aero bars
kevin1888
Posts: 4
in General Chat
hi people this is my first post on here so be gentle! I have started triathlon this summer with blenhiem being my first event. Since then i've been training hard for the london tri my first olympic dist tri. And thought i'd try and get some extra advantage with aero bars. I went the profile design carbon stealthsand have fitted them on to my bike. Only problem is i'm finding them quite painful to use specially in my neck and left shoulder. So i was wondering if anyone had any ideas on how to solve the problem?
cheers
kevin
cheers
kevin
0
Comments
The pain in the left shoulder I'm not so sure about, it could be as a result of the above, or, you need to space the areo bars wider apart at the elbows more (try lining it up so you knees are in line with the elbow at the top most part of the leg stroke as a width gauge).
Other than that I'm out. how long has it been since you started riding aero?
LAstly stetching of the neck back and shoulder ono a regular basis will also help somewhat.
madnurse
I started on aerobars about two years ago as a form of back exercise having slipped a lower disc 18 months previously. It took a couple of months to build up the strength in my back working on the aerobars initially for just say 5 mins out of a whole ride, now I can comfortably use them for an hour in a two hour ride. I agree with the comments regarding whether you are also reaching too far, but some aerobars can be adjusted for length, so maybe shorten them for the moment and lengthen them later when you are more comfortable. Lastly, the pain in the shoulder might (I have no medicle experience) be due to leaning too hard on the forearm rests and tiring your arm rather than relaxing taking the bulk of the weight through your back?
Stick with it though, the benefits of aerobars are huge over normal handlebars.
Thanks
kevin
I will hunt it out and see if there is any more info than that (which I am sure there will be)
I've taken my tri-bars off & have found I'm quicker riding on the drops. The only place I can notice any negatives with this is on long descents...hmmm interesting?
As most of my training is done on undalating roads (at the very least) I think I may go without for a while, unless I'm in for a long ride where the comfort is needed.
Do you find a big difference?
I find that, especially on undulating roads, when you have increase effort to manatain speed, or maybe flick a gear or two the drops are working better for me. I tend to lose less speed, if any at all when the road slopes up. I think I just find it an easier to transfer the power on the drops.