IM Wisconsin

In article <[email hidden]>,

Wookie Kim said:

I am currently training for the Ironman Wisconsin in September. I
have a Fuji Team Pro road bike, but am looking to convert to aerobars
and bar-end shifters. What sort of bars would be good? Integrated?
clip-on?

I am also doing a 4200mi cross country bike trip over 9 weeks to
raise money for Habitat for Humanity. I do not want to be TOTALLY
uncomfortable on the trip, but I definitely want to ride in aero
position as much as I can so that I can be aero during Wisconsin.

Since I have never ridden in the aero position and do not know how
comfortable/uncomfortable that position is, do you think it would be
a bad idea to buy aerobars and train for that 9 week portion? In
other words, will I be really uncomfortable if I ride in the aero
position for 70 miles a day?

Whatever aero bars you buy, look for maximum adjustability for bar
angle, reach, elbow pad height and width. Getting the fit right is the
key to comfort, and maximum adjustability is the key to getting the fit
right with your first pair of aero bars. The position can actually be
quite comfortable.

In article <[email hidden]>,

Wookie Kim said:

I am currently training for the Ironman Wisconsin in September. I have
a Fuji Team Pro road bike, but am looking to convert to aerobars and
bar-end shifters. What sort of bars would be good? Integrated? clip-on?

I am also doing a 4200mi cross country bike trip over 9 weeks to raise
money for Habitat for Humanity. I do not want to be TOTALLY
uncomfortable on the trip, but I definitely want to ride in aero
position as much as I can so that I can be aero during Wisconsin.

Since I have never ridden in the aero position and do not know how
comfortable/uncomfortable that position is, do you think it would be a
bad idea to buy aerobars and train for that 9 week portion? In other
words, will I be really uncomfortable if I ride in the aero position for
70 miles a day?

How much time have you been riding in the last year? When
does the nine week ride occur? How long will you train
with the new equipment before the ride? Changing the
bicycle configuration immediately before a new undertaking
will end in tears.

--
Michael Press

Tim McNamara said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Wookie Kim said:

I am currently training for the Ironman Wisconsin in September. I
have a Fuji Team Pro road bike, but am looking to convert to aerobars
and bar-end shifters. What sort of bars would be good? Integrated?
clip-on?

I am also doing a 4200mi cross country bike trip over 9 weeks to
raise money for Habitat for Humanity. I do not want to be TOTALLY
uncomfortable on the trip, but I definitely want to ride in aero
position as much as I can so that I can be aero during Wisconsin.

Since I have never ridden in the aero position and do not know how
comfortable/uncomfortable that position is, do you think it would be
a bad idea to buy aerobars and train for that 9 week portion? In
other words, will I be really uncomfortable if I ride in the aero
position for 70 miles a day?

Whatever aero bars you buy, look for maximum adjustability for bar
angle, reach, elbow pad height and width. Getting the fit right is the
key to comfort, and maximum adjustability is the key to getting the fit
right with your first pair of aero bars. The position can actually be
quite comfortable.

It can also be quite unnerving the first few times. The feeling that
the steering had gone super-twitchy, combined with the need to be much
more careful with upper body motions, made it quite a different ride
from the tops or the drops.
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

I've been riding since i got my bike in November. I just broke 1000
miles this past week. I am leaving on the cross country bike trip May
28th, so if I get the aerobars soon (by around May 8), I will have a few
good weeks to train on them before departing. Might it be wiser/safer
to just go with a clip-on that I can attach to my drop bar and just
stick with my current STI shifters?

Michael Press said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Wookie Kim said:

I am currently training for the Ironman Wisconsin in September. I have
a Fuji Team Pro road bike, but am looking to convert to aerobars and
bar-end shifters. What sort of bars would be good? Integrated? clip-on?

I am also doing a 4200mi cross country bike trip over 9 weeks to raise
money for Habitat for Humanity. I do not want to be TOTALLY
uncomfortable on the trip, but I definitely want to ride in aero
position as much as I can so that I can be aero during Wisconsin.

Since I have never ridden in the aero position and do not know how
comfortable/uncomfortable that position is, do you think it would be a
bad idea to buy aerobars and train for that 9 week portion? In other
words, will I be really uncomfortable if I ride in the aero position for
70 miles a day?

How much time have you been riding in the last year? When
does the nine week ride occur? How long will you train
with the new equipment before the ride? Changing the
bicycle configuration immediately before a new undertaking
will end in tears.

In article <[email hidden]>,

Wookie Kim said:

I've been riding since i got my bike in November. I just broke 1000
miles this past week. I am leaving on the cross country bike trip May
28th, so if I get the aerobars soon (by around May 8), I will have a few
good weeks to train on them before departing. Might it be wiser/safer
to just go with a clip-on that I can attach to my drop bar and just
stick with my current STI shifters?

Michael Press said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Wookie Kim said:

I am currently training for the Ironman Wisconsin in September. I have
a Fuji Team Pro road bike, but am looking to convert to aerobars and
bar-end shifters. What sort of bars would be good? Integrated? clip-on?

I am also doing a 4200mi cross country bike trip over 9 weeks to raise
money for Habitat for Humanity. I do not want to be TOTALLY
uncomfortable on the trip, but I definitely want to ride in aero
position as much as I can so that I can be aero during Wisconsin.

Since I have never ridden in the aero position and do not know how
comfortable/uncomfortable that position is, do you think it would be a
bad idea to buy aerobars and train for that 9 week portion? In other
words, will I be really uncomfortable if I ride in the aero position for
70 miles a day?

How much time have you been riding in the last year? When
does the nine week ride occur? How long will you train
with the new equipment before the ride? Changing the
bicycle configuration immediately before a new undertaking
will end in tears.

Perhaps keeping drop bars in addition to the aero-bars is
your safest option. Good luck.

Please learn to bottom post.

--
Michael Press

Wookie Kim said:

I've been riding since i got my bike in November. I just broke 1000
miles this past week. I am leaving on the cross country bike trip May
28th, so if I get the aerobars soon (by around May 8), I will have a few
good weeks to train on them before departing. Might it be wiser/safer
to just go with a clip-on that I can attach to my drop bar and just
stick with my current STI shifters?

No way I'd go cross country on a bike with dedicated aerobars --
especially if I'd never tried them. The advantages of dedicated aerobars
over clip-ons are small, and clip-ons retain all the hand positions of
the drop bars -- very important for long mileage.

How long you can ride on the aerobars is really a matter of how you set
them up. Some people use them on bikes with relatively high handlebars.
The clip-ons I use result in a back position similar to drops with bent
elbows (my drops are deep). I get a pretty flat back either way, but the
clip-ons improve drag a bit by closing shoulders, etc. I can tolerate an
hour or 2 on the bars, but wouldn't ride all day. They're handy to
switch to to get weight off of hands and when fighting headwinds.

I had no trouble adapting to clip-on aerobars. I added them to my bike
the night before a long (double century) ride and began using them right
away. I don't find them to be any more challenging than drop bars alone.
My rule of thumb with aerobars is to only use them in conditions where I
would feel safe riding no-hands.

Wookie Kim said:

I am currently training for the Ironman Wisconsin in September. I have
a Fuji Team Pro road bike, but am looking to convert to aerobars and
bar-end shifters. What sort of bars would be good? Integrated? clip-on?

I am also doing a 4200mi cross country bike trip over 9 weeks to raise
money for Habitat for Humanity. I do not want to be TOTALLY
uncomfortable on the trip, but I definitely want to ride in aero
position as much as I can so that I can be aero during Wisconsin.

Since I have never ridden in the aero position and do not know how
comfortable/uncomfortable that position is, do you think it would be a
bad idea to buy aerobars and train for that 9 week portion? In other
words, will I be really uncomfortable if I ride in the aero position for
70 miles a day?

Thank you,
Wookie

What I suggest is go to a bike shop that does bike fits, put
someaerobars onto your bike, and have them make the modifications
necessary for you to be able to reach them, be comfy, and have themdo
anyting positive for you. If the bike fits you now, don't expect just
to slap these l;ong extension handlebars on and have you be able to
reach them.

I also recommend some with flip up pads, keep your drop bars, as
cowhorns have few hand positions. Tribars, onto normal dropbars,
keeping the lever mounted shifters is much more vesatile, particularly
in races that are not just a flat, out and back.