drops vs aero bars?

swampy1970

Wasn't this topic "a done deal" decades ago? Something that was shown to the world in a definitive way at the end of July 1989? Something about some American guy beating a French chap on a cobblestone street....

RAAM riders saw Pete P. race across the US with his funky forearm pads a few years before that with devastating effect.

Unless there's an issue with course design that makes it unsafe or difficult to control the bike on aero bars then aero bars will always be faster on anything other than a true mountain course.

If you're riding a hilly time trial, make sure that you have a big enough top gear to allow you to stay on the bars whilst reaching your top speed. Kinda seems pointless to have aero bars and not use them when they're most effective.

Biker Joe

There is nothing wrong with riding in a pace line with aero bars in the aero position as long as you are at the front and pulling OR riding off the back far enough to react to others in front of you
.
I have Vision Aero Bars on my Tri bike and regularly ride it in a pace line with road bikes. I NEVER go aero unless I am at the front on my pull turn.

So saying that one should leave the aero bars or tri bike in the car is utter nonsense. Just use your head and practice safe riding.

Joe

mikesbytes

There are some good answers to this question and the Data that 531Aussie has provided is useful for the explanation.

A common statement is that at 40kph, 80% of the effort goes into pushing air out of the way. The bulk of this air is on the body and the largest part of the body is the torso. Using the 45kph stats above if you;
1. Lower the body, ie lean forward more you reduce its frontal suface area. This is shown as a 55 watts saving above by going from the top of the bars to the drops.
2. Move your arms so they are inline with your torso. This is shown as an additional 40 watt saving.
3. Lowering it even further, the triathelon postion, provides an additional 9 watt saving.
So lowering the body gives you a total watts saving of 64 watts and the aero bars give you 40 watts. Both can be combined for a 104 watts saving.

__________________
Training Log

PeterF

It doesn't provide much of a draft for the riders behind you if you're in the aerobars.

lohsnest

I don't know the specific aerodynamic advantages of using aerobars over regular drops. However, if you are using the aerobars, you should probably consider making the appropriate modifications to your bike so that you are getting into the proper aero positioning.

Remember that the road and tri bike are significantly different in many aspects. One glaring difference: the seat post angle is different. By using aerobars on a road bike, the distance to your bars has increased, and you should make significant changes to various aspects of your bike's setup to compensate for this change, such as seat height and angle, and bar alignment. In order to acheive the most benefit from the aero position, you should make these changes and go for a full conversion, otherwise, your entire posture will be off. Keep in mind that you may give up a bit of power transfer while using a more aerodynamic position.

If you really want to read up on this, Bicycling Magazine's August edition has a detailed article on tri-bikes and road bikes and converting a roadie.

__________________
*2007 Orbea Mitis
*Zeus FCM Full Carbon Fork
*Campy 9 Spd Chorus Drivetrain
*Campy Chorus 9 Spd Shifter/Brake Levers
*Campy Chorus Carbon Crank
*Easton EC70 Carbon Seatpost
*Fi'zi:k Arione Carbon Saddle
*Ritchey BioMax Pro Handlebar
*Origin 8 Pro-Fit Stem
*Speedplay X-3 Pedals
*2007 Rolf Prima Aspin Wheels
*Michelin Krylion Carbon Tires

Camilo

Makes good sense - Sounds similar to skiing downhill when you want to get as low as you comfortably can with your elbows tucked in and your hands out in front of your face.