AzTallRider

I try to train in the position I will be using when I need the power I'm training to create. For me, that means mostly in the drops, because when I need the power, chances are I will be in the drops: sprints, breakaways, bridges... that's drops stuff for me. I climb in the drops a lot as well. But my drops position is far more aero that my hoods position, and that's a major factor. I recover and spin out in the drops, too, because it's helping the muscles I've stressed.

echappist

funny that you do that too. Your coach must be as old & crusty as mine

Now Sansone may be a drug cheat, but no one is as graceful climbing

Virten

rkwaki

True but someone has to be otb...

recursive

What's IAB?

gsteinb

Invisible aero bars

bigfred 

And should only be used when alone or OTF, never, ever in a group.

gsteinb

Shrug. I've used it plenty at the front of a pack when leading a chase.

jsutkeepspining

Okay, so the real secret to getting people to move off of a wheel is this........pee on 'em. I swear it works! i won a field sprint doing this one time. I started to sprint, whipped it out, and peed everywhere. No one came around me.

Jandro 

Too much sugar or too much caffeine? Which is it?

rkwaki

Option 3:
Lack of brain cells...

carpediemracing 

heh.

Two guys were duking it out for the Series at Bethel (Cat 3-4s no less). One guy was an ex-pro, had raced with Lucho Herrera apparently (I don't know if it's true but he certainly was strong - he was maybe 5'1", 100 lbs, and he'd ride for an hour at a local gym with the Cybex at an inaccurate 550w and only one other guy could do that, a very strong Cat 1-2 rider who weighed about 90 lbs more than the ex-pro). Ex-pro was merciless as far as not pulling and then attacking, at least during the races. Another guy was a Cat 2-3 type rider, that year he was a 3. A break went up the road. The Cat 2-3 rider had to score a bunch of points to win the overall. The ex-pro was under a lot less pressure, either he had it wrapped up or he was so out of the running it didn't matter.

The 2-3 rider jumped clear of the field to try and bridge a relatively huge gap to a 2 or 3 rider break. I think it was 30 seconds with 3 laps to go, something like that. He pulled like a mofo for about a lap and change, asked the ex-pro to work. The ex-pro refused. The 2-3 kept pulling but realized the ex-pro would jump so he took it down a notch. The ex-pro jumped, the 2-3 went after him, the ex-pro sat up.

So now the 2-3 is leading, they're very close to the break, and the ex-pro is refusing to pull.

The 2-3 blows his nose, like really hard. The ex-pro happens to be sitting on the 2-3's wheel and gets a face full of snot. Ex-pro gets mad, rides up to the 2-3, punches him hard in the face, attacks, goes blowing right past the break and wins the race.

Cat 2-3 protests. Ex-pro is DQ'ed for hitting another rider. I think someone else won the Series but I don't remember the results.

There's a tip in there somewhere. I think it's "don't punch someone in the face".

jsutkeepspining

actually its option 4, tired. i had a good ride today, btu now im sleepy. nap time for me fatties

Jandro 

Yep, I think that's probably it. Crazy O_O

Homebrew01

You should be on the hoods ... they're safer

bigfred 

fair enough. But, if you have ask what IAB is, there's a reasonable chance you shouldn't be using the position in the company of others.

As far as going AIB at the front of a chase or paceline, I have mixed emotions. It's very dependent on individual rider skill and conditions. If I'm unfamiliar with the rider, I'm much more comfortable if they're sphinx'ed with forearms on the tops. At least they've got a couple fingers on things for control in the event of some unseen circumstance. I'm not sure how much aero advantage there is to moving the forearms closer, but, there's definately a greater risk of not having control if some sort of event occurs.

Does anyone have the address to the youtube clip on here of the guy that was IAB in the middle of a group and took himself and a couple of others out?

Anyhow, none of this is related to shoving or bullying someone off anothers wheel and is probably more appropriate for the 'racing tips' or 'group riding etiquette' threads.

grolby

Sure, but the question was only about what IAB stands for, not "...so that I can use it all the time and everywhere!" I think you're making a bigger deal of the safety of IAB than you really need to. Obviously doing it in the middle of a pack is dangerous. Duh. That's common sense, intelligent people don't need that explained to them. There's not much risk of most people going out and doing that.

grolby

As for the merits of the position, I don't much care for it myself because it's so frickin uncomfortable and I feel better churning a big ol' gear in the drops, but I could give a crap if the at the front of the group is using it in a safe way. Dependent on individual rider skill, yeah, sure, whatever, that's true of EVERYTHING. In one of my collegiate C races there was a guy who caused a Tour de France style, across the entire road crash because he lost his grip on the hoods when he hit a small hole. He looked totally competent until the moment it was revealed he wasn't paying attention and wasn't hanging on.

bigfred 

You would think so. But, experience has proven otherwise.

AzTallRider

Some people have learned how to get comfortable in the IAB (I'm not one of them), and I know people who have used padding to help. There are two guys I ride and race with who are really good at using the position. If I'm behind one of them, and he drops into IAB, I know that life just got harder.

botto 

more like "look before you blow snot rockets."

christ almighty, do i hate the farkwits who blow first and look later.

shovelhd

I hear ya on that.

carpediemracing 

I should have mentioned that he carefully aimed with malicious intent.

botto 

then, as long as they were clear of the field, a punch in the face was the way to go.

Creakyknees

So. I guess Waterrockets was the only one who got that... I'm kind of semi-notorious around here for carrying saddlebag and frame pump in races. Lights and blinkies, too.

Usually only the weeknighters that I ride to, but sometimes in a road race if I expect to get shelled and be behind the wheel truck.

Self-irony fail.

Although, this year I'm using a small backpack for the weeknighters. Drop it at reg, instant 3 lbs off the bike.

None of this has anything to do with moving someone off a wheel, of course. Except, the main reason I now take all the stuff off is, one of the local cat 1's, 40 plusser, legendary types asked me to, politely, saying, you never know what might happen, better safe than sorry. Then in the race he proceeded to chop me brutally for a wheel.

So, there ya go.