areo bars

I have a question about aero bars as well. I have seen the ones that flip "up" when not in use...this opens up the handle bars a bit when one does not want to lean forward. How do you feel about those? Good thing?

I have the profile design brand style that flips up when not in use. They are the only pair of aerobars that I have ever used. I like the pad style which doesn't have the open cell foam showing on the sides like some bars. About the flip up feature.....I would say if you like riding with your hands on the tops of your bars it is beneficial. I am trying to get to the point that I am my aerobars more than out....which would mean I don't need them to flip up.

About adjustments....I would say it is good to have:
Length (distance from pads to hands)
Width(distance between pads)

My brother had a pair of mini aero bars and they wouldn't work for my bike geometry with my body. If at all possible, once you get serious, I would suggest getting your bike fit by a bicycle fitter (most good bike shops). They could also help with bars.

I am no professional, so these are just suggestions from personal experience.

THANKS for the advice!! I have een leaning to the flip ups just because I am not sure I am capable of riding with aerobars YET.

I will definitely go to a good bike shop & have the bike fitted to me.

Thanks again!

I have a set of Profile carbons($100). I have had limited time using them because of the white weather but have found them very comfortable once adjusted to my body and bike geometry. The only negative comment I have heard is that when not using the pads(when up) they tend to ratttle and make noise as you travel over the rough roads. For me, I can deal with a little noise with out breaking the bank.

LOL!

Are you kidding! I have two kids...I LIVE noise.
Thanks for the input.

Thanks for everyones input, Luckily I live in Boston which actually has a Tri shop, I am hoping that they will have a couple set ups on display that I take for a spin. I let ya'all know how it turns out.

From what I have read in a variety of books and articles, aero bars are really beneficial for anything over 20 (or is is 25) miles. Any less than that and there seems to be no time benefit to using them. So apparently those of us who do Sprint Tris don't actually need these. Any comments about this are welcome.

Nancy, I totally agree with that. In all of the sprint races I've done, the bike leg has had too many turns to even get a chance to get into the aerobars. Maybe for my upcoming Oly I'll wish I hadn't sold them, but for the sprints you really don't need them.

Thanks Ladies...I think I will hold off on those aero bars until I have a few more tris under my belt...I am only doing sprints right now & won't go for the longer distances until a bit later. It will save me a few $$.

I agree Trimom and Nancy. The only real serious "near wrecks" on my bike was when I was traveling too fast down a hill with a sharp curve in my aero bars. When I am in the aero position I don't feel like I have 1/2 the control as when I am in the drops. Also, I haven't got used to staying in my aero bars when traffic passes me because I feel too unstable.

Yes, I have heard similar stories from users of the bars. I think one needs to become much more advanced, and with the sprint distance, the drop bars seem adequate. I think we look at the more advanced racers (Lance comes to mind) and want what they have! And what they have may not be what we need *or* what we are ready to use.

Nice bike (I have F75 :-) ) I am close to getting my first aero bars too. I just got my back at Christmas and LBS wouldn't sell them to me until I had 200 miles on bike first :-) I have been considering the Syntace and Profile as well. I will be getting a bike fitting at the same time, so maybe you can get the LBS to let you try some on the fit bike?

My LBS had several types installed on the bikes, like I had hoped. Since the weather wasn't the greatest I was not able to take a test ride. However I was able to get on a trainer and at least get a feel of the postitioning difference between makes and models. I ended up getting the profile design Areolites. The design allows adjustability of every aspect. Of course to gain the adjustability I had to accept that they are a little heavier that the Syantec C2's. My LBS also had them cheaper than anywhere I found on the internet ($95), plus they will do a fitting after I install the bars.

I have just purchased Profile Century clip on aero bars. I used to have a similar set years ago but took them off the bike because I was commuting in heavy traffic and aero bars are much too dangerous for that. I plan on only clipping these onto my handle bars when I participate in triathlons and then only olympic triathlons that have a fairly straight course.

Ontherun:
The tri store is called fast splits, they have two locations. One is in West Newton (just opened), the other is in Arlington. Check out www.fastsplits.com. All of the staff that I have met at fast splits race and are a great resource. The big draw back is that both stores are on the smaller side, so they do not always have what you want in stock, but they will order anything.
For most of my bike stuff I use ATA cycle in Cambridge (near Porter Square). They are extremely helpful.

hi there. I tried using syntace, the problems I had were the position my arms had to hold were to wide ,my shoulders and outside of my arms would ache after 5 miles, i just picked up a profile airstryke with the flip ups, the syntace were fixed so I lost the top of my bar during climbs..

don't forget to visit Frank and Fabio at WheelWorks in Belmont.

When you put aero bars on a road bike, make sure you get a proper (tri) fit.

Most road bikes are longer, seat-to-handlebars, than a tri-bike. Then, when you put aero bars on, you can wind up reaching too far forward, flattening your hips and losing power.

From what I've read, when in the aero position, your forearms should be roughly parallel with your chest, with your elbow and shoulder forming right angles. Hip-to-heel should also be about 90 degrees.

My wife's road bike (which I'm using for triathlons) has Syntace C2 clip-ons, and they seem fine. It actually helps that her bike is about 1 inch shorter than my touring bike, which means the aerobars make a perfect fit for me.

As with anything in triathlon biking - make sure you've got a good fit!
Slowtwitch has a good article on Tri-fitting a bike. Paragraphs 7-13 or so talk about the aerobars.
http://www.slowtwitch.com/mainheadings/techctr/bikefit.html

Once you've got the right aerobars, of course, you can enter the "which-shifters?" argument - on the hoods (like a road bike), or on the aerobar bar-ends. Great fun!