Riding the Phantom Aerobars

dw300
dw300 Posts: 1,642
edited August 2012 in Training, fitness and health
Has anyone got any tips for learning this? I ride my warmdown with one arm out in front and the other on the drops, barely touching the bar, it's there just in case.

But it feels pretty sketchy. My boney elbows don't help 'grip' the tops very well, and I think I might need a longer stem.

Is this something that's better learn after learning to ride actual aerobars?
All the above is just advice .. you can do whatever the f*ck you wana do!
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Comments

  • amaferanga
    amaferanga Posts: 6,789
    Why do you want to do this? It's stupid. You won't look like a pro.
    More problems but still living....
  • dw300
    dw300 Posts: 1,642
    Lol .. I don't care what I look like, I just want to go faster.

    I presumed that it was similar to riding no-handed, and that it's pretty stable once you get the hang of it.
    All the above is just advice .. you can do whatever the f*ck you wana do!
    Bike Radar Strava Club
    The Northern Ireland Thread
  • Tom Dean
    Tom Dean Posts: 1,723
    dw300 wrote:
    I don't care what I look like
    hence
    dw300 wrote:
    I ride my warmdown with one arm out in front and the other on the drops, barely touching the bar
  • Tom Dean
    Tom Dean Posts: 1,723
    also, you want to rest your elbows on the bars? and need a longer stem to acheive this :?
    How fast do you want to go on your warmdown? :lol:
  • Tom Butcher
    Tom Butcher Posts: 3,830
    I think it works better if you have a very big saddle/bar drop - like most pros - I can do it easily enough on my setup but it doesn't feel like a position I'd want to stick in for too long.
    it's a hard life if you don't weaken.
  • dw300
    dw300 Posts: 1,642
    Tom Dean wrote:
    also, you want to rest your elbows on the bars? and need a longer stem to acheive this :?
    How fast do you want to go on your warmdown? :lol:

    Yeh, I feel like a nice stretched out position would have my elbows (perhaps I should have said upper forearms) beyond the bars.

    My warmdown in on a cyclepath, which is quiet, flat and safe .. I'm not doing it there to go faster. :p

    Having said that, even at 18mph, when i get one arm in front I gain at least a mile-per-hour.

    I'm looking at buying some cheap clip-ons to give it a try.
    All the above is just advice .. you can do whatever the f*ck you wana do!
    Bike Radar Strava Club
    The Northern Ireland Thread
  • dw300
    dw300 Posts: 1,642
    Tom Butcher wrote:
    I think it works better if you have a very big saddle/bar drop - like most pros - I can do it easily enough on my setup but it doesn't feel like a position I'd want to stick in for too long.

    Hmm .. well, I don't have a huge drop. I thought it might be useful to use to keep speed up while recovering for a minute of two on nice bits of road.

    I'm guessing not as many people do this as I thought, and there's usually a good reason when that's the case ..
    All the above is just advice .. you can do whatever the f*ck you wana do!
    Bike Radar Strava Club
    The Northern Ireland Thread
  • Team4Luke
    Team4Luke Posts: 597
    what
    Team4Luke supports Cardiac Risk in the Young
  • danowat
    danowat Posts: 2,877
    :roll:
  • bigpikle
    bigpikle Posts: 1,690
    cant see why you want to do this at all?

    no ability to react quickly, cant reach the brakes, hurts your arms/elbows, horribly unstable...
    Your Past is Not Your Potential...
  • Calpol
    Calpol Posts: 1,039
    I see Dave Millar doing this quite a lot but it looked more to do with just finding a different position rather than gripping the bars all the time be it on the hoods, tops or drops. I have tried it when my hands get a bit numb but it ain't too stable!!!
  • thegreatdivide
    thegreatdivide Posts: 5,807
    a) They are Pro's and they have way more bike handling experience than most of us ever will
    b) Most of the time they ride on lovely smooth Euro roads

    Not having Pro bike experience and using UK roads = no front teeth.
  • Tom Butcher
    Tom Butcher Posts: 3,830
    To be fair on a decent road on your own I don't think it's dangerous - no more so than time trial bars really.
    it's a hard life if you don't weaken.
  • alihisgreat
    alihisgreat Posts: 3,872
    I do it sometimes... just for a few mins -> I find its handy into a headwind and opening snacks when its not possible to to it with hand/mouth, or sit up and do it no hands.

    But it is quite unstable and uncomfortable so I never do it for long.



    I've never really thought about technique though.. but its probably similar to riding no hands in that you need to keep your speed up (easy) and push a bigger gear.
  • GiantMike
    GiantMike Posts: 3,139
    At a recent Salt Ayre race the Commissaire gave a warning that anybody seen riding in this position would be disqualified.
  • Velonutter
    Velonutter Posts: 2,437
    Yep similarly, anyone seen riding like this on our club rides, events or training sessions will be asked to leave, we have a similar rule with tri-bars.

    Sorry but having seen someone come out with tri-bars and crash I can understand why the club banned them and the riding of the forearms on the bars.

    Totally dangerous, I even saw two riders riding them on the Wild Wales at the Weekend...what for? :? :shock:
  • shockedsoshocked
    shockedsoshocked Posts: 4,021
    GiantMike wrote:
    At a recent Salt Ayre race the Commissaire gave a warning that anybody seen riding in this position would be disqualified.

    That's the gentle method. Usually the lads racing up here just put people on the grass.
    "A cyclist has nothing to lose but his chain"

    PTP Runner Up 2015
  • Herbsman
    Herbsman Posts: 2,029
    I find it more comfortable than any other position, but don't do it in traffic or residential streets. Can't see what there is to 'learn' though... :-s
    CAPTAIN BUCKFAST'S CYCLING TIPS - GUARANTEED TO WORK! 1 OUT OF 10 RACING CYCLISTS AGREE!
  • racingcondor
    racingcondor Posts: 1,434
    I do it often enough but only in specific situations -
    - No one else around (traffic or cyclists)
    - Familiar roads
    - Looking to beat a time on a training loop

    I've even done it racing once (I was solo 30 seconds off the front in a crit at Hog Hill and stopped long before I was caught). Whether you can do it safely depends a lot on the rider. If it feels unstable then you shouldn't be doing it.
  • Vino2007
    Vino2007 Posts: 340
    No point unless you are lining it out in a race/club run. Not for the comber greenway ;)
  • dw300
    dw300 Posts: 1,642
    Vino2007 wrote:
    No point unless you are lining it out in a race/club run. Not for the comber greenway ;)

    Yeh, too many pedestrians and dogs!
    All the above is just advice .. you can do whatever the f*ck you wana do!
    Bike Radar Strava Club
    The Northern Ireland Thread
  • racingcondor
    racingcondor Posts: 1,434
    Vino2007 wrote:
    No point unless you are lining it out in a race/club run. Not for the comber greenway ;)

    If you do it in a race when you're not solo you should expect to get a warning from the commissare.

    As I've said, I do it. The basic rule though should be. Don't. :wink:
  • Vino2007
    Vino2007 Posts: 340
    racingcondor wrote:
    Vino2007 wrote:
    No point unless you are lining it out in a race/club run. Not for the comber greenway ;)

    If you do it in a race when you're not solo you should expect to get a warning from the commissare.

    As I've said, I do it. The basic rule though should be. Don't. :wink:

    Why would that be? A lot less worse than going no hands with a musette.

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