Should i buy aero bars

Looking at my own road bike, I see that aero bars would not work, because the stem can only be dropped about 5cm. Regarding the debate on your answer For example, on my last ride I felt flat and was trying to take it easy. Checked my speed after 32 km I don't use a display and found my average speed was 2.

How old are you? Flexibility decreases with age, so a middle age rider won't be able to stay in the position for as long as a younger rider. I an hour on aerobars and had a crook neck for a week after. Secondly - are your routes quiet open country? Using aerobars generally means no quick access to brakes, so you have less time to react and get to the brakes in a situation. In short, aerobar usage in urban or suburban areas is ill-advised. Long country straights is much better.

Add a comment. Active Oldest Votes. Yes, typically you will obtain an improvement in speed by adding clip-on aero bars to your bike. If you do try them then take some time to practice riding with them and stay safe! Edit: Since the OP wants some specifics, I'll provide an example.

Further edit: Here's some more sample data, this time showing the difference in CdA for four continental professional riders between their road bike hands in the drops and their TT bike. Improve this answer. Also keep in mind that the bike is less manoeuvrable when you are in aero-position — Carel. Danielson, Alex is very knowledgeable about the aerodynamics of cycling -- that's a core part of his livelihood, he has helped many riders estimate and improve their aerodynamics, and counts world record holders among his clients.

His answer to your question included other variables exactly because of his knowledge. That said, Alex's answer could be improved if he added typical ranges of improvement. The question can't be definitively answered as such things are so individually variable. For example, going from a road bike to a dedicated TT bike will typically increase speed by between about 4 to 10 seconds per km. So you can expect that just sticking on some aerobars onto a road bike will be at the lower end of that range or about 1mph give or take.

Keep in mind that get the set up wrong and you can actually end up going slower than you might have without them.

Also, I gave a possible speed improvement in the second sentence of my answer. Nailing it down any tighter just isn't possible without actual testing.

I have added a specific case example, hopefully that helps. Show 3 more comments. The case for aerodynamics Aerodynamic drag produces most of the resistance you need to overcome when in motion, unless you are riding up a very steep hill. Quoting RChung and simplifying a bit , the power needed to overcome aerodynamic drag is: 0. Note: corrected some text thanks to RChung's comment The aero hoods position The original post didn't mention the aero hoods position.

Comparative savings between positions Much of this section draws on work by Specialized. Image from Specialized presented in the BikeRumour article In this YouTube video , Specialized demonstrated that for the test rider: Going from bar tops to hoods was worth 90 seconds over 40km Going from brake hoods to the drops was worth 65 seconds over 40km Going from the drops to a faux aerobar position was worth 3 minutes over 40km reminder: I can't recommend you do this!

A different video shows that for a different rider on a different bike: Going from drops without the aero bars mounted to clip-on aero bars was worth seconds over 40km Notably, in the last clip, when the rider was in her aero bar position, she sitting noticeably higher up than when she was on the drops.

Aero bars give you an alternate riding position to use Never mind just drag: in very long rides, aero bars do offer an additional riding position that you can cycle through. Using your aero bars in groups The following is irrelevant to the OP's, but it's worth discussing how or if aero bars should be used in groups.

Weiwen Ng Weiwen Ng Experience in UK Audaxes suggests that especially at the longer distances aero bars are often fitted but not used when there are other riders around. This tends to be without a slammed setup, as an alternative good position. They certainly come in handy when riding km in a day, or even km into a headwind. Nice answer. Cd is the coefficient of aero drag, A is the frontal area, and their product, CdA, the "drag area.

Our UK uni club specifically banned aerobars in group rides. Even when used only as a camera holder. Show 2 more comments. Sign up or log in Sign up using Google. Sign up using Facebook. Sign up using Email and Password. Post as a guest Name.

Email Required, but never shown. Featured on Meta. Now live: A fully responsive profile. Version labels for answers. Linked Related 1. Hot Network Questions. Riding is faster because I am more aerodynamic.

Fighting with wind? No problem, I can deal with it and feel free. But there is additional and bigger advantage — we have additional position… or maybe many positions. So, is it worth buying aerobars? Skip to content. About Contact LinkedIn. Tagged Sport. You might be wondering as I was at which speed this analysis was done. The faster you ride, the more seconds you will gain, right? They explained why in another one of their videos in The Win Tunnel series.

As with every other bike component, you will pay a heftier price tag if you are after the lightest carbon version. It will make the fitting process way easier. Be aware that your reaction time will be slower for braking. There are a couple of situations where you should absolutely avoid using them:. Once you install your aero bars, you should definitely get used to riding with them on quiet roads. Try to move one hand out of the aerobars to the drops and then back again to the aerobars. On top of making me faster, I also find that aero bars are more comfortable, especially over longer distances.

If you feel the need to switch between different positions hands on the hoods or the drops , the aero bars add a really different position into the mix.

My upper body feels way more relaxed in the aero position. It needs, of course, some time to get used to this new position. The added difficulty of changing gears is, for me, the biggest disadvantage of adding aero bars on a road bike.