aero bar on a road bike

[TWACK26]

I am a road biker and I am starting to get into triathlons. I don't want to drop the money on a tri bike just yet, but would love to get the benifit of the aero position. Any suggestions on a reasonably priced, comfortable, and dependable aero bar?

 

[TWACK26]

I am a road biker and I am starting to get into triathlons. I don't want to drop the money on a tri bike just yet, but would love to get the benifit of the aero position. Any suggestions on a reasonably priced, comfortable, and dependable aero bar?

PS, I have a 2007 Trek 2100 aluminum/carbon road bike, thanks for the help

 

[Climbing_Eben]

I am also in a similar situation and am very interested to hear some responses. I have a 2000 Giant CFR team frame with forte precision handlebars.

 

[daveryanwyoming]

I am also in a similar situation and am very interested to hear some responses. I have a 2000 Giant CFR team frame with forte precision handlebars.

Sure, there's no problem using clip on bars on most road bikes. You generally won't get as low and aero as you will on a dedicated time trial or triathlon frame and the position will be a bit different in terms of seat angle and cockpit length but it can still work well. I raced half a dozen time trials on my stock road bike with clip on aero bars last season and did quite well.

There's a lot of choices in clip on bars and some of it comes down to personal preferences, but I like the "S" bend bars (fairly straight) and for use on a road bike make sure the pads can be positioned well behind the tops of your road bars. I use these:
http://www.profile-design.com/products/aerobars/t2/

but there are lots of other choices as well. Make sure you're reasonably comfortable in the aero bars and can still see up the road in your lowest position. This shouldn't be too big a problem when clipped to a road bike.

Check out some of these links on time trial and triathlon bike fitting:
http://www.slowtwitch.com/mainheadings/techctr/bikefit.html
http://www.cyclefitcentre.com/pdf%20final%20docs/TIME%20TRIAL%20POSITIONING%20ARTICLE_final.pdf

Good luck,
-Dave

 

[artemidorus]

You may also wish to consider taking all the spacers out from under your stem and flipping it down if it is not already down.
Move your seat forward and consider a zero offset or reversible seatpost. These measures will help correct the road bike geometry towards a TT geometry.