Aerobars - a fading fad?

Seems like during my biking around the metro area I don't see as many road bikes equipped with aerobars as I used to in the past couple of decades.  Then, a week ago we were dining out and the big video screens in the bar area were showing some major triathlon.  For the brief amount of time we were there eating I don't recall seeing anything but regular road bars on any of the bikes.

Were aerobars just a trend that has come and gone or is this all just coincidental?

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Permalink Reply by Tom A.K. on July 23, 2015 at 1:38pm
http://aerobars.org/

Metro area - no. Some - LFP early am.
Permalink Reply by Len Krietz on July 24, 2015 at 1:34am

Did two invitational rides this month out in the corn fields (Grundy, Will and Dekalb counties) and at least half the riders (I assume locals) use aerobats.  Flat terrain = speed.

Permalink Reply by Irvin Steinert on July 24, 2015 at 2:28am

To me, hand position relates directly to body position and aero-bars "lock" you in to a single position (not for me). If you are training for  time trials or for a triathalon then you need to use them. If you have serious wrist issues perhaps resting on the elbows is one alternative and aero bars provide that (better would be upright or recumbent [recumbent is actually the best way to gain speed it's just not allowed in the most popular style of racing and therefore "nerdy"]). So that leaves all the rest that we can assume are just doing it to look "cool"; I would guess that is a very low percentage and therefore I don't really feel it qualifies as a fad.

What seems like a fad to me is "racing". Not so much for top level athletes but for folks like me that are in no way ever going to be the fastest or the strongest or the toughest but will enter the competition for  other reasons - which is fine, but, still kind of a fad.

Permalink Reply by John Durham on July 24, 2015 at 10:25am

Let's hope so.

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on July 27, 2015 at 3:30am

+1

Permalink Reply by Joe Guzzardo on July 25, 2015 at 2:40am

I tried those things once but they didn't work. Kevin Trudeau was touting them on some late night info-mercial implying that with enough practice and effort you could become airborne. I bought the package, which included his copyrighted video and spent many fruitless days training, but never got off the ground.

Sorry, George, but I couldn't resist. What sort of razor do you use?

Permalink Reply by Irvin Steinert on July 27, 2015 at 3:34am
Permalink Reply by Kelly on July 27, 2015 at 4:25am

I also feel a lot to triathletes are buying dedicated tri bikes now. Not sure.

Permalink Reply by Anne on July 27, 2015 at 5:33am

True, but some folks prefer the road bike here in the city.

I teasingly say to people that they are not 'aerobars' when they are on a road bike, merely armrests. There is nothing 'aero' with dropped handlebars and the frontal area they have (shifters, cables, etc). They function as an armrest for triathletes as they've just come from swimming before the bike leg.

If you are not comfortable riding in the drops, then you should get a bike fit; if you have bad wrist pain, you should get a bike fit.

I feel, too, that some of the reason 'armrests on road bikes' are passe is that in the past 10yrs we've seen bikes with proportionally taller head tubes, the 'comfort' road bike. Allows casual cyclists a more upright position.

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