If you watched any of
the time trial stages for Tour de France last July you saw a wild variety of
aero bar positions—perhaps the strangest being Floyd Landis’s arms-up, ski racer
position where his hands were level with his chin. Other had their hands pointed
slightly downward as if they were going to hit a volleyball. Still others shot
their arms straight out ahead (pretty much Lance Armstrong’s style). You’ll see
the same thing at any triathlon, arms and hands bent in all sorts of angles as
people ride past.
All these different
angles lead to the big question: Is there a perfect angle for your aero bars,
one that will make you that much faster? The simple answer is that there is no
ideal position for your arms in an aerodynamic tuck. Your number one goal is to
reduce your total frontal area to as small a space as possible. That means you
want your elbows close together and your back flat, and whatever arm angle
allows you to hold your body in that position for the duration of a bike leg is
best. Whether you’re bunched up like a ski racer or strung out like Superman,
your top aerodynamic priority is to keep that frontal area
tight.
Beyond that, the
differences in positioning become nuanced arguments between theory and comfort.
When looking at an arms-up position ala Floyd Landis’s “praying mantis,” you can
theorize that he’s slicing through the air more efficiently since his arms could
be directing more air away from his body. But it’ll take months and months of
training to be able to hold that position throughout a one-hour effort. That’s
because arms-up equals less support for your torso compared to a position where
the forearms are horizontal. The torso has to work harder to support itself. But
when the forearms are flat, you can rest your weight on the meaty part of the
arm and let those arms do their part to keep you level.
If there is one angle
that trumps all the rest it’s the angle between your upper arm and your torso.
You want it dialed to 90 degrees as this provides the strongest and steadiest
support between arms and upper body. If you’ve got the flexibility to ride with
a flat back, then your upper arm should be perpendicular to your back and the
ground. With this angle, you’ll delay muscle fatigue in your arms which has two
benefits: The first is that you won’t tire out as quickly. The second is that
the fresher your arms feel the better you’ll be able to control you bike if you
have to make a split-second maneuver.
Of course all these
tweaks and fiddles are meaningless if you’re not comfortable to begin with. Even
if your bike was set up in a wind tunnel, its aerodynamic advantages are
worthless if you don’t want to spend any time in the aero tuck. Comfort in the
aero position takes time; time for your glutes and back to grow flexible enough
to sustain that position and time for your arms and shoulders to grow strong
enough to hold your body in place.
One trick I’ve picked up
when it comes to adapting the body to aero bars is, assuming the rest of your
bike fits well (cleats, saddle position, etc.), to make sure your forearms are
comfortable, i.e. they don’t feel pinched, they hit the pads in a way that makes
you feel like you could leave them there for the whole ride. Once you establish
that position, no matter what it is, I’ve found that the rest takes care of
itself.
CTS Coach Ryan Kohler specializes
in coaching cyclists, triathletes, and adventure racers. For more news and
information on the latest in nutrition and fitness, go to www.trainright.com/newsletter.
