Bike Gremlin

Riding a bike with 28" wheels and flat bars (good for road and light offroad). It is good, but when riding 10 or more km on a strong headwind, some lower bars would be better.

Is it a good idea to try aero bars on a heavy, loaded commuter (almost 20kg bike, plus 10 - 20 kg load on back rack)? Will it be dangerously unstable to hang on to narrow aeros in strong wind?

idc

One thing I've done which is a bit unusual is take some standard bar ends and mount them on the inside of my grips, upside down and reversed. It sort of gives you cheap drops on a flat bar, and the way I have it set up I can actually shift from the "drops" (and brake, using brake lever extenders).


I'll take a pic one day.

formicaman

Aero bars are standard on touring bikes. Touring bikes weigh a ton, at least when loaded. In short, why not? Keep in mind where you would put your shifters and whether your brake levers would work though.

fietsbob

I used a Zzipper 'Thriller' fairing , and a set of aero bars.. for the forearm pads,
on an hour long commute, on a rural road.
The fairing was the key.. so bars didn't have to be low, the fairing did the aero,
and the weather went around my upper body ,
not through my clothing , so even in colder weather I was more comfortable.

+ I could hear better thru my ear buds and so, Books-on-tape from the Library
made good use of the ride time..


Ha! they are not in the carton shipped to the shops, so they are not standard
a commonly acquired accessory, like mudguards and the racks, perhaps.
which are rarely put on bikes in the factories that put them in the carton to be assembled at your dealer..

tjspiel

Drop bars are standard. Didn't think aero bars were.

Anyway, the steering with aerobars is definitely more touchy. You get used to it and one nice thing about them is that their use is optional.

I don't think it's a good idea to ride on the aero bars in a crowded area unless you've got quick access to brake levers. If you're worried about them in crosswinds, just save them for the headwinds. I don't remember having too much trouble with them on windy days FWIW.

My biggest gripe is that the ones I have limit space on the tops for lights, computers, bells, and even hands. With a little creativity you can find other ways to mount that stuff though.

Seattle Forrest

How good an idea it is depends on if you already have them, and how much they'll cost if you don't. Don't use them in strong side winds, or on curvy descends. The rest of the time, they'll offer you a different hand position and let you stretch your back out some. Until I changed my handlebars recently, I had aeros on my commuter bike, and it was nice to be able to cheat the wind (headwinds), but also nice to have another position for myself.

hiyer1

https://www.amazon.com/Overboard-Lite...9484849&sr=8-1

Pros: 100% waterproof (even submersible), low-profile black look is office-appropriate, back features a highly reflective silver triangle.

Cons: Does not breath well, difficult to put a water bladder inside with the straw outside, basically one huge compartment, not a rigid bag.

ThermionicScott 

My inclination would be to switch to drop bars. They're more aero than flat bars, more stable than aero bars, and can be very comfortable in the drops if set up correctly.

- Scott

Bike Gremlin

I'm afraid that drop bars would be tricky when I go off road. Thought that aeros (while keeping my current bars) would be a good compromise.

Head wind on a 10 km commute can be annoying. That's what got me thinking about aeros. I haven't tried aeros before (haven't got them). Not even sure how much they would cost and where to get them, but saw them on another bike similar to mine and thought: "that looks low enough to avoid headwind!"


Just not sure how effective aeros really are in fighting headwind, and how safe it is to steer on a flat, straight road with heavy traffic overtaking me at some 50 km/h (2 lanes each way, so not too many close calls).

somedood

Aero bars would be worse the drop bars for stability offroad. Cyclocross racers use drop bars (they race both on and off road), I've never seen cyclocross bikes outfitted with aerobars I assume because of less stability than normal road handlebars. Aerobars are more aerodynamic than drops, but if you're planning on riding the aero's offroad I would reconsider - you can always switch to the flat bar when you're offroad , though.

I can see the desire to put aerobars on a flatbar bike, especially considering the cost to change to drops from flat bars. What speeds are you normally reaching while riding?

Cyclocross Drop bar fun:

Bike Gremlin

Definitely plan to stick to flat bars off road. Thought drop bars would be too scary for off road, aeros definitely - they would just be unused going off road.

My speeds are around 30 km/h in the open road, around 25 km/h on MUPs (that is around 19 and 15 mph).

somedood

If the winds aren't shifting quickly, and your load is secure it seems like it would work out fine. I haven't ever actually ridden with a heavy load and aero bars, so take it for what it's worth. The closest I've gotten to that is having a lightly loaded pannier on my commuter (with drop bars) and resting my elbows on the flat part of the bar to pretend like i have aero bars and it felt fine. Having the option of shelter from the wind is great - it still is suffering, but just knowing it could be that much worse eases the pain a bit.

Seattle Forrest

Drop bars are fine off the road. I used them a lot on my CX bike, which I'd occasionally take up into the mountains. But they're also very expensive, because you'll have to change your shifters.

Aero bars compromise handling, and they put you kind of far from the brakes and shifters. Use them judiciously, and you'll be fine.

Bike Gremlin

Installed 2nd hand aero bars and am very happy. They work!
37 km/h on flat ground vs 30-32 without aeros. In the headwind they are even better. Got used to them in no time. Good compromise - kept flat handlebar, shifters and brakes, but added another seating position that is also more aero. Nice.

CptjohnC

I often wondered about this when I rode flat bars regularly. I compromised with 'drop bar ends' (from Origin8 if memory serves) which did the job pretty well, but definitely got in the way for tight handling stuff (I think flat bars tend to be wider than drops -- that could be just my erroneous perception, though).

I also occasionally think about adding aero bars to my drop bar bike when fighting a headwind or cruising long distances over straight, empty roads, but I doubt I'd gain all that much over using the drops, and I don't want to mess with too much extra stuff over and above my already crowded cockpit, esp. for commuting.

Consider posting a picture of your set up and giving us an update after 30 days of use or so, to see what challenges you might have encountered?

fietsbob

taking a 30+ mph downhill hairpin on aero bars, and staying on them
is not for the faint at heart.
even the pros hold on to the wider grip of their bars, then.

hours on the flat terrain, is another thing..

Bike Gremlin

In a few weeks I'll let you know how it rides. Here's what it looks like:

CptjohnC

Thanks for the pictures! Love the light on the end of the aero bar. The set up looks quite tidy, so I hope it works for you long term.

fuzz2050

Drop bars aren't fine off road, they're awesome off road. People have been using drop handlebars off road since the early days of mountain biking, and they really do work well. Granted, they have to be set up slightly differently from road drops, but they can still be useful both off and on road.

Bike Gremlin

Apart from the bike looking like it came out of a Mad Max film (like my avatar), I love 2 more riding positions. Hands on top of the aeros to sit almost straight and enjoy the scenery and aero position for stretching back and riding against strong headwind. Aero position is not used 99% of the time, but when I need it, I need it. Also, I put a lot of weight on the back of my bike, and bars used to wobble. Now with aero adding extra weights, the wobbling is gone.

Downsides are extra weight and less room on the "cockpit". Had to put the stronger front light at the end of aeros - would have prefered it on the bars.

chefisaac

what brand of aero bars are those?

MichaelW

That kind of aerobar setup is common in the windier parts of Netherlands, even on granny bikes.

MileHighMark

I've ridden drop bars off road (on and off) since '85. They work just fine. Another bar to consider is Titec's J-Bar or H-Bar.

ibis_ti

How about these:

fietsbob

On an hour long commute I set the bike up with a Zzipper road fairing, Thriller model
and a set of aero bars , Up High and Close, so I didn't need to hunker over for that trip
the fairing not only took over the Aero need , of low position,
and it also made the wind go around rather than thru my clothing, in cold weather.