Question for Frank

On Tue, 25 Oct 2016 19:35:12 -0700 (PDT), Sir Ridesalot
wrote:

On Tuesday, October 25, 2016 at 12:57:27 PM UTC-4, wrote:
On Monday, October 24, 2016 at 6:43:38 PM UTC-7, John B. wrote:
You have mentioned that you use or have used aero handle bars. I
recently bought a set which I intend to use in Phuket where there are
quite long stretches of road with light traffic.

I am aware that they take some getting used to but wonder where to
start. Does in simply clamp them on the existing bars and ride, or do
you need to raise or lower the existing handle bar position. At
present my road bike bars are about 2 inches lower than the seat which
seem quite comfortable to me, but if resting on the elbows that might
change.

My thoughts are that the resting on the elbows position will be more
comfortable or perhaps I should say "restful" which I believe is the
RAAM conception, rather then trying for an ultimate streamlined
position.

Any advise will be gratefully accepted.
--
cheers,

John B.

John - it's almost impossible to get used to riding on TT bars if you're over the age of 30. They stretch you WAY too far out and destroy your balance on the bike. You have to keep sitting up to put your hands on the controls on any road problems and they cannot be used going down inclines of more than about 2% at the most.

You mean that me at age 65+ can't ride the aero bars I've been riding for well over20 years? Gasp! I'd better remove them pronto!

VBEG LOL

Sorry, but I have many friends over 50 years of age whom I introduce to aero bars and who got used to them and love them. That includes the ones who use them on their MTBs fior road riding.

Cheers

My finding is that as Dr. George Sheehan wrote in Runner's Magazine,
"Us old guys can do anything that you youngsters can do. Perhaps a bit
slower."
--
cheers,

John B.

"Sir Ridesalot" wrote in message ...
On Tuesday, October 25, 2016 at 12:57:27 PM UTC-4, wrote:
On Monday, October 24, 2016 at 6:43:38 PM UTC-7, John B. wrote:
You have mentioned that you use or have used aero handle bars. I
recently bought a set which I intend to use in Phuket where there are
quite long stretches of road with light traffic.

I am aware that they take some getting used to but wonder where to
start. Does in simply clamp them on the existing bars and ride, or do
you need to raise or lower the existing handle bar position. At
present my road bike bars are about 2 inches lower than the seat which
seem quite comfortable to me, but if resting on the elbows that might
change.

My thoughts are that the resting on the elbows position will be more
comfortable or perhaps I should say "restful" which I believe is the
RAAM conception, rather then trying for an ultimate streamlined
position.

Any advise will be gratefully accepted.
--
cheers,

John B.

John - it's almost impossible to get used to riding on TT bars if you're over the age of 30. They stretch you WAY too far out and destroy your balance on the bike. You have to keep sitting up to put your hands on the controls on any road problems and they cannot be used going down inclines of more than about 2% at the most.

You mean that me at age 65+ can't ride the aero bars I've been riding for well over20 years? Gasp! I'd better remove them pronto!

VBEG LOL

Sorry, but I have many friends over 50 years of age whom I introduce to aero bars and who got used to them and love them. That includes the ones who use them on their MTBs fior road riding.

Cheers

+1

I am of a similar age and still race TTs regularly. I have no problem riding a much more extreme position as the base bar on the TT bike is level with the top tube and the pads around a couple of inches above that. On the winter training/leisure bike I have a set fastened on top of the normal handle bars.

As others have said they take a bit of getting used to in the very beginning but just like other bike riding skills with practice riding on aero bars soon becomes second nature regardless of age.

The summer bike does not have aero bars but on fast long flat sections of road or into a head wind I will quite happily ride with my forearms resting on the bar tops as if the bike were fitted with aero bars.

I believe most riders should find aero bars a comfortable and useful addition if their bars are already at a comfortable height for them and the bars are mounted on top of their normal bars.

Graham.

---
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I just took the aerobars off one of my bikes. I just did not use them much.. They were Profile bars with the flip up armrests. You have to bend your neck a lot to see ahead. More than even riding in the drops. I found it more enjoyable to go fast using the drops than the aerobars. Probably not too much aero difference between the drops and aerobars. I did not change my handlebars position when installing or removing the aerobars.

On 10/26/2016 2:41 PM, wrote:
Probably not too much aero difference between the drops and aerobars.

IME, there's a definite aero advantage to the aerobars compared to
drops. And I'm pretty sure that's been confirmed many times by wind
tunnel testing, etc.

--
- Frank Krygowski

On Wed, 26 Oct 2016 18:39:25 -0400, Frank Krygowski
wrote:

On 10/26/2016 2:41 PM, wrote:
Probably not too much aero difference between the drops and aerobars.

IME, there's a definite aero advantage to the aerobars compared to
drops. And I'm pretty sure that's been confirmed many times by wind
tunnel testing, etc.

Yes it has. With the qualification that "the arms are close together".
--
cheers,

John B.

On Wednesday, October 26, 2016 at 5:39:28 PM UTC-5, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 10/26/2016 2:41 PM, wrote:
Probably not too much aero difference between the drops and aerobars.

IME, there's a definite aero advantage to the aerobars compared to
drops. And I'm pretty sure that's been confirmed many times by wind
tunnel testing, etc.

--
- Frank Krygowski

I can ride about as fast in the drops. Couple tenths faster with the aerobars. Not much but some. Maybe being more comfortable in the drops allows me to stay in them for much longer. So drops end up faster overall. Craning the neck back at 118 degrees to see when in the aerobars is not good. Can only ride them and look forward for a short time. If you could ride them and look at the front wheel all the time, then faster sure. But I like to see where I am riding.

On Wednesday, October 26, 2016 at 6:39:28 PM UTC-4, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 10/26/2016 2:41 PM, wrote:
Probably not too much aero difference between the drops and aerobars.

IME, there's a definite aero advantage to the aerobars compared to
drops. And I'm pretty sure that's been confirmed many times by wind
tunnel testing, etc.

--
- Frank Krygowski

studies on lung efficiency with aerobars ?

average time trial no more than 20 miles ? anaerobic thresholds, or something thereof, for competitive riders ?

leaving yawl in the lurch ?

On Thursday, October 27, 2016 at 9:22:32 AM UTC-4, DATAKOLL MARINE RESEARCH wrote:
On Wednesday, October 26, 2016 at 6:39:28 PM UTC-4, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 10/26/2016 2:41 PM, wrote:
Probably not too much aero difference between the drops and aerobars.

IME, there's a definite aero advantage to the aerobars compared to
drops. And I'm pretty sure that's been confirmed many times by wind
tunnel testing, etc.

--
- Frank Krygowski


%%%%%%%%%%%%

studies on lung efficiency with aerobars ?

average time trial no more than 20 miles ? anaerobic thresholds, or something thereof, for competitive riders ?

leaving yawl in the lurch ?


self testing ? GPS with center bar holds vs normal holds, into the wind

On Tuesday, October 25, 2016 at 11:12:28 PM UTC-7, John B. wrote:
On Tue, 25 Oct 2016 19:35:12 -0700 (PDT), Sir Ridesalot
wrote:

On Tuesday, October 25, 2016 at 12:57:27 PM UTC-4, wrote:
On Monday, October 24, 2016 at 6:43:38 PM UTC-7, John B. wrote:
You have mentioned that you use or have used aero handle bars. I
recently bought a set which I intend to use in Phuket where there are
quite long stretches of road with light traffic.

I am aware that they take some getting used to but wonder where to
start. Does in simply clamp them on the existing bars and ride, or do
you need to raise or lower the existing handle bar position. At
present my road bike bars are about 2 inches lower than the seat which
seem quite comfortable to me, but if resting on the elbows that might
change.

My thoughts are that the resting on the elbows position will be more
comfortable or perhaps I should say "restful" which I believe is the
RAAM conception, rather then trying for an ultimate streamlined
position.

Any advise will be gratefully accepted.
--
cheers,

John B.

John - it's almost impossible to get used to riding on TT bars if you're over the age of 30. They stretch you WAY too far out and destroy your balance on the bike. You have to keep sitting up to put your hands on the controls on any road problems and they cannot be used going down inclines of more than about 2% at the most.

You mean that me at age 65+ can't ride the aero bars I've been riding for well over20 years? Gasp! I'd better remove them pronto!

VBEG LOL

Sorry, but I have many friends over 50 years of age whom I introduce to aero bars and who got used to them and love them. That includes the ones who use them on their MTBs fior road riding.

Cheers

My finding is that as Dr. George Sheehan wrote in Runner's Magazine,
"Us old guys can do anything that you youngsters can do. Perhaps a bit
slower."
--
cheers,

John B.

John - mounting "aero" bars high and far enough back so that you can look forward is not "aero" bars. I don't know exactly what you'd call them but even pros have a hard time staying on aero bars in ITT's.

On Mon, 31 Oct 2016 12:13:37 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

On Tuesday, October 25, 2016 at 11:12:28 PM UTC-7, John B. wrote:
On Tue, 25 Oct 2016 19:35:12 -0700 (PDT), Sir Ridesalot
wrote:

On Tuesday, October 25, 2016 at 12:57:27 PM UTC-4, wrote:
On Monday, October 24, 2016 at 6:43:38 PM UTC-7, John B. wrote:
You have mentioned that you use or have used aero handle bars. I
recently bought a set which I intend to use in Phuket where there are
quite long stretches of road with light traffic.

I am aware that they take some getting used to but wonder where to
start. Does in simply clamp them on the existing bars and ride, or do
you need to raise or lower the existing handle bar position. At
present my road bike bars are about 2 inches lower than the seat which
seem quite comfortable to me, but if resting on the elbows that might
change.

My thoughts are that the resting on the elbows position will be more
comfortable or perhaps I should say "restful" which I believe is the
RAAM conception, rather then trying for an ultimate streamlined
position.

Any advise will be gratefully accepted.
--
cheers,

John B.

John - it's almost impossible to get used to riding on TT bars if you're over the age of 30. They stretch you WAY too far out and destroy your balance on the bike. You have to keep sitting up to put your hands on the controls on any road problems and they cannot be used going down inclines of more than about 2% at the most.

You mean that me at age 65+ can't ride the aero bars I've been riding for well over20 years? Gasp! I'd better remove them pronto!

VBEG LOL

Sorry, but I have many friends over 50 years of age whom I introduce to aero bars and who got used to them and love them. That includes the ones who use them on their MTBs fior road riding.

Cheers

My finding is that as Dr. George Sheehan wrote in Runner's Magazine,
"Us old guys can do anything that you youngsters can do. Perhaps a bit
slower."
--
cheers,

John B.

John - mounting "aero" bars high and far enough back so that you
can look forward is not "aero" bars. I don't know exactly what you'd
call them but even pros have a hard time staying on aero bars in
ITT's.

I have the feeling that there is a matter in definition here. Is
"aero" a term used only for those with their back perfectly flat, or
can it apply to someone that is leaning forward only 45 degrees?

I've found that simply moving my hands to the drops with my elbows
still straight increases coasting speed on one particular kill by just
about 1 kph. Is that not "aero"?