# Best position for aerobars?



## Licramite (26 Mar 2013)

Hi
I'm getting into aerobars - not actually TTing yet.
but I see theres some debate about the correct - or best - position for the arm on the rests.
I have set it up so its my elbow on the pad - 
Ive attached an illustration of riding positions - the photo has his forarms on the pad.
the first sketch is how I'm set up on my bike (which is nothing like the photos bike , but how I whish it was)
the middle sketch looks a bit extreme but its the position I'm in when climbing as illustrated by the last schetch.

by setting it up with my elbows on the pad I'm right on the end of my seat but my hips are forward of the pedals which I find gives me the best cycling position - certainly feels like it does -

how are you set up, elbows or forarms on the pad ?


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## Arsen Gere (26 Mar 2013)

In the bottom left of the picture it looks like the guy has the pads on the flesh part of his forearm just in front of the elbows. May be an inch or two. Thats what I do so the bumps don't ride through your shoulders and your head falls off.

What I do is to wear tights and top with a line down the side. Get someone to take a pic from the side and compare positions. I overlay my road and tt positions to look at the overall hight, where my head/back is.

Usual recommnedation is that your arm(elbow-shouler) and thigh should be parallel when your foot is in the centre of the bottom of the cycle, crank vertical.

The conclusion I have come to is I can't produce the same power in a fully prone position on tt bike as I can raised a bit. Plus on longer rides it kills my neck. I had been doing up to 100 miles on the tt bike to get used to and I could still not produce the same tt times as I could on my road bike with tribars.

Riding on the rivot, ie the peak of the saddle is ok for short distances. But I would not recommend it for longer stuff. It shifts a lot of load on to your arms and shoulders.

What you will find is that you need to get used to the position, train in that position so your muscles adjust or you will go from a descent time in a semi upright position in to a disappointing time prone.

Plus you need to be able to steer the bike too. It takes some getting used to and you may need to fiddle a bit. Personally I like the elbows out a bit further for stability and sacrafice some aerodynamics.

I also like quite a compact position so you need to make sure you don't bang your knees on the pads when you climb out of the saddle.
HTH


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## Rob3rt (27 Mar 2013)

General rule of thumb is to have your pads placed so your elbow hangs off the back by about an inch. But this is personal to some degree.

The width of the pads should be no wider than your hips (unless you really can not do with them this close for some reason), else they are not minimising frontal area.

The extension shape, orientation and distance to pad settings are personal preference but should generally bring your hands close together and feel relaxed. People hold them in all sorts of ways.

The majority of the fit changes when adding area bars are on the seat end of the bike!


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## GrasB (27 Mar 2013)

Aero bars take a lot of tuning, most rules of thumb are a load of cobblers. Goggle the 'Chung method' for getting your CdA & Crr values. You really need to find a nice sheltered low-traffic test venue which you can do very high & very low speed runs on, this will allow you to do very good runs with big speed differences & when done well you can get really sensitive results.


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## Rob3rt (27 Mar 2013)

As GrasB says, it can take a lot of testing to find the "best position". But you need to start somewhere.

Ultimately, the best position is the position that allows you to go fastest, i.e. the one which provides the best compromise between aero and power output. It will vary from rider to rider and it will change as your fitness changes. My TT position is admittedly piss poor atm, IMO!


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## oldroadman (30 Mar 2013)

Question: why does anyone want to do 100 miles on a TT bike, much over an hour and that's enough, from my experience at different races (I have to add, proper bike races rather than the bike section of a tri) which have been mainly TT stages of stage races. The position is flat back as possible, and spend some work on getting maximum flexibility around hips and lower back. This allows full power to develop in what is a very uncomfortable position for any length of time. Stretching and flexibility are key, despire having at times seen some horrible "grinding along on massive gear" riders who cannot get the thing turning and would be faster with a smoother cadence.


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## Andy_R (31 Mar 2013)

I like to have mine set up like this


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## GrasB (2 Apr 2013)

oldroadman said:


> Question: why does anyone want to do 100 miles on a TT bike, much over an hour and that's enough, from my experience at different races (I have to add, proper bike races rather than the bike section of a tri) which have been mainly TT stages of stage races. The position is flat back as possible, and spend some work on getting maximum flexibility around hips and lower back. This allows full power to develop in what is a very uncomfortable position for any length of time. Stretching and flexibility are key, despire having at times seen some horrible "grinding along on massive gear" riders who cannot get the thing turning and would be faster with a smoother cadence.


A well sorted TT bike fit is actually very comfortable for long periods.


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## bathtub (2 Apr 2013)

> how are you set up, elbows or forarms on the pad ?


 
I recently had a Retul bike fit and the fitter told me the correct position was for the elbow to be 2 fingers behind the back of the pad.


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## oldroadman (7 Apr 2013)

GrasB said:


> A well sorted TT bike fit is actually very comfortable for long periods.


 Whatever turns you on, but well sorted for long period comfort is different from a full on aero position for maximum return per watt. The two are mutually incompatible.


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## 400bhp (8 Apr 2013)

Apparently most of the pros will now ride their TT bikes for many many hours in training to get used to the position. So I would imagine that the set up is broadly comfortable?


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## Rob3rt (8 Apr 2013)

Put it this way, when your legs are screaming and your lungs burning, the last thing you want is to have to endure extreme discomfort from your ride position! To clarify, there is a compromise between drag and comfort! Sometimes you will have to just accept that you will be less aero in favour of comfort. Ultimately you will gain more from the added comfort because you will be able to stay in an aero tuck for a longer duration. You may be able to get more aero short term, but you will end up being less aero over the total duration if you cant hold the position and end up sat up on the outriggers for longer than needed just to get some respite!

I can take a little over an hour of my set up on the local roads before I just want to sit up.


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## Nico (13 Apr 2013)

It also depends on the overall bike position/head tube size etc. I would assume that with elbows on pads is more comfortable, this is how I have mine.


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## 2old2care (26 May 2013)

Andy_R said:


> I like to have mine set up like this


wish I'd thought of that


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## Rob3rt (26 May 2013)

Nico said:


> It also depends on the overall bike position/head tube size etc. I would assume that with elbows on pads is more comfortable, this is how I have mine.


 

Generally, it is said to be more comfortable to have the pads a bit forward of your elbows, so that every little bump in the road doesn't shudder straight up into your shoulders. Ultimatelly, this is going to be an individual thing.


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## e-rider (28 May 2013)

400bhp said:


> Apparently most of the pros will now ride their TT bikes for many many hours in training to get used to the position. So I would imagine that the set up is broadly comfortable?


if the pros are putting in the hours 'to get used to the position' this suggests it's not naturally a comfortable position
in more simple terms, one can clearly see that riding in the aero position with a flat back isn't going to be comfortable for the average cyclist for any length of time - however, like many things, with some training it can probably become comfortable (enough) for most cyclists who want to TT


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## Rob3rt (28 May 2013)

e-rider said:


> if the pros are putting in the hours 'to get used to the position' this suggests it's not naturally a comfortable position
> in more simple terms, one can clearly see that riding in the aero position with a flat back isn't going to be comfortable for the average cyclist for any length of time - however, like many things, with some training it can probably become comfortable (enough) for most cyclists who want to TT


 

Not particularly. "Getting used to the position" is not all about comfort.

BTW, a flat back is not necessarily desirable either.


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## Licramite (28 May 2013)

If you get it set up right I find the aero position fine, on my turbo I do all my training on aerobars as it puts me in a no relaxing high intensity position.
on the road -I'm finding them a bit of a pain, - to the point I'm probably going to give them up - you can never stay in them for more than 5minutes without having to come out to manouvre because of traffic or road conditions .


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## VamP (28 May 2013)




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