Aero Bars-question

[bianchi10]

So I am not looking to do time trials or anything and I dont want to turn my bike into a TT bike. That being said, when I do my 60+ mile bike rides I often find myself wanting a different position to give my hands/arms a rest. Not that they hurt, but shifting body positions every so often helps me stay on the bike longer. I was sitting on one of my friends bikes that he had just purchased from a friend and it came with aero bars on them. When I sat on it I rested my arms in them and it felt like a comfortable change. 1/2 of my rides are hill climbs and the other half are longer distance rides. would the aero bars get in my way of my hill climbs? (I usually stay on the hoods in my climbs and VERY seldom place my hands on the flat part of the bar. Obviously they will add a little bit of weight but I'm not a guy who cares about every little gram.

Is this something I could look into or for what I do in cycling would this be considered a no no?

 

[CdnRider]

I have a few sets of them. 3 mounted. And love them for 90% of my rides. Never on them for any climbs. But for everything else...i love them. Even convinced 2 buddies to try them out and they've gone and grabbed bars too.

it will probably take a few outings to dial in a proper set-up. but once you get it...it's quite nice to have an alternate position. one that allows you to take some strain away from your shoulders. at the same time, being in an aero position.

only thing i can recommend is to give it a short term demo. you'll have to work on some lower back flexibility though...

 

[quenya]

If you're really not interested in TTs check out the Profile Jammer GT. Its short so you can reach it without any change of saddle position. A guy I ride with does Ironmans on a road bike with drop bars and clip on aero bars and he often holds the cradles.

Like you I climb on my hoods or in the drops and rarely use the flat bar and my clip-on's cradle never got in my way, I ditched the cradles, set my bars under my handlebar and put the pads directly on my handlebar to get enough drop to make an aero position and found that I have much more control that way. though my forearms didn't like it much the first few rides.

 

[CdnRider]

If you're really not interested in TTs check out the Profile Jammer GT. Its short so you can reach it without any change of saddle position. A guy I ride with does Ironmans on a road bike with drop bars and clip on aero bars and he often holds the cradles.

Like you I climb on my hoods or in the drops and rarely use the flat bar and my clip-on's cradle never got in my way, I ditched the cradles, set my bars under my handlebar and put the pads directly on my handlebar to get enough drop to make an aero position and found that I have much more control that way. though my forearms didn't like it much the first few rides.

Hey Quenya,

Can you post a pic of that set-up? i'm curious.

 

[quenya]

sure thing!

file:///C:/Users/Joe/Desktop/.jpeg

 

[Mojo Johnson]

A lot of Aero bars have "flip-up" arm rests these days. I have a set myself on my TT bike and I find that they do not get in the way at all when my hands are on the hoods or top bar. The arm rests are spring-loaded and simply flip up and out of the way when you're not in them.

 

[TKOS]

Profile Design - Airstryke

These would be a decent option for non TT riding. The flip up arm rests get out of the way leaving the whole bar free for you.

I have a similar pair and they are great.

 

[Sid Nitzerglobi]

If you're really not interested in TTs check out the Profile Jammer GT. Its short so you can reach it without any change of saddle position. A guy I ride with does Ironmans on a road bike with drop bars and clip on aero bars and he often holds the cradles.

Like you I climb on my hoods or in the drops and rarely use the flat bar and my clip-on's cradle never got in my way, I ditched the cradles, set my bars under my handlebar and put the pads directly on my handlebar to get enough drop to make an aero position and found that I have much more control that way. though my forearms didn't like it much the first few rides.

Put a set of these same bars (Profile Designs Carbon Strykes) on my Roubaix a few weeks ago and really like them so far(although maybe a little short for my freakishly long gorilla forearms).

I don't miss the bar tops at all personally and the aero bars are probably the most comfortable position on the bike for me now. Just wish I had shifters and brakes on them now.

 

[gman0482]

Hey everyone,
 
I love my current bike. 2009 Felt Z45 with 105. However, I was thinking (ok dreaming for now) about slowly putting a nice bulid together. In a 3rd floor 2-bdrm apt, there's not alot of room, but I could squeeze in a work stand somewhere. I would do it over a long period of time, slowly collecting it piece by piece. There are some nice closeout frames I see all the time on the web, along with some craigslist postings of different parts.
 
My question is, "is it worth it ?" and how difficult would it be ?
 
Any other comments tips and opinions are great as well,
 
Thanks,
-Greg

 

[Steve_A]

Worth it? Probably, given a good deal on a frame and used/like new, or new parts on eBay. You could also price build kits on the web to get an idea. Building it would be a great learning experience. I did essentially the same thing after I'd been riding and working on my bike for a few years. But I switched my old components to a new frame. Eventually re-built the old frame, too, a couple of times. Difficulty depends on your experience, willingness to read and learn, patience, etc. You do have to buy some special tools, no getting around that. You've already mentioned a work stand, which is pretty much essential, IMO. Good luck if you decide to go forward!

 

[kdelong]

"Is it worth it?" Is it something that you want to do? If you answered yes, then it is worth it. If you think that you will be saving money by building it yourself, then NO, it is not worth it. A pre-built bike from your LBS will be much less expensive. It is a great learning experience but you have to check and make sure that every part that you get will work with the other parts that you are getting. Things like brake caliper reach and derailluer travel come into play. Therefore, you need to do a little pre-planning and double check each item that strikes your fancy.
 
"How difficult is it?" As difficult as you want to make it. The first thing that you need to do is get a book on bicycle maintenance and repair. These usually give you a list of tools that you will need to maintain your bike and to repair it. Get all of them because you will probably need them to build a bike. Take it slow and read the instuctions for each secton several times before attempting to do the installation so that you don't break anything. But with a little patience and a lot of money, you can come up with a really nice bike.
 
I have done several builds and a lot of restorations, and there is no other feeling like jumping on a bike that was a pile of parts a couple of weeks ago and now it is a nice performance or vintage bicycle. Oh yeah, eBay and Craigs List will be your best friends, especially if you want to do a vintage build.

 

[jackson123]

Yup, grasp the chance as soon as possible.

 

[gman0482]

Originally Posted by kdelong .

"Is it worth it?" Is it something that you want to do? If you answered yes, then it is worth it. If you think that you will be saving money by building it yourself, then NO, it is not worth it. A pre-built bike from your LBS will be much less expensive. It is a great learning experience but you have to check and make sure that every part that you get will work with the other parts that you are getting. Things like brake caliper reach and derailluer travel come into play. Therefore, you need to do a little pre-planning and double check each item that strikes your fancy.
 
"How difficult is it?" As difficult as you want to make it. The first thing that you need to do is get a book on bicycle maintenance and repair. These usually give you a list of tools that you will need to maintain your bike and to repair it. Get all of them because you will probably need them to build a bike. Take it slow and read the instuctions for each secton several times before attempting to do the installation so that you don't break anything. But with a little patience and a lot of money, you can come up with a really nice bike.
 
I have done several builds and a lot of restorations, and there is no other feeling like jumping on a bike that was a pile of parts a couple of weeks ago and now it is a nice performance or vintage bicycle. Oh yeah, eBay and Craigs List will be your best friends, especially if you want to do a vintage build.

Thanks. I was hoping that this project #1) would be a great hobby/experience for me, and #2) The way that I would purchase everything (slowly and wisely) getting some great deals here and there, I could save some $$. I know these days it's cheaper to buy the whole package, but I wouldn't do this out of necessity cause I have a good bike, but if I take my sweet time and shop around ?

 

[kdelong]

With the rapid pace of innovation and the almost yearly additions of cogs on the cassettes(is a 12 speed right around the corner?), your final build may be several generations old if you take your sweet time looking for bargains. Most of your bargains at this time are for Shimano 9-speed gear. Then there is the expense of the tools, but once you have them you never have to take your bike to the LBS again/img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif! If I was in your place, I would jump in with both feet......I did nearly 30 years ago and I don't regret it. I now have six bikes that I have built up and/or restored and I can't bear the thought of selling any of them. It would sort of be like selling your children. I have restored bikes for other people too, but they were paying for it and I was working from their vision so I didn't develop the emotional bond with those bikes like I have with the ones that I did for me. Be careful, it is addicting and often the wife just doesn't understand why, when you have six other bikes, that you would want another one.

 

[gman0482]

Originally Posted by kdelong .

With the rapid pace of innovation and the almost yearly additions of cogs on the cassettes(is a 12 speed right around the corner?), your final build may be several generations old if you take your sweet time looking for bargains. Most of your bargains at this time are for Shimano 9-speed gear. Then there is the expense of the tools, but once you have them you never have to take your bike to the LBS again/img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif! If I was in your place, I would jump in with both feet......I did nearly 30 years ago and I don't regret it. I now have six bikes that I have built up and/or restored and I can't bear the thought of selling any of them. It would sort of be like selling your children. I have restored bikes for other people too, but they were paying for it and I was working from their vision so I didn't develop the emotional bond with those bikes like I have with the ones that I did for me. Be careful, it is addicting and often the wife just doesn't understand why, when you have six other bikes, that you would want another one.

LOL, great stuff K. This is still in the "dream" mode for me, as I too would have a hard time explaining to my g/f why I need another bike, but with the winter months coming, I'll have just a tad more time, enough to do some building.