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Why so wobbly in aero?
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 2012-05-21 8:55 PM |
Regular  1161    Hamilton, IL |  Subject: Why so wobbly in aero?I keep reading about people feeling wobbly or insecure in aero. What's that all about? I am on a road bike with clip ons and I have felt pretty secure since I got them. I have about a 7mm drop from seat to handlebars, so it's a fairly aggressive fit for a road bike. I do notice better control the faster I go, maybe this is partly a function of people with poor fit and partially a function of speed? People not comfortable in aero, what say you? What's your speed situation? What's your fit like? |
| 2012-05-21 9:05 PM in reply to: #4221850 |
Master 10208 Northern IL | Subject: RE: Why so wobbly in aero? Check out the geometry of the front fork. Also see about elbow pad placement. Both width and how far forward they are from steering. I forget the exact direction of the fork dimensions to make it twitch, but the more narrow the pad placement is, and the shorter the effective stem length* is, the more responsive or twitch it will be. Weigh distribution also matters. More on the front will make it more twitchy. *I call this "effective stem length" because many clip ons (and possibly some integrated) will have front to back position adjustment of the pads separate from the base bar positioning. If the pads aren't right on the base bar, the effective stem length is not the actual length of the stem. |
| 2012-05-21 9:08 PM in reply to: #4221850 |
Regular 1161 Hamilton, IL | Subject: RE: Why so wobbly in aero? I just want be clear that I love aero and feel totally comfortable and in-control at all times on my bike. I am super new to this bike, so I am just trying to figure out why people complain about the learning curve to them, because I'm not seeing it. |
| 2012-05-21 9:10 PM in reply to: #4221850 |
 Bronze member | Subject: RE: Why so wobbly in aero? Can only give my experience of one... I moved from a road bike with clip ons to a tri bike and felt that wobbly feeling. My position on the tri bike is very different. One big thing for me was that my elbows are a lot closer together. Just took some time to get used to. My speed situation has improved significantly. I don't know how to answer the question of what my fit is like. I have a picture of my fit in my photo album I think, you can check it out if you like. Why do you ask? Are you trying to evaluate if you want to purchase a tri bike? |
| 2012-05-21 9:12 PM in reply to: #4221850 |
Expert 2192 Greenville, SC | Subject: RE: Why so wobbly in aero? picked up my tri bike on saturday. only have gotten to go 3 miles on it so far. was a little wobbly at first simply because its feels completely different that a regular road bike. something time in the saddle will fix im sure. |
| 2012-05-21 9:14 PM in reply to: #4221880 |
Regular 1161 Hamilton, IL | Subject: RE: Why so wobbly in aero? trigal38 - 2012-05-21 9:10 PM Can only give my experience of one... I moved from a road bike with clip ons to a tri bike and felt that wobbly feeling. My position on the tri bike is very different. One big thing for me was that my elbows are a lot closer together. Just took some time to get used to. My speed situation has improved significantly. I don't know how to answer the question of what my fit is like. I have a picture of my fit in my photo album I think, you can check it out if you like. Why do you ask? Are you trying to evaluate if you want to purchase a tri bike? I know it's silly, but I kinda want to help those people out when they post their woes, I was hoping we could figure something out, like a reason or hints to help. |
| 2012-05-21 9:30 PM in reply to: #4221850 |
Regular 234 Chicago Area | Subject: RE: Why so wobbly in aero? The difference people may experience probably comes down to positioning and how your weight is distributed over the front wheel on a road vs tri bike. On a road bike with clip-ons, the geometry of the bike and the seat tube angle still puts your weight further back, even if you slide the seat forward. With a tri bike, the steeper seat tube angle puts you further forward on the bike, and more of your weight is over the front wheel. It's an unsettling feeling the first time you get on a tri bike. Your face is almost hanging right over the front wheel and the forward biased weight distribution can cause "twitchy" handling. |
| 2012-05-21 9:34 PM in reply to: #4221894 |
| Bronze member | Subject: RE: Why so wobbly in aero? Danno77 - 2012-05-21 9:14 PM trigal38 - 2012-05-21 9:10 PM I know it's silly, but I kinda want to help those people out when they post their woes, I was hoping we could figure something out, like a reason or hints to help.Can only give my experience of one... I moved from a road bike with clip ons to a tri bike and felt that wobbly feeling. My position on the tri bike is very different. One big thing for me was that my elbows are a lot closer together. Just took some time to get used to. My speed situation has improved significantly. I don't know how to answer the question of what my fit is like. I have a picture of my fit in my photo album I think, you can check it out if you like. Why do you ask? Are you trying to evaluate if you want to purchase a tri bike? Gotcha, not silly at all. I am not sure how aggressive my road bike fit with aero bars was, but the tri bike felt surprisingly different. I was really shocked. Just like there was a lot for me to get used to moving from my hybrid to my road bike, same with road bike to tri bike. |
| 2012-05-21 9:50 PM in reply to: #4221919 |
Regular 1161 Hamilton, IL | Subject: RE: Why so wobbly in aero? siberian - 2012-05-21 9:30 PM The difference people may experience probably comes down to positioning and how your weight is distributed over the front wheel on a road vs tri bike. On a road bike with clip-ons, the geometry of the bike and the seat tube angle still puts your weight further back, even if you slide the seat forward. With a tri bike, the steeper seat tube angle puts you further forward on the bike, and more of your weight is over the front wheel. It's an unsettling feeling the first time you get on a tri bike. Your face is almost hanging right over the front wheel and the forward biased weight distribution can cause "twitchy" handling. What you are saying makes sense, but I had always heard that it would be worse on a road bike because they weren't designed to have all that weight forward. I had heard that a tri bike is designed so that you can be forward and stable. I had heard those things, but still wondered how that was possible, so I'm believing what you are telling me, cause it fits with what I'd always figured was true...lol |
| 2012-05-21 9:55 PM in reply to: #4221955 |
| Master 10208 Northern IL | Subject: RE: Why so wobbly in aero? The weight distribution is really on a case by case basis. I was rather twitchy on the road bike w/clip-ons, but very stable on the tri-bike from the get go. Just the way my fittings worked out. Lots of people have gone the other way. |
| 2012-05-21 10:17 PM in reply to: #4221850 |
Veteran 221 | Subject: RE: Why so wobbly in aero? I'm new to aero but had a great fitting by one of the best local fitters so I think I can set bike fit aside as a cause. The geometry of a tri bike frame is really different from a road bike. Putting clip on aero bars on a roadie does not a tri bike make. There are others on this site who know a whole lot more than me about the subject but the bottom line is the tri bike frame geometry puts more of the rider's weight over the front tire. This makes the bike design inherently squirrely, or twitchy. The forward weight distribution is the result of positioning the rider to better make use of the leg muscles and still have something left for the run...or something like that. Like I said there are others who can give a better explanation than I can. I hope that over time I will get used to the aero position and be able to maintain the position for longer periods. I will say that when I am in the aero position I'm faster than I ever was on my roadie. |
| 2012-05-22 12:20 AM in reply to: #4221850 |
Veteran 176 North Bay Area, CA | Subject: RE: Why so wobbly in aero? Sometimes its simply a matter of just relaxing the grip, shoulders, etc...Too much tension will surely casue you to wobble. |
| 2012-05-22 5:29 AM in reply to: #4221919 |
Pro 5892 , New Hampshire | Subject: RE: Why so wobbly in aero? siberian - 2012-05-21 10:30 PM The difference people may experience probably comes down to positioning and how your weight is distributed over the front wheel on a road vs tri bike. On a road bike with clip-ons, the geometry of the bike and the seat tube angle still puts your weight further back, even if you slide the seat forward. With a tri bike, the steeper seat tube angle puts you further forward on the bike, and more of your weight is over the front wheel. It's an unsettling feeling the first time you get on a tri bike. Your face is almost hanging right over the front wheel and the forward biased weight distribution can cause "twitchy" handling. All correct, but need to add that a tri bike is also designed to have the weight distribution forward whereas the geometry of a road bike is designed with a rearward weight distribution. Hence, many times a road bike with clip-ons (and especially with a forward seat post) can feel wobbly (or twitchy is a better word... wobbly usually comes from not yet finding the balance of the bike) |
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