Aero bars - any good?

Hi,
Ive got another post regarding which road bike to get, but today ive been looking at a few flat barred road bikes and they tend to be a bit cheaper than drop bars for some reason?
So this got me thinking, im wondering ifs its worth getting a flat bar bike and fitting aero bars to it. Has anyone done this, if so, how is the bike to ride. Something like these - http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Profile-Carbon-St ... 286.c0.m14
Partly I would do this to save money over a drop bar road bike, but also I like the riding position, from what ive read its more comfortable and quicker.
I cannot find anything in the search, so what are your thoughts on aero bars in general be it on a flat or drop bar bike?
Cheers
Ive got another post regarding which road bike to get, but today ive been looking at a few flat barred road bikes and they tend to be a bit cheaper than drop bars for some reason?
So this got me thinking, im wondering ifs its worth getting a flat bar bike and fitting aero bars to it. Has anyone done this, if so, how is the bike to ride. Something like these - http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Profile-Carbon-St ... 286.c0.m14
Partly I would do this to save money over a drop bar road bike, but also I like the riding position, from what ive read its more comfortable and quicker.
I cannot find anything in the search, so what are your thoughts on aero bars in general be it on a flat or drop bar bike?
Cheers
Cycling never gets any easier, you just go faster - Greg LeMond
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It will work - but handling, comfort and visibility are going to be compromised.
It takes a little getting used to, but after a few weeks you will be on them all the time.
as Zanes says, you are away from the brakes, however it's just a case of getting used to them and picking the right time to get down/get up. The other day, I got up to 40 mph, needed to brake and simply left one hand on the tribars and used the other to brake.
Once you are used to them, the handling is no different to normal, only on the tightest of bends do you need to come off them. However, they are more comfortable than the drops and they are a lot softer on the hands than any other position. As for visibility, a normal road bike wont go low enough for visibility to be a factor, you only tend to go as low as you do when on the drops.
I would myself would go for flat bars with tribars, but if you intend to race, you'll need drops.
It takes a while to set the position up to exactly how you want it. I saw someone at a recent TT with a totally different set up to how mine were at the time. I went home, changed the hand position (closer together) brought my elbows in a little more and shaved 30 seconds of my PB.
They are low weight due to the fact they're carbon and the pads are very comfy indeed.
Bianchi Via Nirone
Some of them are in heavy traffic but a 40mph limit zone, but there are cycle lanes the whole route, also about 50% of the route is quietish country lanes.
How would it be if you hit a bump in the tri position, on my mtb it would pull / push the bar quite a bit, i would image in the tri position it would have you off the bike??
Bike wise, im thinking of fitting the tri bars to something like this - http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/produ ... _Bike_2008 but this is only an idea, I may still get a drop bar bike and still fit tri bars to that, at present im unsure which bike to get and how much to spend..... but above is looking favourable.
Also, are there any favoured tri bars, searching online there are loads of different styles, is it really what best suites you.
Cheers
You can get a pretty low position using bar ends - thats what I use when I'm out on the MTB. The tribars wont be great on a flat bar bike - between them and the gears - they'll use all of your bar space - so where to mount lights and computers.
Just enjoy riding. Once you have a few miles in your legs - you may want to rethink the tri bar thing - I'd not advise a beginner to jump onto them.
- I used to like the mint-chocolate one best.
As for the bike, you could probably get a drop bar for £300. Carbon bars may not be the best, I think they can crack if you overtighten them. But they are the lightest.
cougie has a good idea, if you get a flat bar, get some bar ends AND some tribars.
Also, if in the future you ever intend to race a TT, you could buy a adjustable stem, move you seat forward and get 95% of the speed benefit of a TT frame.
Drop bars are more expensive because they use integrated shifters. Bikes with flat bars are cheaper because integrated gear and break levers for drop bars are very expensive.