With the introduction of draft legal triathlon
to ITU age group races, you may be starting to consider
your bike set-up options.
And that might include these short, clip-on aero bars.
Now we see the elites using them, but why?
Especially as it's draft legal racing?
(pulsating electronic music)
Well, before you go racing ahead and copy the elites,
it's worth noting that the short clip-on bars
aren't currently allowed
for all draft legal age group races.
That said, it has only just been introduced
to the ITU age group ranks,
so it may well be introduced with time.
That aside, it's still
a really interesting bike set-up option.
So we thought we'd try them out today
to see why they're used,
and you never know you may actually like these shorter bars
for your non-drafting races, too.
So today, we are using the Impel TT Bars from ControlTech.
And as you can see you barely notice them on the bike
until you actually need them.
And they're really lightweight,
weighing in at just 276 grams.
Now, for draft legal racing,
the bars can extend beyond the brake levers,
and that's mostly for safety,
so you can still grab the brakes quickly
whilst you're riding in a group.
(pulsating electronic music)
Well, we know that air resistance
is the cause of most of the drag we experience on the bike.
In particular, it's our body that causes the biggest drag.
So adjusting our body position can improve our aerodynamics.
And whilst it's draft legal racing,
there are still times when an athlete
could find themselves needing to use these bars.
For instance, if you're riding alone,
and want to bridge a gap to the group ahead of you.
But the question is, are they really that much faster
than being on the drops?
So how are we going to do this?
Well, firstly, it's worth noting
that this isn't going to be perfectly scientific,
but it will give us plenty of food for thought,
and a good idea of the differences.
I have an undulating but straight,
3.5 kilometre section of road.
I'm going to do two runs at 250 watts.
One on the drops, and then one on the aero bars.
Then, to broaden the results,
I'm going to do another two runs at 350 watts,
again, one on the drops, and then one on the aero bars.
And for all the runs,
I'm going to record my time
and my average speed that the power gives me.
And then we'll compare the results.
Run 1, 250 watts on the drops.
Let's go.
(pulsating electronic music)
Okay, next run at 250 watts,
on the short, clip-on aero bars.
Let's go.
(pulsating electronic music)
Right, ramping this up a bit, now,
350 watts on the drops.
Last run, 350 watts on the aero bars.
Here we go.
(pulsating electronic music)
That's all the runs complete,
so it's time to look at the results,
and the first run, 250 watts on the drops, was 5:34.
And then 250 watts on the aero bars was 5:24.
At 350 watts, on the drops, was 4:58.
And then 350 watts on the aero bars was 4:41.
It's not a total surprise,
because when I was on the aero bars
I was able to reduce my frontal area,
therefore making me more aerodynamic.
That's all very well, but are they always suitable?
And that is why they're not currently allowed
for all the age group draft legal events.
You need to be able to react quickly when you're in a group,
so having your fingers resting over the brakes
is much safer.
But that said, when they're used at the right time,
they can definitely be beneficial.
And another thing to consider is comfort.
Leaning forward onto the aero bars
can feel a little unusual with a standard road bike set-up,
and it's not really worth changing your saddle position
for the short stints that you're going to use the aero bars.
So it really does just come down to confidence
and a bit of experience using them.
Well that's give us some food for thought,
and shown the benefits of using these clip-on aero bars.
And even if you're not doing draft legal racing,
maybe these short bars appeal to you
for the non-drafting races too.
You can see more videos from us
by clicking on the globe and subscribing to GTN.
And to see our draft legal triathlon explainer video,
just click down here,
and to see our TT versus road bike on the climb video,
just click down here.