Thoughts on aero-position...

Here are some infos that I'd like to share here and that I think might be helpful for beginners (and not-so-begginers as well...). I am a beginner myself and I passed a lot of time working on my aerobars setup in my basement before taking my bike out. For the first time, I tried my triathlon setup for a couple of hours and here's my experience :

I went out and did about 30km with my basement setup (15k back and forth on a cycling strip) and felt very uncomfortable with the position. This setup is very aerodynamic though and I thought it would be fast ! I couldn't keep the position for more than 10 minutes w/out having discomforts in the neck, lower back, etc.

After my first 30km, I changed my setup and put my stem with a positive angle, which rises the handlebars 1 to 2 inches higher, then I did the very same ride. I was more than comfortable and increased my average speed by 2.5 km/h (1.55 mph) with the same perceived effort... Though the latter position is less aerodynamic, I could use all the power from my legs, just like I do without aerobars. Furthermore, the bike is much more stable with the new position...

What the story says is that comfort may be more important than aerodynamics. I guess that I could get used to the new position and lower my handlebars over time but for now, I am more efficient with an higher position (hence less aerodynamic).

Hope this is gonna be helpful for those looking for the right position. All I have to say is that you should work on your position (or have someone work on it for you...) unless you feel very conformtable with it...

Christian.