I’ve been biking/doing triathlons for about a year now (I came from a running and swimming background). I bought a Trek 1000 road bike, which I ride during races without aero bars.
In my last Olympic distance race, I averaged 21.7 mph over the 40K without the aero bars. How much of a difference would buying aero bars make in my speed? I’ve gotten much more confident on the bike, but I’m concerned that using aerobars would throw off my balance. Any advice from you bike experts would be much appreciated!
You will pick up an easy 2-3mph on the aero bars. You will also gain comfort and add positions to make long rides more pleasurable. It doesn’t take long to get used to stability issues. Just be aware you may swerve more if it’s windy, and allow more distance between objects including the side of the road. Aero bars are the #1 go fast invention on a bike.
I am by no means an expert but I posed a question similar to this a while back. From the responses I got, I can tell you:
At your speed, if the aerobars made you more aerodynamic then it would increase your speed greatly or save you heart beats.
One of the biggest benefits of aerobars is the fact that a correct position on a bike helps you a lot more when you get off the bike, thus your run split will improve.
You will get lots of guesses as to increase in speed but I don’t think you can really tell because no one knows the position you are in on your drops. If it is a good one the speed increase will be minimal but if it is poor, then you will see a lot of difference.
I read an article a year or so ago where someone (was it John Cobb?) did an experiment on a relatively new cyclist. They had them ride for some time (a couple of weeks?) without aerobars and then the same amount of time with aerobars. The increase was slightly more than 1 mph.
Should also add that since you’re on a road bike be sure to get shorter length aero bars designed for a road geometry. You’ll be too stretched out on tri bars. Profile and Oval make a Jammer GT bar designed for this and Syntace has just come out with a new shorter aero bar for road bikes and ITU racers. Small size Syntace C2 also works good for me on a road bike.
"Aero bars are the #1 go fast invention on a bike. "
I’ll take clipless pedals over aerobars any day.
Anyways, yes aerobars rock for triathlon. You will go faster with less effort. 2-3 mph is tad too optimistic IMO. Anyway, get ye to a a bike shop and pick up some bars.
"A person riding a correctly fitted road positon without aero bars should in theory have the same run performace after the bike as a person using a bike properly fitted with aerobars "
I thought it was different. With the “tri” fit with aerobars being more forwards it emphasizes different muscles use and allows less lower back fatigue which leads to less fatigue for the run. A road fit seems like it has you bent over a little more with more acute angles. Good for power production but hampers the body off the bike. This is what I was told, perhaps I am wrong.
But, here’s a thought about balance. I’m getting OLD and although my balance is still very good I’m starting to slow down a lot in turns and it’s been awhile since I’ve gone 70 mph downhill. I’m really thinking about going back to a traditional road geometry (I come from a crit/roadie background.) particularly for technical courses, i.e., those with a lot of turns and hills. AJ, who is much younger, raised this in the context of LP and I thought he could handle the tri bike. But, I’m now wondering if I should use a road setup for LP. Hmm… Maybe I should ditch the oxygen canister?
With all due respect, you still have mother’s milk in your mouth.
I lost a lot in my 50’s. But, I’m still chugging…
I have a Santa Cruz Roadster which is really a road bike with a 74 degree seat tube. Also, I bought it in the large size because I have long arms and legs and am more comfortable a little laid back. Other than switching from a 43 to a 45 degree rake fork for long races, I don’t think I’d change much on it. (I am going to buy a new tri frame shortly, however, and that has me thinking about this choice. I could go with the Trek for instance, which is a bit laid back, or something like the awesome P3, which is the traditional tri geometry. I want the P3, but my brain says to get the Trek for all the above reasons.) These can be expensive mistakes, too. I’m retired, so my days of throwing money into everything are behind me.
Thanks for the help and good luck next season.
I have no race tomorrow (Disney cancelled), which means I’ll be huddled in fear in my home praying another tree from the golf course doesn’t come crashing through my roof…AGAIN!
Give them a try: They will make a big difference. The first few times out, it’s a little freaky and you feel weird, but you get used to them after a few rides. Just go: “OK, I will stay on them for 2 min. at a time now” Next ride, 4 min., next ride, go around an easy turn in them, etc. … I just took mine off (the season’s over) and now it feels weird to not have them.
Even really cheap ones work fine if they fit (I think there are some for as little at $60 new) and weigh about 1.5 lbs. The nicer ones are less than a pound.
I was in the same situation as you in '02 (a runner just getting into cycling). I borrowed my father’s old Century bars and they were fine. Now I have some Syntace C-2s, which work well for me. good luck. -TB
