit bar/aerobar/shifters combo should cost about $200. If you want to eBay it I’ll bet you could find the bars for far less and then you only have to pay the $82 for new shifters.
I suppose there are pros and cons either way. Are you happy with your current position? If so…keep it! If you’re up for a position change, it might be an option.
Recently put up a thread about LB’s bike in 1/2 FL. Looks like his typical position, but with sti/drops…Lessingish in 2005.
Or perhaps go Sultan style with aero front end and Sti.
Your negative is also a positive…less shifting allows you to concentrate on the pedal stroke and/or changing gears while in difficult situations (tight corners) when you need it most…
After noticing various pro-guys simply attaching their shifter/brake levers to aero bars, I’ve decided to do the same. This way you can have the full aero front end (w/adjustable stem if you like) w/out too much trouble switching back and forth. Here’s what I’m talking about:
So, Sultan and Reid are running STI on an aero front end. Then again, you can then add all the pros that use road bikes as well. After some thought today, it’s perhaps my efficient shifting as you can easily punch the STI into gear rather than move the lever back and forth (indexed or not).
It seems like I’m missing something - can anybody explain:
I have a road drop bar with clip on. In normal competitions I spend 95% of the time in the aero position using the clip ons, 4% (uphill) on the STI-hoods and 1% of the time in the drops (usually for efficient braking). For longer training rides, a bit more time is spent in the hoods, less in aero position, but still very little time down in the drops.
If I change to a full aero set-up (with flat bar):
No difference for the aero position using the clip ons - except that I don’t need to move the hands to shift.
The STI hood position should be about the same - the hoods on a flat aero bar (where the brakes are) are placed in the same position as the STI hoods.
The only difference is that position down in the drops (which I almost never use)are not longer available.
Is this correct?
If so - what’s the problem with the full-aero set-up, why keep the drop down bar?
I went the route of trying to get my hoods in the same position as my road bike this past winter. After all sorts of measurements, Hed purchase, and riding for several hundred miles since…it was just a waste of time and perhaps money. The time spent riding on the “hoods” of an aero-front end didn’t warrant (for me) the hoops that I jumped through…
