basic aero bars

[mrcharly-YHT]

my commute is going to get a bit longer, with a couple more miles of flat road added.

So I think it is worth trying adding some aero bars, with the last of my birthday money.

Need to fit on drops with an oversize centre section.

recomendations, please

[andygates]

"Basic aero bars" usually means "profile century" - ask your triathlete buddies as they're commonly upgraded from after a couple of years

[Greenbank]

Profile Century work well.

I have them on the fixed: http://www.greenbank.org/bikes/tempo/tempo7.jpg

Cheap but do the job. They clamp straight on to my o/s bars (both the previous drops and the current Profile T-2 Aero Wing).

[mrcharly-YHT]

ta.

I've clocked a few of those on ebay, we'll see.

[GruB]

My first set were Profile Century.  Good but not many position options for varying the angle etc.  You are quite limited to width of the hands too, although the arm rests to move outwards.  It was not easy to change the settings as you have to peel off the pads that are stuck down.

So I upgraded to Profile T2.  Wiggle link here with a Tri mag review underneath.

   Profile T2 Plus Clip On Aero Bar Extension Only £89.99

[Charlotte]

Profile Century worked well for me on the Mersey Roads 24.

[Chris N]

For not much more money the BBB Aerobase bars look more adjustable than the Profile Century.

I'm very happy with my Profile Airstryke bars (the elbow rest pop up to give you more space onthe tops), but they ain't that cheap.

[alan]

Profile Airstryke bars
 

I bought some of these to put on my Langster.Must get around to fitting them.
I need a roundtoit tool.

[Mr Larrington]

+1 for Profile Century over here...

[Greenbank]

The closed loop of the Profile Century gives me a good place to mount the GPS: http://www.greenbank.org/bikes/tempo/tempo6.jpg

(I'm getting as bad a GruB for pushing pictures of that bike...)

[geraldc]

For super cheap aero bars visit the St John Street Cycle eBay store.  I picked up some cheap bars for about 15 quid...haven't fitted them yet though

[Moloko]

Don't forget to try out your new bars on a quiet traffic free road till you're quite confident with them.
Aero bars are a shock to the system for some people, and at first they mimic a 'drunk onna bike' quite wonderfully.

[Biggsy]

Basic aero bars?  No, the mint ones are much nicer.


...I'll get me gilet.

[David Martin]

For super cheap aero bars visit the St John Street Cycle eBay store.  I picked up some cheap bars for about 15 quid...haven't fitted them yet though

I have some of those. Fine, except that I discovered I prefer a flat extension rather than an upward pointing bend. ( ___ rather than __/ ).

..d

[mattc]

For not much more money the BBB Aerobase bars look more adjustable than the Profile Century.

I'm very happy with my Profile Airstryke bars (the elbow rest pop up to give you more space onthe tops), but they ain't that cheap.

My Airstrykes are fine, BUT

... they only fit me on the bike with a shorter stem. There are limits to how far fore/aft you can move the arm rests - I imagine most makes have their limitations, so it may be worth checking this before buying anything >$15.

(Probably not a big issue for 10 mile TTs, but you need to be properly comfortable on longer rides, with all your bits in the right places.)

[mrcharly-YHT]

Don't forget to try out your new bars on a quiet traffic free road till you're quite confident with them.
Aero bars are a shock to the system for some people, and at first they mimic a 'drunk onna bike' quite wonderfully.

I tried the position when riding home yesterday. I can control the bike fine with my forearms resting on the drop bars and my hands together out in front. So I'm not too worried about the control issue, more about having hands so far from brake levers.

the additional mounting positions would be a welcome change from the damn oversize drops I have - my light fitting is bodged in a less-than ideal position. I could move it to the aerobars, ditto computer.

[vorsprung]

hmm yes well the whole aero bar thing

I got a set of Profile Designs "Airstrike" extensions a few years back.  These have the folding arm rests that are spring loaded so when you aren't using them they fold up out of the way.

I got them because I like to do long distance and

1) they offer a different hand position
2) they promise a tiny bit of extra speed for no energy input

However, the bike I put them on was too long in the top tube.  Using the bars was uncomfortable.  Also the armrests were quite high up.  I could get lower by using the drops.  So they were both uncomfortable and ineffective.  The high armrest position didn't help the steering stability of the bike either.

However, after PBP I put them on another bike.  This had a shorter top tube.  The length was much better.  To get rid of the other problem of the arm rests being too high, I removed them with a hacksaw.  Instead of the nice cupped arm rests I put two 6" sections of pipe lagging in the centre of my handlebars and rest my arms on that.  I get a very low position and the pipe lagging is better than the profile design arm rests for comfort.  In fact on very jarring roads it is easier on the arms to use the tri bars and the pipe lagging than the drops.  Also the arm rests got in that way of seeing the route sheet which is strapped between the two halves of the bar extensions.

I have spent the last year getting used to them and after a little hint from teethgrinder to not over stretch - I do not now grip the bars at the tip - they are very comfortable and worth an extra 1 or 2kph at 30kph-ish

[Greenbank]

I tried the position when riding home yesterday. I can control the bike fine with my forearms resting on the drop bars and my hands together out in front. So I'm not too worried about the control issue, more about having hands so far from brake levers.

Not a problem for me, I always have two feet on a brake.

the additional mounting positions would be a welcome change from the damn oversize drops I have - my light fitting is bodged in a less-than ideal position. I could move it to the aerobars, ditto computer.

http://www.greenbank.org/bikes/tempo/tempo6.jpg

GPS goes on end of aero bars.
Routesheet holder goes on one arm of the aerobars (don't use it now but carry it in case GPS stops working).
Computer (Cateye Velo mounted right at the end of the stem (between the aero bar mounts) using zip ties.
Lights (Solidlights in this picture) mounted on Minoura Space Grip hanging down from aero bars.

Position is fine for long distance, but that's probably because the handlebars were too low for long distance on their own. I got a bit of bach ache on a 600 when I didn't have them fitted. The new bullhorns give me a slightly higher position compared to the hoods on drop bars.

[Moloko]

Don't forget to try out your new bars on a quiet traffic free road till you're quite confident with them.
Aero bars are a shock to the system for some people, and at first they mimic a 'drunk onna bike' quite wonderfully.

I tried the position when riding home yesterday. I can control the bike fine with my forearms resting on the drop bars and my hands together out in front. So I'm not too worried about the control issue, more about having hands so far from brake levers.

That's cool, no control issues. Don't worry about reaching the brakes in time, you'll always manage it.
No matter what the fuckwit in front does. 

[vorsprung]

Don't forget to try out your new bars on a quiet traffic free road till you're quite confident with them.
Aero bars are a shock to the system for some people, and at first they mimic a 'drunk onna bike' quite wonderfully.

I tried the position when riding home yesterday. I can control the bike fine with my forearms resting on the drop bars and my hands together out in front. So I'm not too worried about the control issue, more about having hands so far from brake levers.

That's cool, no control issues. Don't worry about reaching the brakes in time, you'll always manage it.
No matter what the fuckwit in front does. 

I must admit when I'm on the wheel of a fuckwit or in heavy traffic or descending or any other reason where I might like to use the brakes, I do not use the tri bars.
So I only tend to use them on roads that are flattish with good visiblity ahead

[Moloko]

I must admit when I'm on the wheel of a fuckwit or in heavy traffic or descending or any other reason where I might like to use the brakes, I do not use the tri bars.
So I only tend to use them on roads that are flattish with good visiblity ahead

Same here, regarding the good visibility ahead.

[mrcharly-YHT]

Profile Century bars fitted on Sun, had a brief spin to check positioning.

First proper ride this morn. Quite comfy and secure feeling. Noticeably faster freewheeling downhill - on one gentle slope I normally freewheel about 28-29kph. With the tribars I freewheeled at 32kph.