Are clip on tri bars a good idea?

jon1993

ill appoligise in advance for my SA lol

Ive got a boardman carbon team and have some clip on tri bars but not sure if these are makeing me any faster. There bolt ons to the normal road bars (cheep ones £40 rsp- reasonably heavy). Im a student so money is an object for me and have done all i can to make it the fastest it can be in a 10 mile time trial. I have noticed that although you get thinner with hands and arms in i cant get my head down as far. Before i got the bars i use to have hand either side of the stem with thumbs touching and could get my head nearly touching the stem. Im not sure whats best with no reliable computer and changing conditions when trying to test against each other its really hard to tell. Anybody have a view on this subject?

Furthermore, if you can help me improve the bike its self or anything else to improve the time that would be great. The bike is completely standard other than lithon 2 tyres, saddle height set perfect and stem inverted and put down as far as it will go. i use lycras and a standard road race helmet. No matter how little of a difference it will make any improvement is better than non, thankyou for your help.

Speedmenace

it wont really make you any faster than being in the drops, i permanently fixed a pair on my bike, i find that i can stay on the areo bars much longer without any discomfort and cycle in a more powerful position. I didn't really use the tops much either, its worth the money tho

danowat

Speedmenace wrote:

it wont really make you any faster than being in the drops

I disagree

davem399

About 20 year ago when I got into competitive cycling, I added a set of clip-on Profile tri-bars to a standard road bike and knocked almost a minute off my 10 mile TT times. I think they are probably one of the most cost effective measures for reducing your times.

edhornby

bang for buck they knock a lot of time off a TT - but you have to be in the right position on them (have a look for the TT positioning thread for tips) and you have to train on them to get used to getting the full power output on the bars (a seperate thread may help with this one but I would guess that the best way to do it on a budget is a set route, a watch and a cheap pulse meter)

cougie

If you're in the drops - you're as wide as you can be.

If you're on the tribars - you are much narrower - and should be faster. Going lower is only going to be good if you can keep up the power - too low and you wont be as efficient.

jon1993

Thanks alot ill leave them on then and read the position thread. Thanks alot!

Bobbinogs

BR did a few useful articles:

http://www.bikeradar.com/fitness/articl ... easy-30981

http://www.bikeradar.com/fitness/articl ... rial-31017

I seem to recall that position is the biggest factor (Position, helmet, bike, lycra... is the order for biggest impact I believe but I could be wrong), so by the time you get down to skinsuits you are talking about very minor improvements.

nferrar

The position you describe without the tri-bars is what I do when trying to chase someone down etc. but can't see it being sustainable for a 10mile TT. As has been said a lot of the effect of tri-bars is getting you narrower not necessarily lower. However you could still look at a second stem with a big negative rise (or for a bit less hassle get one of the Look adjustable stems, they're heavy and hard to find though), that way you can drop the front-end when doing TTs (no need to adjust brakes/gears, they'll still work fine).

Tom Dean

Clip ons look bloody awful. - far outweighing any aero benefit they may provide.

CiB

Speedmenace wrote:

it wont really make you any faster than being in the drops

Yes it will. I tested this at various points on my commute (20 miles, treat it like a TT most days). Just by moving from bars to drops I lose about 2mph off my speed when pushing at the limit, and then regain it just by moving back to full tuck on the bars. It will make you faster.

jon1993

Thanks everyone once again! Ive looked at - rise stems but cant find one with enough of a difference it has to be a very short stem (60-80mm) and already is a 9 degree - stem. ill keep having a look anyway thats probably the best thing to do get next. Thanks alot once again.

nochekmate

Tom Dean wrote:

Clip ons look bloody awful. - far outweighing any aero benefit they may provide.

That depends on whether you are out there looking to improve the times on your bike or out there looking for people to admire your bike.

There is a definite time/power benefit to be had and the fact that they are clip-ons mean that you don't have to live with the aesthetics for too long after an event if you don't wish to. Better still to have a full TT cockpit but not always practical to change cockpit over on road bike.

For now, I use clip-ons on my Cervelo S1.

tx14

nochekmate wrote:

Tom Dean wrote:

Clip ons look bloody awful. - far outweighing any aero benefit they may provide.

That depends on whether you are out there looking to improve the times on your bike or out there looking for people to admire your bike.

There is a definite time/power benefit to be had and the fact that they are clip-ons mean that you don't have to live with the aesthetics for too long after an event if you don't wish to. Better still to have a full TT cockpit but not always practical to change cockpit over on road bike.

For now, I use clip-ons on my Cervelo S1.

I think he's joking.

Pross

Speedmenace wrote:

it wont really make you any faster than being in the drops, i permanently fixed a pair on my bike, i find that i can stay on the areo bars much longer without any discomfort and cycle in a more powerful position. I didn't really use the tops much either, its worth the money tho

My last two 10s this season I rode the first one on the drops and for the final one I bought some clip on bars. Both nights were similar in weather terms and everything else was the same. I went over 50 seconds quicker whilst overs were riding similar times or improving by up to 20 seconds. This is by no means scientific proof (although I believe that scientific testing has provided similar results) but I'm pretty sure the aero bars do make you go faster much as I'd like to claim the sitting around on holiday and not riding my bike were the main contributory factors.

Speedmenace

well i can get lower and more areo in the drops, if i'm coasting down a hill i will go faster when tucked down in the drops, riding in that position on flats isn't practical, or efficient for power

overall the areo bars will make you faster, though not by much

markos1963

The big advantages with clip ons come with moving the stem lower than standard so it's worth buying an adjustable stem at the same time. I got BBB stem and obviously took out all the spacers on the steerer and moved them on top. This allowed me not only to go lower but narrower as well with the clip ons. Result= 1 min off my 10TT time.

lef

i hate the thought of not having instant access to the brakes if using clip on aero bars.

jon1993

ah that doesnt bother me ive crashed enough haha and im going to keep them on but i do need a greater - rise stem and that should sort things out. thanks all of you for your help.

SBezza

Speedmenace wrote:

well i can get lower and more areo in the drops,

As mentioned above, you are also the widest you can be. do the same hill with aero bars fitted and in the aero position, and you will go faster than on the drops.

It isn't all about getting low, it is about creating the smallest profile to the wind, and a narrow position does this better than wide and low.

jon1993

Fair enough then so how much benifit do the aero helmets give to your time because i think thats my next biggest difference i can make if im right ? Basically im asking this to see if im going to be competitive, with the clipons im around about 1.32min of the lad thats winning them he has the best timetrial bike/ gear ive seen if im honest if i had the same type of gear would i be keeping up? thanks

danowat

It's hard to say, but all I will say is this.....

The difference between my road, and TT setups is 2.5mins in a 10mile TT (same course, similar conditions)

Road
Kuota Kharma stock
Road helmet
Road shoes
SS jersey
bib shorts

TT
Cannondale Slice with tri spoke front and disc rear
LAS Chrono aero helmet
Road shoes with aero overshoes
Skin suit

jon1993

wow ok i didnt think they made that much difference haha maybe might have to invest sometime soon thanks alot.

SBezza

Skinsuit would probably have a bigger influnence if you currently ride with a normal jersey on.

jon1993

already have lycras like tshit n shorts normal road helmet and the clipon tribars with stem inverted as low as it will go what would you say is the next thing to invest in?

SBezza

As above, either a helmet or a skinsuit, flappy clothes mean alot of drag.

jon1993

ah ok ill get that sorted next then thanks!