Originally Posted by
pierrej
Aerobars only really help in the kilo to hold speed and not drop off too much. 500 isn't really long enough for aerobars to help, they probably are more of a hindrance with the compromised start position and swapping to the skis. Pretty sure most of the elite women are using drops for the time trial.
Double disc would be standard for all timed sprint events unless it was outside and real windy.
I think at the beginner and intermediate ranks (most national masters would be considered 'intermediate'), narrow drops would be on par or better than using aerobars.
It takes A LOT of training at speed to be very comfortable in aerobars at near 60kph/35mph. Including training on them behind a motor. Very few people train like that in aerobars.
Even though aerobars are theoretically faster, it takes a lot to avoid the downsides of using them when compared to narrow drops. Those downsides are:
- Letting off the gas when transitioning from bullhorns to skis
- Not being comfortable at high speeds in them, thus subconsciously holding back some.
- Not holding a great line due to bumps in the track and/or lack of nerve getting close to the transition to the apron while in aerobars.
I'd imagine that Elite and Elite-fast Masters Kilo riders will have all of the above figured out.