Why don't you use your aerobars! (Page 2)

This is one of those threads where some of the veterans forget the site is called BEGINNER Triathlete.com.  The advice is all good, but some of the posters are newbies, which is what the site is meant for.

Good grief.  Quit complaining about getting good advice from very experienced posters.  If we were all just beginners here, we wouldn't know anything.

Just speculating, I would guess not using aerobars would be related to 1.) fit issues, and/or 2.) lack of experience/confidence using them. 

There's no rule that you have to use them.

Mark 

Why doesn't everyone do a flying dismount on the bike?
I am amazed at the number of age groupers who know about this technique but don't do it.

Oh, 15mph is not significant, that is just another day.  I don't know then, comfort/skills would be my biggest guess.  I practically nap in mine but I have a good fit and have great bike handling skills. 

I would say "not anymore". 

This will be my first season on aerobars.....and somewhere in there will be my 75th triathlon.  I have found it to be a fairly big adjustment, but I've gone through it incrementally.  I got the bike in Oct. so I spent the first 4 months only on the trainer.  Started at 5 minutes and worked my way up to the point of a 45 minute workout without coming out of aero. 

Once I got outside I found that about 75% of how I felt on the trainer carried over, so I backed down a bit on the time on the bars and started building over again.  I am very comfortable on them in the flats or climbing/slight downhills......I'm not comfortable at all on big downhills.....so I have made a list of hills in my area that I need to conquer one at a time....and not move on to the next hill until I'm comfortable on the one before.

For me, proficiency only comes with experience and work....you can't shortcut this stuff.... well, actually, of course you can...but when that happens there are usually problems that crop up that have nothing to do with any majic answer...you (collective you, not a specific person) just didn't work/practice enough.  That is my biggest issue right now as I practice more on the swim and run.

You missed it earlier when the experts recommended to be in aero 100% of the time always always always. Warm up, cool down, main set, crossing intersections.

Point being that not everyone is comfortable doing every single time saving technique 100% of the time. 

I don't know much, but I know that I don't like riding on the bars. As Dan says above, the aero position is more comfortable, for me. Going over railroad tracks, bumpy bridge/road transitions, slow turns, strong cross winds, etc. I get up on the bars, but then I get right back as soon as possible.

At the beginning, it was a mental thing, not a comfort thing. I wasn't used to being that close to my front tire or the road, but that part is better now.

Because aerobars are a tool that human's use not shackles that enslave you. You use the aerobars...the aerobars don't control you! People buy all kinds of tools that they either don't use, don't need, or don't use to their fullest capability. This is like saying..."If you buy food at a restaurant YOU MUST EAT IT ALL!!!!!"

IME, riding on the aero bars is much easier than on the horns, even when in crosswinds and with race wheels. 

Your body is the the biggest factor when it comes to the wind.  The more aerodynamic you make yourself, the less impact the wind will have on you.  Also, the faster you go, you reduce the yaw angle of crosswinds, thus reducing the impact of being blown sideways.

Now there are some GUSTS (ie not steady winds) that can cause you to want to get out of your aero bars, but that doesn't seem to be the case in Bear's example. 

There are also instances where you should come out of the bars like at turns, approaching potholes, rail road tracks, etc.  Again, that doesn't seem to be the case in Bear's example.  To assume he literally meant 100% of the time is totally missing the point of the thread...which is basically saying if you buy something, shouldn't you try to use it? 

My thought is that most people don't practice it enough, don't have a good fit, or are just not confident enough to do so.  Is there anything wrong with that...no.  People can do whatever they want.  But unless you have an injury, there is no reason why you can't ride in the aero bars for the vast majority of a race. 

You just have to be willing to invest the time, effort, and possibly money (on a good fit) to do so.  As we have known already, there are plenty of people not even willing to put in the proper time and effort into simply doing the training to prepare for a 56 mile ride period...so we shouldn't be surprised that some people can't ride aero the whole time.

I agree with others who have posted the 2 big reasons folks don't use their aerobars are fit and being used to using them and thus comfortable.

I do agree for some skill comes with practice. If you don't feel confident in riding in aerobars don't do it in a race for safety reasons.

After I bought my first tri bike I went on a ride which at the time was longest ride as an adult with a bunch of BTers. I rode in aero more than any of the others. I was comfortable on them from when I picked up the bike and had it fit to me.

I know my husband doesn't like using them but he had a brain tumor and one of his balance nerves is gone which makes balance challenging....so for him their is a physical reason.

I wonder to when racing why others especially in longer races like IM sit up and don't use their aerobars more.

On trainer I don't use them much but outside I do ride in them 90-95% of the time and almost the whole time in a race.

For those of you who it took time to learn to ride in aero, did learning how to descend fast and taking fast corners take some time to learn as well?  I ask because some riders seem to have a longer learning curve on some skill and techniques involved with riding. I wonder if riding in aerobars fits into that skill learning like descending or taking corners fast.

I think there are two presiding reasons:

1. Poor bike fit.

2. Lack of familiarity with riding in the aero position.

Notes:

Related to #1: You have to work to have good bike position and few people actually do. It takes time and effort. Not too many people seem to put in either. They expect that after a quick bike fit and position they'll be fine. As a result they are unstable and uncomfortable, especially on bad roads, or in windy conditions. They are likely better off out of the aero position due to a lack of experience.

If people focused on riding in the aero position on a day to day basis in calmer conditions their proficiency would improve.

So many people are on road bikes with aerobars. That is, on the best of days, a compromise. More commonly it puts too much weight on the front wheel making the steering too responsive and the bike difficult to handle. Even an experienced rider would have difficulty in the aero position in those circumstances.

Yes for me.
I had never ridden a bike outside of being 10 years old (and even riding then was rare) before getting into triathlons in my late 20s. Definite learning curve for me, in ALL aspects of riding a bike.

I admit I am sensitive to threads like this because of my background. It feels a little like those who aren't comfortable are being made fun of (OMG why don't you do this when it is clearly a time savings? Who does triathlons on a tri bike and doesn't do this?? WHY WHY WHY!? Not fun to read). I realize that's more on me than anyone else, but reading the replies I'm clearly not the only one who has reacted that way.

Just wanted to say that this approach to training inspires me to work harder. The repetition, goals, and focus motivates me. I'm looking to purchasing aerobars for my road bike this season and I know (because I'm a bit of a wimp) that I'll be afraid to go into aero on hills. Thanks!

Then I'm NEVER using aero bars again...I will rid the world of cats! 

Just from my experience.  Calif. 70.3 2011, by mile 30 I just couldn't take it in aero anymore for more than 3-4 minutes, and had to sit up.  Probably bike fit issue mixed with some fitness issues.  Calif 70.3 2012, on a different and slightly smaller bike, I was in aero 90% of the time, and did see a lot of folks sitting up on very nice bikes in the last few miles, which had the most headwind.  I hae to say I was surprised, but shouldn't have been, since I was there a year before.

Last weekend raced an Olympic that had some steep and fast downhills.  I'd like to say I bombed those in aero, but once I get above 30 mph or so I frankly am too chicken so I get up on the horns, especially with a bit of crosswind in the Hed 3s.  In those instances I remind myself that I am not racing for a paycheck so scaring the sh** out of myself doesn't add any enjoyment to the race

Wait what?  Then why bother racing?  Isn't that the whole point?!?

Totally makes sense....2 of my kids struggle with bike handling skills. I for one am not making fun of anyone. Just trying to understand the whys and maybe offer some suggestions to help.

You've done what 2 IMs don't be sensitive, you are a stud no doubt about it.