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I'm sure many of you have seen this by now
Last Post 08/17/2014 11:57 AM by Mike Shea. 18 Replies.
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Dale

Posts:1767

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08/14/2014 12:50 AM
http://www.vingle.net/posts/449252-Why-it-s-dangerous-to-ride-aero-bars-in-a-group?cyc

aero bars.. meh. I know they are more aero, ergo faster, but ask this clown how he enjoyed his faster speed now that he's picking gravel out of his forearms
79pmooney

Posts:3178

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08/14/2014 01:44 AM
I've witnessed several aero bar induced crashes, no group involved. Aero bars are completely counter to everything I was taught when I started racing. (Anytime conditions are iffy, roads rough, there is traffic or other bikes, ride hands apart with a firm grip on the bars and good access to the brakes. Things get bad, ride the drops.)

To this day, I have never ridden aero bars and have no desire to do so.

Ben
THE SKINNY

Posts:506

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08/14/2014 08:52 AM
we usually get people riding aero bars/tt bikes in our group. i'm not sure why they would want to. if you're preparing for a tt or tri, you aren't supposed to draft are you? no pacelines that i've ever seen. i would think you would want to be alone or with like minded riders.
How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.
6ix

Posts:485

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08/14/2014 08:56 AM
Aerobars have their place but the only time you should ever use them while riding behind another is during a team time-trial. Since that's mostly reserved for ProTour riders, that essentially means NEVER!

What I don't understand is why the rider in this video flipped over the bars after grabbing a fist-full of rear brake. Or maybe this was in England where the front brake uses the right lever. That was the dumb part. Combined with a twitchy front-end and you have a recipe for pulling a superman.
Cosmic Kid

Posts:4209

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08/14/2014 09:05 AM
6ix, if you look at the bozo's front wheel, he has lost a good number of spokes. I think what causes his Endo is not grabbing the brakes, but the front wheel collapsing from a combination of braking force, reduced spokes and that tuft of grass he hits.

The problem with incidents like this is not aero bars, it is the rider who chooses to ride in them when they shouldn't.
Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
Dale

Posts:1767

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08/14/2014 10:04 AM
Posted By Cosmic Kid on 08/14/2014 09:05 AM
The problem with incidents like this is not aero bars, it is the rider who chooses to ride in them when they shouldn't.


That sounds like an NRA line… areo bars don't cause wrecks, people cause wrecks

You know I'm just busting on 'ya
Master50

Posts:340

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08/14/2014 10:08 AM
he also had his front brake on the right lever. I have always considered this as not a good thing? Dominant hand grabs too much brake.
Cosmic Kid

Posts:4209

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08/14/2014 10:18 AM
Oh schitt.....I thought this was a different video. Ignore my previous assessment as to why the guy endo'd.

That is just straight fooked up.

Winder where these guys were....palm trees in the background, but cool weather clothing and clearly a euro front brake set-up. Weird.
Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
Oldfart

Posts:511

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08/14/2014 10:35 AM
Right front brakes are fine master. Motorcycles have them, many riders have that set up and many who use left front are left handed. This rider grabbed too much brake too fast and didn't get his weight back. Brakes were too grabby too I'll bet. I did that once when a car made a right turn not quite in front of me. Brand new rim, Scott Matheuser pads which were grabby and over I went. Broke my helmet and mild headache and dizzy for a bit.
jookey

Posts:197

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08/14/2014 10:46 AM
I concur with old fart. Motorcycles have them. When I started mtn biking back in the day, one of my friends was a former motocross racer and swapped his brakes on his bike. As far as dominant hand goes, I'm lefty. All of my bikes are setup "normal". Never had an issue.

As far as aerobars in a paceline is concerned. I ride with a few tri-guys. They only are on the areo bars when at the front. Riding on them IN the paceline is dangerous.
79pmooney

Posts:3178

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08/14/2014 12:43 PM
I have felt for a long time that new bikes should have right-front so we learn from day one right-front. Then we have our dominant (and usually more skilled) hand on the brake that matters when we are signalling a turn or stop.

I learned left-front like 99.9% 0f Americans and by the time I realized that was backwards I was so well trained that switching would be several wrecks.

Oh and grabby brakes? My fixies and winter bikes have a Mafac front (my commuters) and V-brake road levers/dual pivot calipers (good fixie). Not grabby at all. And plenty of power. I may go the V-brake lever/dual pivot on the rest of my bikes. (V-brake levers are big! My hands love them.)

Ben
CERV

Posts:151

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08/14/2014 12:47 PM
http://jtekengineering.com/aerobrake.php

not that I think having one of these makes riding in the aero bars in a group ok, but it would help.
79pmooney

Posts:3178

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08/14/2014 01:27 PM
CERV, I have very mixed feelings about those brake levers. In competition, both ITT and TT, yes. But the idea of folks using them on the road and feeling they can now draft people? Scary! What a poor hand position to be using for hard stops. And yes, in pacelines, group rides, and JRA, hard stops should never happen. (All dogs, kids, balls, cars and skunks should know better than to even think about it.)

Ben
Oldfart

Posts:511

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08/14/2014 09:54 PM
Posted By 79 pmooney on 08/14/2014 12:43 PM > Oh and grabby brakes? My fixies and winter bikes have a Mafac front (my commuters) and V-brake road levers/dual pivot calipers (good fixie). Not grabby at all. And plenty of power. I may go the V-brake lever/dual pivot on the rest of my bikes. (V-brake levers are big! My hands love them.)

Ben


Ben. If you're using brake levers designed for long armed v brakes with normal pull road calipers your brakes will be less strong, less grabby because you'll have less leverage. Is that what your saying? Don't know about right front versus left front being better for right handed folks. Seems to me practice is what folks need.
79pmooney

Posts:3178

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08/14/2014 10:40 PM
Andy, exactly. In traffic, and especially downhill on the fixies, I want to be able to grab a handful of brake, slow down really fast and have nothing exciting happen. Early on with the V-brake lever/dual pivot combo, I rode down from McKenzie Pass to Sisters, OR. A true blast. I was riding a 42-14, a far higher gear than I had ridden fixed om 30 years, and was into it. Came upon a downhill, steep and blind corner that I wasn't anticipating. "Oh s***!" Grabbed lots of brake. Made the corner easily. Wow!

I am not a fan of power in braking, bikes or cars, at least not at the lever. I find panic provides me with plenty! (I am not unusually strong but I do have big hands and grabbing a large lever well off the bar is easy.) It is true that I have less leverage braking from the tops with that set-up than I would like and have been uncomfortable a couple of times. Just a reminder to be in the drops when things get iffy. And with that bike and bars, the drops always work.

Ben
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