Aero bars and aches
 

It's been a long time since I spent any time on aero bars, but I'm focusing on endurance riding, so I'm doing it again. Except now I'm 20 years older.

I'm finding that after about 10 minutes on the aero bars, I get a get an ache somewhere around the outside of the glutes or where the IT band attaches at the hip. Obviously I'd like that not to happen.

I've had a professional fitting on this bike, although without aero bars. Apart from these aches, I am pretty comfortable through long rides. I'm doing hurdler stretches and pretzel stretches about 4x/week. I've spoken with a friend who tells me that core work will fix this (yes, I should be doing that anyhow). But I thought I would muddy the waters by asking for opinions here.

I've never used aero bars so I probably shouldn't even be saying anything. But can you ask the person that did your bike fit? Might be that your position on the aero bars isn't correct for longer rides.

Also seems to me that aero bars favor a frame size on the smaller end of the size range a person should choose. I've always been on larger frames and that is one reason I've never attempted to use them.

More aggressive positions take more getting used to.

It's likely that if you keep riding in the position, it'll get better. You're simply not used to it.

Looking through old topics on Slowtwitch, the two things that seemed to repeatedly come up are saddle height too high and bike shoe arch support. Sometimes pedal spindle length or cleat shims are used.

Google or use the search function over there on that forum for "it band saddle" and a lot of stuff comes up worth reading through. That's the best I can offer.

Good luck.

I don't think core work will do much, though single leg deadlifts might be good. Stretching will help. Look up sciatica stretches. https://www.healthline.com/health/ba...atic-stretches

That's not your issue, but those stretches target the muscles involved in pedaling hard in the aero position. But what helps the most is having roads where you can get down and pedal for long periods.

I always aero bars and endurance riding were at opposite ends of the spectrum. I don't use aero bars but if I did I think I would use a different saddle position than for endurance. Could that be an issue for you?

If you look at almost any ultra event, you'll see everyone has aero bars. If for no other reason than to give yourself an extra hand position.

I'm sure it's different for everyone, but it took me several months to "acclimate" to aerobars. I used them on two bikes for about a year, removed them a few months ago, and it's seemingly talking several months to re-acclimate to not using them again.

I know that I had to move my saddle forward several inches to get comfortable in the aerobars for an extended period of time. If the OP's saddle is setup for "normal" riding, that would absolutely explain the discomfort in the glutes.

I started using aerobars at the end of last season, and it took a bit of experimentation to find something that worked.
Just finished the Iron Porcupine 1200k on Sunday and really liked having them. Here's a photo to show the setup that works for me.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...68a882be87.jpg
Two things that made the biggest improvements for me were moving the bars up and back and the fizik airone saddle which allows me to slide forward when I'm in the aerobars. I've seen other people use risers with the aerobars so they don't have to move the bars.

No, you can't use a different saddle position unless you're doing an ultra event which allows support, in which case you'd change bikes. Thing is, on most endurance rides one is only on the bars maybe 10% of the time, if that. Of course you can slide forward on your saddle if your saddle/bod combo allows that. I've been running aero bars on my road bikes for 20+ years, standard road position, no issues. Of course from the standard road position, most of us can't get as low as we could on a TT bike, but so what. I know endurance riders who run risers which put their clip-ons another inch or so above the handlebars, to open up their breathing more and get more comfort. Figuring out what's more competitive (or what will allow one to beat the control closing times) over a 20-90 hour ride is a whole 'nother ballgame.

Depends on the event obviously, but I'd guess I was in the aerobars around half the time on the IP. More on flat sections and less when it was hilly. When I do long solo rides in Illinois where there are no hills, I'd guess it's closer to 80% of the time.

If you wanting to do real ultra events, then probably should get another bike set up specifically for ultra events and be fitted again this time with the aero bars. If your current bike is a good fit for short rides and times you otherwise don't need the aero bars, then ride it at those times.

I've never gotten a professional fit and just use guess-and-check. Make a change, ride a hundred miles to see what hurts, repeat until everything hurts about the same. Then when you think you're really close, do the same thing with some longer distances. Some of the adjustments are so small that I can't imagine a professional fitter could get it exactly right, and I assume most of them have never ridden ultra-distance, so you'll just end up at guess and check anyway. Most long-distance people I know skip the professional fit unless they have some problem that they can't figure out how to resolve on their own through trial and error.

I've been using aerobars since their inception.
The main difference from a regular road bike setup is the saddle position. With an aerobar setup you need to be pushed forward a bit. Since you've already had a pro fit perhaps a shorter stem will work for you. But not sure any of that will help your aches problem.

at first i saw three water bottles and it reminded me of where i added my 3rd on my mtn bike. then i noticed the fourth higher up...looks tight, is that on the side? is there a 5th on the other side?

i used hose clamps to mount my 3rd. how did you mount those?

I'm not normally repulsed by drinking or eating in dirty conditions. But that bottle on the bottom front of the down tube must really get some filth on it. Surely there are a lot of dried dog and deer feces ground to powder by earlier traffic and the occasional snot rocket or lugi that get tossed up there by the front wheel. <grin>

Do you just use that for water to pour on you for cooling?

Under the downtube is probably the most common place for a third bottle. It's my last bottle because it's the only one I can't access while I'm moving. When I use it I have to stop and pour it into one of my other bottles because it's a different size so I can't swap it with one of the other bottles, but I wouldn't have any problems drinking from it. I'm one of those people who's not the tiniest bit afraid of germs. Eating a little road grime probably won't kill me so whatever.

seems like this thread should be in the bike fit or long-distance sub-forum.