Does aerobar type (Ski, Straight or Chicane) make a difference?

jmoss70

I posted this over on ST...should be interesting to see the responses.  What's the word here on EN?  I've always been a Ski Bend guy.  Can I save energy and improve my aerodynamics if I switch to Chicane or Straight?

Bomber

Logic would seem to suggest that straight would be more aerodynamic, but it all depends on your body position and whether you can hold the position for the entire race... Straight bars should be very uncomfortable for the wrists..

I had a Retul bikefit done a few months back and I discussed this with the fitter as I use the old style (ski bends) bars...The fitter suggested that I kept the current bars - as the comfort overrule the aero difference.

Carlos Sastre - not known for his time trialing - used the Lasy S bends in the Tour while riding for CSC/Saxo bank (whatever they were callled back them)... if the straights had been better - he would surely have used those..

tuckerm

I can't speak for the bars themselves but have read and heard in many places that the preying mantis position is the most aero.

Matt Samojeden

Looks like staright is out, a good article http://www.slowtwitch.com/Tech/Extensions_overhaul_1400.html

Bob Irwin

I don't know if you have a horizontal bottle mounted between your aerobar extnsions. I have a bottle mounted there for races, and it sits right between my arms using my ski bend vision bars. I don't see why anything else would be much more aero, since the bottle is still going to be in the same place.

Paul Hough

I believe the review by (now defunct) Michigan bikesport is still the best on this topic. See http://www.bikesportmichigan.com/features/sbend.shtml. Basically, they argue in favor of the J bend (ski). Despite reading and believing this, both of my bikes now have the S bend bars. When I made the transition, they were a little uncomfortable, but I've done 4 IMs with them and they don't bother me in the least...completely comfortable. I would say just use whatever gets you in the most aero position as long as you are comfortable with it.

Al Truscott

(I haven't read the Slowtwitch article yet, didn't want to prejudice my opinion with any facts.) I suspect there is a relationship between how "open" (i.e., upright) one's position is, and the aerobar which feels most comfortable. More upright >> ski or J bend; lower >> more towards flat or S bend. Also, there's a relationship between the height of the hands relative to the elbows, and how open or closed one's position will be, given the same setting for saddle and stem height. Hands higher, body lower; hands lower, body higher.

BTW, I switched to a flatter S bend with a very slight upwards tilt about 6 years ago, I have no idea if it makes me faster, but I feel more comfortable that way.

OK, now I'll read the article. 

jburbatt

I prefer the ski bend too. And I thought that bikesport article was the best analysis too. I've not seen anything to convince me that the S bend would be more aerodynamic and worth the discomfort.

Kevin Walter

At least for Ironman, I would definitely go comfort over aero on this issue. I can't imagine the aero improvement is anything more than miniscule and if the discomfort of the position makes you sit up for even a second, you'll negate any theoretical advantage. From a biomechanical perspective, the ski bends are going to require much less ulnar deviation at the wrists and put much less pressure on your nerves, joints, etc.

Kevin Walter

But, as Al says, if you more comfortable with S-bends, etc then by all means I think that is what you should go with.

jmoss70

Yeah, I remember the BSM article.  Good stuff.  Seems that my best bet is to spend money elsewhere and not mess with this.

grosso27

 I have tried them all, and I currently use & love s-bend (zipp chicane) extensions.

With ski-bends I was always choking up & sort of creating my own s-bends anyhow.  the wrists did take a few weeks to get used to the s-bends, but now i love them.  you just have to be careful with pad height, as the ST article explains.  You also need to keep an eye on how horizontal your forearms are, because you can end up making a front-end air scoop if you're not careful.  If you can make them work out, great, but if not, don't force the issue.

Straights are pretty brutal in all applications, in my experience, and lazy bends / wrist reliefs were pretty comfortable, but nothing special.

The Zipp chicanes work great for me, I have them rolled inwards, so my thumbs just about touch, & I love it.

 

Scott Alexander

Previous years I had the ski bends, for wrist comfort.

At the beginning of this year, when I changed aero bars, I also changed to the almost-level/flat ones, and it took a while for my arms to adapt. But now I just simply lay my hands flat over the ends, and sometimes even curl my pinky under the shifter to "hold on" - that's as much stress as I put on my hands now.

Dave Tallo

Posted By Al Truscott on 17 Oct 2011 05:07 PM

(I haven't read the Slowtwitch article yet, didn't want to prejudice my opinion with any facts.)

 

Al, I think there's little risk of that on ST. 

Coach Patrick

 I use the straight bars as I am so far down there in my dropped / aero position. Bottle sits nicely in there and I just hammer....Note I did tilt the bars up a bit...so when my head is down I am a bit more aero (you can see the bottle is tilted up). 

Bomber

Slightly off topic, sorry:

But does anyone have experience using the Xlab Torpedo mount with J/ski bends? Does it work? Where do you put your powermeter?

tuckerm

Here is the article I was referring to.  Oddly enough Mike Graffeo posted it today even though it's a few months old.

www.bikeradar.com/fitness/article/a...hing-31165

mgraffeo

now that's a strange coincidence...

tuckerm

Posted By Mike Graffeo on 19 Oct 2011 04:27 PM

now that's a strange coincidence...

Yep.  Was looking for this article as well.  Weird.....