How should i grip my aerobars?

Triathlon Forum
1

I tried to search but apparently the words fingers, hands, aerobars, grip, etc. are used in a lot of unrelated threads.

What is the most aerodynamic way to grip S Bends? Where shoud my thumbs be? Should i extend a forefinger? Should i wrap my forefinger around the front of the bars? I don’t have bar-end shifters on my bike.

Can somebody either post a picture or point me to another thread discussing this? Thanks!

2

I don’t know about “most aerodynamic” but I tend to move my hands around on my s-bends. For hard efforts I choke up so my hands are on the bend. Some hard efforts, or when that is too compact, I grip the upper flat part. Most of the time I have my hands above the flat part with either my pinky wrapped under the bar or resting atop the bar. Since I have shifters, I kind of use those to wrap a finger or two around also sometimes. Thats what I like about the s-bends, I can vary length and grip style over a large area.

Kevin

3

I don’t know if it aerodynamic but lots of time I don’t even grip them. I just rest my forearms on the pads and hold my hands palms together. I find this relaxes my upper body and is very comfortable.

4

I utilize a numberof hand positions, which is one reason why I like straight/s-bend shaped extensions. You have a great deal of control over the level of wrist deflection basedon which you use.

Here are a few examples:

  • Fingers wrapped full around with thumbs pointing forward
  • Fingers and thumb wrapped full around
  • Knuckles at 45 degrees, back of the hand facing up, thumbs on the inside
  • Bar between index and middle fingers, other fingers wrapped full around with thumbs pointing forward
  • Knuckles at 45 degrees, back of the hand facing up, Bar between index and middle fingers, thumbs on the inside

I prefer this one (Knuckles at 45 degrees, back of the hand facing up, thumbs on the inside), as David Millar often uses:
http://grahamwatson.com/gw/imagedocs.nsf/updateframesetcall?openform&06vueltaSt14

I think the most aerodynamic posture is the one that is the most natural and comfortable, because that’s the one you will stay in. Poping out of your tuck for a few seconds here and there probably far negates any differense between subtle hand positions changes.

5

As soon as I figure out how to adjust mine so they aren’t killing me I’ll let you know!

Good Luck!

6

how should i grip my aerobars?

I’d imagine with your hands… Come on people… What are we talking about here .00002 of a second

7

Related to the other thread:

I think it comes down to personal preference. Whatever helps you ride relaxed will make a bigger difference timewise than the marginal aero-benefit on how you hold your hands.

I think that for people who need a firm grip on their aerobars for whatever reason the S-Bends are not a good choice.
In brief: People who “muscle” their bikes shouldn’t use S-bends for long distance riding/racing.

S-bends are for riders who rarely pull on their bars (except steep uphills in the aero-position), relax the upper body and only use the extensions to steer their bike or to shift.

In this case you can just rest your palms slightly on top of the bars, fingers slightly extended with the shifters between them.
Nice clean and aero, if that is what makes you happy…

8

Hello Sxevegan and All,

From Bike Tech Review: http://biketechreview.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1529&highlight=hand+position+drag

Go down the thread a ways for this:

http://www.biketechreview.com/performance/ruleofthumb_files/image009.jpg

http://www.biketechreview.com/performance/ruleofthumb_files/image009.jpg

http://www.biketechreview.com/performance/ruleofthumb_files/image009.jpg

Also not shown here is just laying your hand relaxed on top of the bars - if the road is smooth.

Cheers,

Neal